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
use of guns, civil rights leaders disagreed as to whether or not the Deacons should participate in the Greenwood March. SNCC opted to continue Meredith's march across Mississippi . According to Cleveland Sellers, a SNCC activist, Stokely Carmichael argued that the march should "de-emphasize white participation, that it should be used to highlight the need for independent black political units, and that the Deacons . . . be permitted to join the march." Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young were "adamantly opposed" to Carmichael . "They wanted to send out a nationwide call to whites ; they insisted that the Deacons be excluded and they demanded that [SNCC] issue a statement proclaiming . . . allegiance to nonviolence ." Martin Luther King, Jr. held the deciding vote . While he favored mass white participation and nonviolence, he was committed to the maintenance of a united front . King sided with Cannichael . Wilkins and Young withdrew their support and did not participate in the march .ss Sellers' account of the debate seems reliable, though historians have disagreed over what transpired, particularly over King's involvement in the discussion . King apparently attempted to dissuade the Deacons from making a show of fore at the march . Representatives of SNCC and CORE concurred with the Deacons, but King "pressed on" : He was not saying that Negroes shouldn't protect themselves and their houses when attacked. Yet self-defense was not the point here . The point was whether they should carry guns in an organized demonstration . To do so would only confuse and obscure the moral issues, and it would not expose Mississippi injustice . KNegroes came mashing through the state brandishing .38s and rifles, ss Cleveland Sellers, The River of No Return : The Autobiog~y of a Black Mili~er and the Life and Death of SNCC (New York: William Morrow and Co.,1973), 162. 13 4
they were bound to precipitate a calamitous confrontation . Whites from the governor down would use it a: an excuse to start shooting Negroes at random~ Carmichael and Floyd McKissick disage+eed with King. McKissick asserted that "nonviolence had outlived its usefulness in this racist country"and that "Negroes ought to break the legs off the Statue of Liberty and `throw her into the Mississippi' :'3~ Biographer David J . Garmw's account directly contradicts those of Sellers and Oates . Gan~ow has contended that King remained "largely silent throughout the long and contentious discussion ." Carmichael antagonized Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young, yet King kept quiet : King's silence gave assistance to Carmichael's goal of dissuading the NAACPand the National Urban League from taking part . . . [B]y remaining silent King allowed SNCC's divisive desires to nrn their course . Carmichael interpreted King's silence as either intentional or unintentional support for SNCC . "When we were acting really impolite . . . King made no move at all . He kept quiet." if King indeed did remain silent during the discussion, and did not "plead" for nonviolence and the exclusion of the Deacons, how might his close-mouthed reaction be inteprcted? King's silence could be seen as tacit approval of the Deacons and what they represented . Sellers said, "Everyone realized that without [the Deacons], our lives would have been much less secure." Perhaps "everyone," including King, appreciated the Stephen Oates, tit the Trumo~t Sound : The Life of Martin Lut_ti .-r King~r (New York : Ha~per & Row, 1982), 397-398. According to Oates, King "pleaded with his Deacon brothers to remain true to nonviolence," but "the Deacons didn't `believe in that naked shit no way'," and would not be swayed by King. s'~ . King confirmed this account of the contested debate in his final book . See Martin Luther King, Jr. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos ar Cn munirv? (New York: Ha~per and Row, 1%7) . 13 5
- Page 105 and 106: characterized by hatred or meanness
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- Page 149 and 150: mistake" ; the presence of the Deac
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- Page 153 and 154: he waa killedj, but I believe he wa
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they were bound to precipitate a calamitous confrontation . Whites from the<br />
governor down would use it a: an excuse to start shooting Negroes at r<strong>and</strong>om~<br />
Carmichael <strong>and</strong> Floyd McKissick disage+eed with King. McKissick asserted that<br />
"nonviolence had outlived its usefulness in this racist country"<strong>and</strong> that "Negroes ought to<br />
break the legs off the Statue of Liberty <strong>and</strong> `throw her into the Mississippi' :'3~<br />
Biographer David J . Garmw's account directly contradicts those of Sellers <strong>and</strong><br />
Oates . Gan~ow has contended that King remained "largely silent throughout the long <strong>and</strong><br />
contentious discussion ." Carmichael antagonized Roy Wilkins <strong>and</strong> Whitney Young, yet<br />
King kept quiet :<br />
King's silence gave assistance to Carmichael's goal of dissuading the NAACP<strong>and</strong><br />
the National Urban League from taking part . . . [B]y remaining silent King<br />
allowed SNCC's divisive desires to nrn their course . Carmichael interpreted<br />
King's silence as either intentional or unintentional support for SNCC . "When we<br />
were acting really impolite . . . King made no move at all . He kept quiet."<br />
if King indeed did remain silent during the discussion, <strong>and</strong> did not "plead" for<br />
nonviolence <strong>and</strong> the exclusion of the Deacons, how might his close-mouthed reaction be<br />
inteprcted? King's silence could be seen as tacit approval of the Deacons <strong>and</strong> what they<br />
represented . Sellers said, "Everyone realized that without [the Deacons], our lives would<br />
have been much less secure." Perhaps "everyone," including King, appreciated the<br />
Stephen Oates, tit the Trumo~t Sound : The Life of Martin Lut_ti .-r King~r (New<br />
York : Ha~per & Row, 1982), 397-398. According to Oates, King "pleaded with his<br />
Deacon brothers to remain true to nonviolence," but "the Deacons didn't `believe in that<br />
naked shit no way'," <strong>and</strong> would not be swayed by King.<br />
s'~ . King confirmed this account of the contested debate in his final book . See<br />
Martin Luther King, Jr. Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos ar Cn munirv? (New<br />
York: Ha~per <strong>and</strong> Row, 1%7) .<br />
13 5
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