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
permit to keep a gun in my car;' he told Folsom .~ ° The governor responded that he would have to speak with the sheriff about the matter. Folsom did not inform King, who had no knowledge of local gun laws, that he did not need a permit : it was perfectly legal to cant' a firearm in a vehicle, ro long as it was in plain view . Folsom then pigeonholed the request, which was eventually forgotten . Accompanied by the Reverend H . H. Hubbard, King and Abernathy went to the county sheriffs office on Wednesday, February 1, 1956, to request permits to allow the night watchmen at King's home to carry guns. ~ ~ They apparently completed the required paperwork, though authorities denied the application .' 2 That very night, a bomb exploded at E . D. Nixon's house ; again, luckily no one was injured. In the aftermath of the bombings, representatives of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR) rushed to Montgomery to speak with King, who found himself in need of guidance . FOR, a pacifist group founded by Quakers and Episcopalians during World War I, had followed the story from afar, and sensed an opportunity to apply Gandhian strategy in Montgomery . Alabama gets cold in the winter and early spring . The wind howls. The night comes down hard, flooding the valleys where the Tallapoosa, Tombigbee, and other rivers drain the darkness . Sometimes it snows. It was just such an evening in early March 1956, when Bayard Rustin, an ambassador of the Fellowship of Reconciliation °King, quoted in Ganrow, marinatom , 62 . ~ ~.Lhe King Pam 3 : 40 . ~~"Negro Leader Fails to Get Pistol Permit," Mon g`Q~pf Advertiser (February 4, 1956): 3B .
(FOR), and William Worthy, a black journalist, rapped on the front door of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at his parsonage in Montgomery.~~ Shivering from the chill, the two men waited apprehensively, hands crammed in their pockets . Arnxd guards, protecting the home against further terrorist attack, stood in the shadows nearby . Only a few wceks earlier, on January 30, someone had tossed a single stick of dynamite onto the King family's porch . It was now as bright as day: floodlights strung around the perimeter of the roof illuminated the yard. It was hardly a welcoming atmosphere . But their anticipation outweighed any uneasiness they felt . Rustin and Worthy had heard a lot about the young preacher, especially in regard to his dynamism, his charisma, and his presence . He had stood up to the white establishment in Montgomery, addressed impassioned crowds at local mass meetings, and led successfully a black boycott of white- owned businesses. He was, by all accounts, a special person, and they looked forward to meeting him. King's wife Coretta ushered the men inside while the young reverend fumbled with his tie in front of the bedroom mirror . He, too, was anxious . He anticipated talking with these men who sought to counsel him on the practical applications of nonviolence . Only four or five people in the United States knew-really ~w-how to teach nonviolent direct action, and two of them were coming to his home . King was already familiar with the theory ~~'I'he story of Rustin and Worthy's meeting with King has been retold in several sources. See Garrow, l8earin~ , 59-62, 72-73 ; Branch, Parting the Waters , 173- 180 ; and Oates, Let the Trumpet Sound , 89-92 .
- Page 1 and 2: CCVII. RIGHTS & SELF-DEFENSE : THE
- Page 3 and 4: Civil Rights and Self-Defense : The
- Page 5 and 6: It was not until the 1950's and 196
- Page 7 and 8: ights movement, including : redempt
- Page 9 and 10: unnoticed, unbeknownst, or simply i
- Page 11 and 12: nonviolence . It is not a complete
- Page 13 and 14: happen, and the time for defense is
- Page 15 and 16: during this period currently lie do
- Page 17 and 18: what is right, but Iam not sure how
- Page 19 and 20: could be argued that King's middle-
- Page 21 and 22: people customarily initiated it . F
- Page 23 and 24: "The Other Cheek" : ReUn9ubhing Sel
- Page 25 and 26: expressed an urge to "give as good
- Page 27 and 28: professionals and faculty members f
- Page 29: But while King defused the volatile
- Page 33 and 34: practicability of his position: '~4
- Page 35 and 36: Additionally, Bayard Rustin reporte
- Page 37 and 38: the power structure."~ In other wor
- Page 39 and 40: available to the Negro in his strug
- Page 41 and 42: (toughmindedness) and love (tenderh
- Page 43 and 44: compelling arguments for the moral
- Page 45 and 46: and faggot. For example, in 1889, J
- Page 47 and 48: His first impulse when threatened w
- Page 49 and 50: aggravate ; that is, his politics o
- Page 51 and 52: quantitative change in our lives."
- Page 53 and 54: '~P~opk With StrenSth": Questioning
- Page 55 and 56: united behind him:'s Comparing his
- Page 57 and 58: paratroopers from the 101" Airborne
- Page 59 and 60: Williams respected what he called "
- Page 61 and 62: NAACP had always appealed, he scour
- Page 63 and 64: Montgomery was buried without incid
- Page 65 and 66: motorcade with gunfiro when the car
- Page 67 and 68: slavery and oppression . Tire Negro
- Page 69 and 70: S-6 . at the heart of his nonviolen
- Page 71 and 72: act : anyone who would utilize nonv
- Page 73 and 74: folkways . Because they believed th
- Page 75 and 76: the South, found themselves spearhe
- Page 77 and 78: Brown ." sa That same month, Willia
- Page 79 and 80: pumping hundrr~ds of thousands of d
permit to keep a gun in my car;' he told Folsom .~ ° The governor responded that he would<br />
have to speak with the sheriff about the matter. Folsom did not inform King, who had no<br />
knowledge of local gun laws, that he did not need a permit : it was perfectly legal to cant'<br />
a firearm in a vehicle, ro long as it was in plain view . Folsom then pigeonholed the<br />
request, which was eventually forgotten . Accompanied by the Reverend H . H. Hubbard,<br />
King <strong>and</strong> Abernathy went to the county sheriffs office on Wednesday, February 1, 1956,<br />
to request permits to allow the night watchmen at King's home to carry guns. ~ ~ They<br />
apparently completed the required paperwork, though authorities denied the application .' 2<br />
That very night, a bomb exploded at E . D. Nixon's house ; again, luckily no one<br />
was injured. In the aftermath of the bombings, representatives of the Fellowship of<br />
Reconciliation (FOR) rushed to Montgomery to speak with King, who found himself in<br />
need of guidance . FOR, a pacifist group founded by Quakers <strong>and</strong> Episcopalians during<br />
World War I, had followed the story from afar, <strong>and</strong> sensed an opportunity to apply<br />
G<strong>and</strong>hian strategy in Montgomery .<br />
Alabama gets cold in the winter <strong>and</strong> early spring . The wind howls. The night<br />
comes down hard, flooding the valleys where the Tallapoosa, Tombigbee, <strong>and</strong> other<br />
rivers drain the darkness . Sometimes it snows. It was just such an evening in early<br />
March 1956, when Bayard Rustin, an ambassador of the Fellowship of Reconciliation<br />
°King, quoted in Ganrow, marinatom , 62 .<br />
~ ~.Lhe King Pam 3 : 40 .<br />
~~"Negro Leader Fails to Get Pistol Permit," Mon g`Q~pf Advertiser (February 4,<br />
1956): 3B .
Change language