Monday, January 24, 2011

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets to this event are SOLD OUT. The panel discussion will be videotaped and a link provided on the UNCW website for subsequent viewing after the event.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington will host a panel discussion at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3 at Kenan Auditorium to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the arrest of the "Wilmington 10," nine black men and one white woman, who became the focus of one of the longest and most controversial civil rights cases in Wilmington history.

Moderated by Rhonda Bellamy and featuring members of the Wilmington 10 as well as witnesses to the events that occurred in February of 1971, the panel discussion is designed to create understanding of the historical legacy of those past events and how they still affect our community today. The case captured world attention and resulted in adoption of the Wilmington 10 as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.

The event is free and open to the public, but advance tickets are required. For security of the panelists and audience members, attendees will be checked with metal detection wands at the door and will have any bags searched.

The Wilmington 10 were arrested during a time of racial tension and unrest in Wilmington after the desegregation of the New Hanover County school system during the 1969-70 school year and the closing of Williston High School, a beloved institution for the local black community. The 10 were charged with arson and conspiracy to fire on firefighters and law enforcement officers after Mike's Grocery, a white-owned business at 6th and Ann streets, was burned when several firebombs were set in downtown Wilmington on Feb. 6, 1971. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they were reportedly fired upon by snipers from the roof of Gregory Congregational Church at 609 Nun Street. During the following two nights of rioting, a police officer shot a black teenager and a middle-aged white man was killed by unknown assailants.

Based largely on the testimony of two African-American witnesses who claimed to have been in Gregory Congregational Church on the night of the firebombing, the Wilmington 10 were found guilty in Superior Court in 1972 and sentenced to prison terms of between 15 and 34 years - a total of 282 years in all. Supporters saw them as political prisoners, framed by a racist and unjust judicial system, and the sentences were controversial, particularly after key witnesses recanted their testimony. After nearly a decade, the 10 had their convictions overturned on a legal technicality in 1980.

"This event is about promoting healing and justice in the community," said Jose Hernandez, associate vice chancellor for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion at UNCW, whose office is organizing and co-sponsoring the event. "We want to bring people together to understand the events that occurred in the past and to appreciate the historical and social significance of the Wilmington 10."

Confirmed panelists for the event include:

• Ben Chavis, writer, civil rights leader and former head of the NAACP
• Ben Wonce, student boycott leader
• Wayne Moore, member of the Wilmington 10, whose website Triumphant Warriors chronicles the events in 1971
• Eugene Templeton, retired pastor, Gregory Congregational Church
• Bertha Boykin Todd, educator and community activist
• Kojo Natambu, president of the Charlotte NAACP
• James Ferguson, Charlotte attorney who was the lead lawyer in the Wilmington 10 trial
• Irving Joyner, professor at N.C. Central University
• Kenny Janken, professor at UNC Chapel Hill
• Karen Beatty, New Hanover County NAACP and New Hanover High School Class of 1971

In addition to the panel presentations and audience Q&A, the event will feature musical performances by the Williston Chorale.

The Wilmington 10 were Ben Chavis, 24 at the time; Ann Shepard (later Ann Shepard Turner), a 35-year-old white social worker; Reginald Epps, 18; Jerry Jacobs, 19; James "Bun" McKoy, 19; Wayne Moore, 19; Marvin "Chili" Patrick, 19; Connie Tindall, 21; William "Joe" Wright Jr., 19; and Willie Earl Vereen, 18. Except for Chavis and Turner, all the defendants were Wilmington residents.

Of the original 10, Jerry Jacobs and Joe Wright are deceased. Ann Shepard Turner passed away recently and will be specially remembered at the commemoration event.

Admission to the Wilmington 10 panel discussion is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at the Kenan Auditorium box office from noon to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. For ticket information, call 910.962.3500.

Event sponsors, in addition to UNC Wilmington, are the NAACP, the African-American Heritage Foundation and members of the Wilmington 10.

Media contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.508.3127 or fischettid@uncw.edu