3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives

the sheriff again and told him that the youths were blocking both exits of the semi-circular
driveway . Sheriff Daniel promised to send someone to investigate . When, after a long
period of waiting, no one showed up, the white homeowner called the sheriff again . Two
deputies anived . They cleared out the youths but refused to escort Brown the rest ofthe way
home.
When the deputies left, the youths reappeared. As Brown sped toward his house, the
youths hemmed in his automobile again . Eventually one cut in front of Brown's car and
slammed on the brakes . Brown's car hit the rear bumper of the car in front as the two cars
squealed to a halt . Two white youths jumped out of the front seat and started toward Brown .
As he got out of his car, the other cars pulled up, and over a dour angry youths advanced on
him with curses and threats . Then the surprise came .
Brown pulled out a pistol and fired twice, hitting the two youths from the car in front .
The others abandoned their cars and wounded friends and fled the scene on foot, running
into the nearby woods and fields in all directions . Brown reloaded his pistol, got into his car,
and drove back to town to the sheriffs office. Because the sheriff had refused him protection
earlier, he chose instead to surrender to state highway patrolmen, who took him to an
undisclosed jail outside Caswell County . He was freed on bond of S3000.00 posted by
Charles McDean, NAACP field secretary in Winston-Salem .
Jasper Brown's actions against his tormentors signified a new trend in black southern
history: a return toward recognizing the virtues of self-defense . Sizable tremors had occurred
along the region's racial fault lines . Activists had made significant gains in desegregating
public facilities in the South . They achieved what they did largely because of nonviolent
8 1