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

the resurgence of self-defense did nothing short of rc-ordering race relations in the United
States. More than a physical act, self-defense was a frame of mind. As Carl Washington
of Long Beach, California, expressed in 1968 : "'There's a place for the Rap Browns and
the Stokely Carmichaels . They've instilled a lot of pride and dignity in a lot of Negroes--
especially the young Negroes . These guys have given many Negroes the courage to talk
back ." [FOOTNOTE?]
In this respect, self-defense, like nonviolence, represented a critical dimension of
the fight for civil rights . A mentality of self-defense infused the struggle for black
equality: it went hand-in-hand with the spirit of civil rights protest. Indeed, nonviolence
itself was a kind of collective self-defense . It offered the best means for black
Southerners not only to advance their stnrggle for civil rights but also to preserve and
sustain their own existence . If fists, knives, or guns represented self-protection on a
personal level, then nonviolent direct action represented self-protection on a mutual level
for black Americans living as a numerical minority in the United States . In this sense,
nonviolence was neither a tactic nor a conviction, but a defensive response to white
aggression .
This rediscovered appreciation among black Southerners for self-defense did not
meet an enthusiastic reception from their white counterparts . Ironically, white
Southerners have always exhibited a unique tolerance of, if not admiration for, violent
behavior. In "Below the Smith and Wesson Line," a chapter from his book One South :
An Ethnic AQnroach to Regional Culture (1982), John Shelton Reed has noted that,
despite natural aversions to violence, some things are worth fighting for.
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