After a short skirmish, the KKK and American Nazis retrieved their firearms and moments later, five protesters lay dead and ten others were wounded.
The seven commissioners in 2006 released their report, which condemned not only the KKK and the American Nazi Party, but also the Greensboro Police Department and the city itself for being responsible for the events and the subsequent cover-up.
On November 3, 1979, a group numbering between 40 and 50 demonstrators arrived at the Morningside Housing projects in Greensboro, North Carolina at 11 a.m. for a peaceful march, aimed at advancing social, economic and racial justice and to protest against the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
After a short skirmish, members of the KKK and the American Nazi Party retreated to their vehicles and retrieved their firearms, including shotguns, semi-automatic rifles, and pistols.
Five protesters, Cesar Cauce, Dr. James Waller, Sandra Smith, Bill Simpson and Dr. Michael Nathan, were killed, and ten others wounded.
Johnson later stated, “I knew that in the depths of my soul that we had been set up.”[2]: 7 A curfew was immediately implemented at the Morningside neighborhood, followed by the deployment of the North Carolina National Guard, and public service announcements to deter anyone from participating in any further marches.
At a neighboring area adjacent to the Morningside Housing Project, Claudette Burroughs-White was home when a child ran up to her and informed her of the events he witnessed.
Funeral services for the protesters were attended by upwards of 800 people, with 1,000 law enforcement officials specifically assigned to maintain social order in Greensboro.
The principal and most immediate issue confronting the establishment of a potential commission was the ability to secure necessary funding to undertake the required work.
Three public hearings were held (two at local area universities, and one at a high school), each of which transpired over a two-day period (Friday and Saturday).
Johnson had also followed proper procedure by applying for a parade permit from the Greensboro Police Department, listing Morningside Homes as the starting point for the march.
The police, however, gave their informant, Klan member Eddie Dawson, a copy of the permit which provided the exact route and time of the march.
There had been an earlier confrontation between the groups in China Grove, North Carolina, and it was clear that the KKK and the American Nazi Party were purposely looking for an opportunity to exact revenge.
The police also knew that it was the intention of both the KKK and the American Nazi Party to confront the protesters, make an attempt to prevent the march from occurring, and above all, that members from each group would very likely be armed with firearms.
The commission found, “The idea of armed self-defense is acceptable and deeply embedded in our national identity and tradition [yet] there is a double standard by which armed black people are seen as an unacceptable threat.”[3]: 7 Johnson, the report of the commission makes clear, was never notified or warned in advance by Greensboro police of the Klan and American Nazi Party's intentions regarding the march.
When Officer April Wise and her colleague were at the Morningside Homes to investigate an act of domestic violence, they were intentionally called back by their superiors.
Greensboro's mayor and other city officials, the commission's report advances, went so far as to intimidate news stations to not broadcast footage of the “Greensboro Massacre.” "The events of November 3, 1979 and the days that followed produced “general distrust of police, the justice system, elected officials and the media.”[3]: 94 The commission found that the police department had underestimated the threat posed by the KKK and the American Nazi Party, and overestimated their perceived threat of Johnson and the CWP.