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

Under the aegis of their charter and by-laws, the Deacons reaffirmed the principles
of American democracy, and resembled other civic-minded agencies . Their charter,
recognized under Louisiana state law, commissioned the group "to instnrct, train, and
teach citizens, and especially minority groups, in the principles ofdemocracy." The
group required each man to study and understand its by-laws before he could join . Each
member took an oath, and pledged his life "to the defense ofjustice" and the defense of
Negroes and civil rights workers wherever they required protection . Members paid ten
dollars to join and two dollars each month thereafter . ie
The organization provided ammunition, which it purchased in bulk quantities
through an NRA-sponsored discount, though members provided their own guns .
"Everybody owns his own piece;' explained Ernest Thomas . Owning a gun, or two or
three, was not uncommon among blacks in rural and small-town Louisiana during the
1960s : it was an old southern custom among whites and blacks alike. Louisiana was
known as the "Sportsman's Paradise," and as Charles Sims pointed out, "they do a lotta
huntin' around there ." Sims further explained that "having a weapon's nothing new.
What bugged the people was something else--when they found out what was the program
of the Deacons ."~° Of course, what made the Deacons novel was their use of guns to
counteract white aggression . The national media later zeroed in on the Black Panther
~9Roy Reed, `"fhe Deacons, Too, Ride by Night," New York Times Magma
(August 15, 1%S): 11 ; Grant, Black Protest, 359; New York Times (June 6, 1%S): 25 .
Thomas, quoted in New York Times (June 6, 1%S): 2S ; Sims, quoted in Raines, My
Soul is Rested , 418 and in Grant, Black Protest, 361 .