Rev. Ben Chavis, Joe Wright, Connie Tindall,
Jerry Jacobs; from left, back row, Wayne Moore,
Anne Sheppard, James McKoy, Willie Vereen, Marvin Patrick and Reginald Epps. 1976
40 years to Justice: the Wilmington 10
It’s hard to believe that 40 years have passed since the conviction of the Wilmington 10, in 1972 for trumped up charges relating to a firebombing in the city of Wilmington in 1971. At the time I was editing the newspaper for the Black Panther Party Revolutionary People’s Communication Network, and we not only covered the trial and convictions, but corresponded with Ben Chavis, the alleged leader of the “conspiracy” while he was in jail.