3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives
3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives 3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives
podium of a packed auditorium . Adjusting his eyeglasses, which gave him a learned, ascetic quality, the man leveled his gaze at the white audience . Tall, athletically built, and smartly dressed, he exuded strength and self-confidence . Without any notes, the lecturer spoke fluently and forcefully . While the slated topic for discussion was "The African Revolution and Its Impact on the American Negro," "Brother Malcolm," as his fellow Black Muslims knew him, covered a number of issues in his speech . He explained his preference for the term "Afro-American" rather than "Negro :' He explained his religious beliefs . He also explained why, to him, self- defense was such an essential part of the struggle for black equality. `"fhe reason we never received the real thing ["education, housing, employment, everything"] is that we have not displayed any tendency to do the same for ourselves which other human beings do : to protect our humanity and project our humanity ." White people would never "sit idly by" and tolerate "what we black men have been letting others do to us ." Whites would not remain "passive, peaceful, and nonviolent ." As soon as black people-black~, in particular-show that they "arc willing to die just as quickly to protect our lives and property as whites have shown, they will "be recognized as human beings ." It is "inhuman, absolutely subhuman," not to Oght back . As part of a struggle for humanity-indeed, as part of a civil rights movement- how could one not defend himself? "[T]oday the black man in America has seen his mistake and is correcting it by lifting his struggle from the level of civil rights to the level of human rights ." S~Malcolm X, The Soseches of Malcolm X at H_9rvard (New York : William Morrow, 1968 ; reprint, New York: Paragon House, 1991).161-75 . 108
He summed up his speoch by doclaring that his organization, the Organization of Afro-American Unity, believed that black people should no longer be victims. He wanted the Ku Klux Klan to know that "bloodshed is a two-way street . . . dying is a two-way street," and "killing is a two-way street ." He concluded by evoking Shakespeare's Hamlet, who tried to decide whether it was nobler "to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,' or whether it was nobler "to take up arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them ." Malcolm felt that Hamlet's soliloquy answered itself: fretting about whether one should use slings and arrows could only bang suffeang. s e Though many within the civil rights movement would disavow his involvement, Malcolm X helped set the tone of protest, and dictated theory and tactics from the peaphery . He advocated a kind of non-nonviolence, reflected in his praise of self-defense. But many people, particularly in the mid-late 1960'x, heard his words not as an exhortation of self- defense, but as a coded invitation to participate in aggression toward whites . That which did not fit readily within the violent/nonviolent dichotomy, including Malcolm's insistence on self-protection, was lost to a bifurcated view of not only the civil tights struggle but also violence itself. Accordingly, a man like Jasper Brown, forced to protect himself, would seem-to many whites, at least-to be less an American exercising his constitutional tight to self-defense than a crazy black man threatening whites with a gun. Even more disturbing than an individual acting alone would be those of blacks who heeded Malcolm's advice: organizing to arm themselves for self-protection . One such group was the Deacons for Defense and Justice. 109
- Page 79 and 80: pumping hundrr~ds of thousands of d
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- Page 83 and 84: He likened racism to a disease, a m
- Page 85 and 86: escalated . Rioting broke out. Then
- Page 87 and 88: Williams' ideas came to fruition in
- Page 89 and 90: When juxtaposed with the ideas of M
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- Page 93 and 94: Whatever his place in prevailing hi
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- Page 97 and 98: The women propared food, and served
- Page 99 and 100: candidate for county representative
- Page 101 and 102: tide of nonviolent diroct action ;
- Page 103 and 104: the sheriff again and told him that
- Page 105 and 106: characterized by hatred or meanness
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- Page 109 and 110: than as separate entities, seenKd q
- Page 111 and 112: The best descriptor of Malcolm X wa
- Page 113 and 114: qualities in themselves. Finally, a
- Page 115 and 116: someone is treating you in a crimin
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- Page 119 and 120: attacked . Now, fve never been the
- Page 121 and 122: have, he wondered, to stop the loca
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- Page 125 and 126: Malcolm "proved" his detractors to
- Page 127 and 128: Malcolm reveled in ambivalence, and
- Page 129: While his views on integration, whi
- Page 133 and 134: journalist, labeled them "the South
- Page 135 and 136: shifted from Jonesbom to 8ogalusa,
- Page 137 and 138: cost. The struggle for black equali
- Page 139 and 140: point, the Deacons had ban quietly
- Page 141 and 142: Under the aegis of their charter an
- Page 143 and 144: them ; they were attuned to the law
- Page 145 and 146: the head, causing a gash . Leneva T
- Page 147 and 148: One thing is apparent in this year
- Page 149 and 150: mistake" ; the presence of the Deac
- Page 151 and 152: done:' Sims said, "we walked like m
- Page 153 and 154: he waa killedj, but I believe he wa
- Page 155 and 156: Events picked up across the border
- Page 157 and 158: they were bound to precipitate a ca
- Page 159 and 160: goals of the movement. A year later
- Page 161 and 162: Sellers noted that while King was f
- Page 163 and 164: things," he said. "Everybody want t
- Page 165 and 166: the group . For example, an intervi
- Page 167 and 168: "Understand, the Deacons don't repl
- Page 169 and 170: quest for black equality, and chang
- Page 171 and 172: self-defense denotation from the of
- Page 173 and 174: Lowndes County lies in the heart of
- Page 175 and 176: "take over the courthouse" with sub
- Page 177 and 178: On Monday, November 7,1966, the nig
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podium of a packed auditorium . Adjusting his eyeglasses, which gave him a learned, ascetic<br />
quality, the man leveled his gaze at the white audience . Tall, athletically built, <strong>and</strong> smartly<br />
dressed, he exuded strength <strong>and</strong> self-confidence . Without any notes, the lecturer spoke<br />
fluently <strong>and</strong> forcefully .<br />
While the slated topic for discussion was "The African Revolution <strong>and</strong> Its Impact on<br />
the American Negro," "Brother Malcolm," as his fellow Black Muslims knew him, covered a<br />
number of issues in his speech . He explained his preference for the term "Afro-American"<br />
rather than "Negro :' He explained his religious beliefs . He also explained why, to him, self-<br />
defense was such an essential part of the struggle for black equality. `"fhe reason we never<br />
received the real thing ["education, housing, employment, everything"] is that we have not<br />
displayed any tendency to do the same for ourselves which other human beings do : to protect<br />
our humanity <strong>and</strong> project our humanity ." White people would never "sit idly by" <strong>and</strong> tolerate<br />
"what we black men have been letting others do to us ." Whites would not remain "passive,<br />
peaceful, <strong>and</strong> nonviolent ." As soon as black people-black~, in particular-show that<br />
they "arc willing to die just as quickly to protect our lives <strong>and</strong> property as whites have shown,<br />
they will "be recognized as human beings ." It is "inhuman, absolutely subhuman," not to<br />
Oght back . As part of a struggle for humanity-indeed, as part of a civil rights movement-<br />
how could one not defend himself? "[T]oday the black man in America has seen his mistake<br />
<strong>and</strong> is correcting it by lifting his struggle from the level of civil rights to the level of human<br />
rights ."<br />
S~Malcolm X, The Soseches of Malcolm X at H_9rvard (New York : William Morrow,<br />
1968 ; reprint, New York: Paragon House, 1991).161-75 .<br />
108
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