By Riley Blankenship
On September 27, over a dozen white supremacist members carrying Confederate flags hit the streets of Greensboro protesting outside Deep Roots Market. The Socialist Party of Greensboro was carrying out their monthly meeting, a key reason for the protesters to be there as an intimidation tactic. This protest mirrors The Proud Boys protesting the Democratic Socialists of America meeting held in Winston-Salem just a few weeks prior. These protests have shown a pattern in our area as these are no longer isolated infractions. They are targeting left-wing socialist groups, sounding the alarm for so many local Triad residents and students.
Similar to the protest at Forsyth Central Library, the protest at Deep Roots lacked any hostility with tensions de escalating once police were dispatched.
Additionally, many of the protesters wearing masks and waving Confederate flags sent a message of intimidation. A few of the protesters had megaphones shouting explicit racial chants at residents. Shortly after the demonstrators’ chants, community members rallied together, fully outnumbering the protesters.
Greensboro resident Natasha Quinn believes the protesters targeted Deep Roots solely because they are affirming of the LGBTQ+ community members in the area.
“They picked a place knowing the store is very progressive in their views, even having an LGBTQ+ flag in the window, plus a progressive ‘I Believe’ flag,” Quinn said.
Quinn, who did not participate in the counter-protest, said she was doing her errands nearby when she noticed a large number of people near the store. She did not know what was happening until she read a news article later:
“I had no clue what was happening, I was doing my weekend errands and on my way back I just saw a bunch of people outside clustered around,” Quinn said.
The Deep Roots protest sets an interesting pattern: Far-right extremists appear to be drawn towards protesting socialism.
“Socialism was of course a major reason for the extremists to come out and protest. But also, I think with it being close to midterms it is just another reason for them to cause pandemonium among residents,” Quinn said.
Greensboro has a deep history with protests. History professor Allison Palmadessa noted that the last major protest was the 1979 Greensboro Massacre, where KKK members alongside The National Socialist Party of America shot and killed five people in a march.
“Greensboro obviously has a very rich history of being involved in protests, particularly during the civil rights movement. And it is wonderful we get to highlight that piece of it but there is an ugly side of it too, I mean the 1979 KKK shootout,” she said.
Racism and desegregation have played a major role in North Carolina’s history,
“Issues of racism and politicized responses to desegregation or anything that falls under that larger umbrella, is unfortunately a pretty big part of North Carolina’s history,” Palmadessa added.
Even with such a dark history, Palmadessa views the recent protest rather odd, “You often do not hear in our general location about this type of one group shows up, and then one group but in the opposition shows up, that has not been the norm,” she said. Fear, she said, is on both sides of the political spectrum.
“They are afraid of this socialist group that is meeting and so is the socialist group that is going to say they are afraid of these Proud Boys, so there is fear on all sides,” she said.
Her advice to students who may feel on edge with the extremist presence is to stay away.
“Not condoning either side or anything the socialist party stands for but I hope they will do so peacefully when people do protest and if students feel nervous do not engage,” she said.
Students around the local campus feel rather on edge with the recent protest. Quinn Anderson, a senior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro who did not attend the protest said it feels more unsafe for her.
“More than anything it just makes me feel increasingly unsafe in a community that I previously thought was safe from that kind of hatred,” she said.
Additionally, Anderson believes that the protest is just another reminder that a lot more needs to be done in terms of safety,
“It is a harsh reminder that we still have a long way to go as a society, there are people who do not think this kind of stuff happens anymore, that we have advanced and are above that kind of deep hatred and outright bigotry when we really have not.”
She advises other students who may feel scared to carry protection with them such as pepper spray as well as joining local groups who support the marginalized,
“A recommendation I would make is just to be safe, carry protection of some kind and do not walk alone if you can avoid it. Also, organizing and protecting each other is becoming more and more important in the modern day. Join local groups who are advocating for and supporting the marginalized so we can meaningfully fight back,” Anderson said.
The Triad is seeing a major shift in protests with both The Proud Boys protest at Forsyth Central Library in Winston Salem and the protest at Deep Roots grocery store happening weeks apart from each other. In light of the protests, students need to realize protests can end in violence but not always. For students who feel scared or nervous, the best course of action is to not engage, as Palmadessa advised. Going into downtown with friends or even carrying a small pepper spray can be helpful in protecting yourself. Additionally, finding resources like local
groups and organizations that strive for meaningful impact to combat these extremist protests can be of help. As seen in the recent protest, a small community can outnumber the extremist groups wanting to cause intimidation.
