In the last month or so, I have been seeing a lot of commemorations of "Freedom Summer" & the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Most of the mainstream media is presenting these events in the context of a largely peaceful, non-violent Civil Rights Movement. They would have us believe that after a year or two of marching, sitting in & boycotting, that white folks finally saw the error of their ways and began to see us as equals. This, of course, is just another attempt by the corporate media to re-write history to make europeans appear like benevolent human beings. The truth of what really took place during that era is rarely discussed in mainstream America. Whether it is in halls of Academia, the press, or religious institutions, the reality of the violent confrontations that occurred in the South (and all over America for that matter) during the Civil Rights Era are largely ignored.
This standard narrative largely ignores the massive amount of white Terrorism that took place before and after the passage of the Civil Rights act of 1964. In fact, I would argue that white Terrorism continues in this country in the form of police brutality and vigilante murders that go largely unpunished. In the last few years we have had the murders of Renisha McBride, Aiyanna Jones, Jordan Davis, and of course Trayvon Martin. These are just a few of the victims of wanton murder by europeans. None of the murderers have served time with the exception of Jordan Davis' killer who was essentially convicted of missing the 3 other people in the car at the time. That conviction virtually tells white people to have better aim when shooting Black people. I guess the jury doesn't want white vigilantes accidentally shooting any good white folk while they are "Coon Hunting".
This narrative also ignores the armed resistance within the Civil Rights movement which allowed all of the non-violent protest to occur. People like Robert F. Williams & the Deacons for Defense protected leaders like King & others when they were having meetings and strategy sessions. One of the oft-forgotten points of history is that the Black Panther party of Huey P. Newton was inspired by the work of Robert F. Williams and also the Lowndes County Freedom Organization of Alabama. Robert F. Williams was the President of the Monroe, North Carolina chapter of the NAACP. After several rapes and other assaults of Black Women by white Men resulted in few arrests & no-convictions, Williams was asked by the Black Women in Monroe what he planned to do about it. Williams, a Korean War Veteran, decided to purchase firearms and organize a self-defense core to defend the Black community from white Terrorist attacks. Williams and his wife Mabel would eventually be forced to flee the country because of their uncompromising stance on self defense for Black people. In the early 1960's Williams authored a book titled "Negroes with Guns" that would inspire a young Huey P. Newton a few years later.
Robert Williams was not the only Civil Rights activist that was armed. A young Martin L. King had guns in his house, as well as armed men to protect him, after his house was firebombed in 1956. It was Bayard Rustin who convinced King that the guns were unnecessary. While King would abandon the practice of armed self-defense, many more Southern Civil Rights activists used it simply out of necessity. In many towns in the South, the police and the Klan were one and the same. Many times the local sheriff was a Klan leader. The same could be said for many local judges. It was often absolutely useless for Blacks in the South to call the authorities for protection against white Terror because the authorities were in fact the Terrorists. The cases of Emmett Till & Medgar Evers had proven that receiving justice in the South was virtually impossible at the time. Civil Rights activist who traveled to the South to organize on the grassroots level were often targeted by local sheriffs. If the car was recognized as belonging to an activist, the police would harass and even murder the occupants and later claim to be investigating the crime. Protection from the police (Klan) became imperative for organizing to occur.
Most of the Civil Rights groups of that day had some type of armed security working with them in the South. Sometimes they were extremely well organized and known, like the Deacon for Defense. Other times it simply consisted of local men and women who came to meetings and rallies armed. The reality is that these groups of men and women made it possible for the Civil Rights movement to exist and blossom. One journalist of the day gives us insight into the importance of armed security during this era. Journalist Simeon Booker wrote in his book Black Man's America, "The Negro social reformer must defend himself, because he has no protection from police, sheriffs or state troopers. He must be ready to die at any moment." Booker goes on to say "The reason many more civil righters are not killed is because they are armed to defend themselves and their families." This statement from a person who was there at the time is a far removal from what I was taught about the Civil Rights Movement. The non-violent aspect of the movement has been glorified much to the detriment of Black people. It has given Black people a false sense of how we were able to make the small bit of progress that we have made in America. The reality of what actually allowed the Civil Rights Movement to occur has been largely concealed by mainstream America. There was plenty of violence committed against Black people, but there was plenty that was prevented due to the courage of Black Men & Women who choose to defend themselves.
Above is the documentary: Negroes with Guns
For more information on armed resistance in the Civil Rights era, I suggest reading 2 books. :
1) "We Will Shoot Back" by Akinyele O. Umoja
2) "This Non-Violent Stuff will Get You Killed" by Charles E. Cobb Jr.
