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

"Understand, the Deacons don't replace legal law enforcement-the~+e is no such thing as
legal law enforcement in much of the South that will protect a Ne gro citiun . " The law
eventually helped the Deacons, who helped themselves in a situation where inclusive law
and order had broken down .
Farmer's interest in the Deacons was more than rhetorical . The Deacons' stand
on self-defense profoundly influenced many CORE operatives, and caused a deep rift
within the organization . CORE's "Rules for Action" included the assertion : "He ~a
CORE member] will meet the anger of any individual or group in the spirit of good will
and creative reconciliation : he will submit to assault and will not retaliate in kind either
by act or word ." e2 But as the movement evolved, CORE edged away from the nonviolent
ideal, and co-opted the Deacons' philosophy of self-defense . A CORE worker in
Ferriday, Louisiana, stated in 1965 that self-defense in protection of one's home and
person was "taken for granted," and most of CORE's headquarters in dangerous areas of
Louisiana and Mississippi h~ weapons on the premises to protect against attack. e3
The debate betwan armed, southern field workers and long-time pacifists split
CORE, which almost rescinded its official policy on nonviolence at its national
convention in 1965 . The push for rescinding CORE's commitment to nonviolence was
so strong that it was defeated only by the intervention of Deacon leader Ernest Thomas,
B~Farmer, quoted in "White Man is Shot by Negro in Clash in 8ogalusa, LA," i~w
York Times (July 9, 1965) : 13 .
82Staughton Lynd, Nonviolence in America: A Documentarywstorv (Indianapolis :
Bobbs-Mem11,1966), 397 .
g~Haines, My Soul is Rested, S4.
145