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
Du Hois used the book review as a means of critiquing not only Reddick's writing but also King's policy. Interestingly, Du Bois also interpreted nonviolence as "submission;' which reinforced the notion that nonviolent direct action was something less than militant protest . The "young colored man in North Carolina" to whom Du Bois referred was Robert F. Williams, an ex-Marine from Monroe, North Carolina. King quickly learned that his own personal conviction that suffering unanswered violence to wear down an enemy defied the logic and common sense of many blacks . It was a most implausible proposition, requiring extraordinary courage and willpower. Some, like Robert Williams, regarded it as debasing, as not so much a moral imperative but a political tactic ; others regarded it as an impossible solution . Williams would lead the attack against "cringing, begging Negro ministers" committed to "turn-the-other-cheekism"; he was one of the few, like Prattis and Du Bois, who publicly challenged the idea that blacks should rely on nonviolent tactics . "Nonviolence is a very potent weapon when the opponent is civilized," he argued, "but nonviolence is no repellent for a sadist ." I believe Negroes must be willing to defend themselves, their women, their children and their homes. They must be willing to die and to kill in repelling their assailants . Negroes must protect themselves, it is obvious that the federal government will not put an end to lynching ; therefore it becomes necessary for us to stop lynching with violence . It is instilled at an early age that men who violently and swiftly rise to oppose tyranny arc virtuous examples to emulate . I have been taught by my government to tight . Nowhere in the annals of history does the record show a people delivered from bondage by patience alone.~~ ~ZRobert F. Williams, "Should Negroes Resort to Violence?," (September 1959), Schomburg Center Clipping File, 1925-1974, New York Public Library. 3 6
Williams respected what he called "pure pacifism," but saw it as less effective than displaying a "willingness to fight." By en~rsing self-defense, Williams claimed he could not be nonviolent . Robert Franklin Williams was bom the son of a boilermaker's helper in Monroe, North Carolina, on February 26, 1925.3 Few details of his childhood survive, but it is easy enough to imagine his life as a young black boy growing up in the segregated South : Williams' childhood was not unlike that of other black children in small towns. After completing a National Youth Administration (NYA) training course at the age of eighteen, he went to Detroit to work as a machinist and to help pay off his father's debts . Williams' tenure in Detroit marked the beginning of an incessant search for steady employment and fulfillment : a migratory quest that carried him all over the United States. After a hitch in the Army, another in the Marines, and countless jobs in Michigan, New Jersey, New York, and California (as well as North Carolina), he returned to Monroe in 1955 . "When I got out of the Marine Corps," Williams remembered, "I knew I wanted to go home and join the NAACP."~~ His experience in the armed services, tainted by segregation and discriminatory practices, spurned him to political activism . His ardor found outlet in Monroe's anemic chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). ~3For more information on Williams' youth, and his experience in the arnKd services, see Robert Carl Cohen, Black Crusader : A Biog~Qhy of Robert Franklin Williams (Secaucus, New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc ., 1972), 1-83 . ~~ltobeR Williams, "1957 : The Swimming Pool Showdown," Southern Ex sure 8 n2 (Summer 1980) : 70-72 . 3 7
- 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 and 30: But while King defused the volatile
- Page 31 and 32: (FOR), and William Worthy, a black
- Page 33 and 34: practicability of his position: '~4
- Page 35 and 36: Additionally, Bayard Rustin reporte
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- 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: paratroopers from the 101" Airborne
- Page 61 and 62: NAACP had always appealed, he scour
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- 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
- Page 81 and 82: making better men either of themsel
- Page 83 and 84: He likened racism to a disease, a m
- Page 85 and 86: escalated . Rioting broke out. Then
- Page 87 and 88: Williams' ideas came to fruition in
- Page 89 and 90: When juxtaposed with the ideas of M
- Page 91 and 92: But if Willisms "made just as much
- Page 93 and 94: Whatever his place in prevailing hi
- Page 95 and 96: thinking merit special attention by
- Page 97 and 98: The women propared food, and served
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- Page 101 and 102: tide of nonviolent diroct action ;
- Page 103 and 104: the sheriff again and told him that
- Page 105 and 106: characterized by hatred or meanness
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Williams respected what he called "pure pacifism," but saw it as less effective than<br />
displaying a "willingness to fight." By en~rsing self-defense, Williams claimed he<br />
could not be nonviolent .<br />
Robert Franklin Williams was bom the son of a boilermaker's helper in Monroe,<br />
North Carolina, on February 26, 1925.3 Few details of his childhood survive, but it is<br />
easy enough to imagine his life as a young black boy growing up in the segregated South :<br />
Williams' childhood was not unlike that of other black children in small towns. After<br />
completing a National Youth Administration (NYA) training course at the age of<br />
eighteen, he went to Detroit to work as a machinist <strong>and</strong> to help pay off his father's debts .<br />
Williams' tenure in Detroit marked the beginning of an incessant search for steady<br />
employment <strong>and</strong> fulfillment : a migratory quest that carried him all over the United States.<br />
After a hitch in the Army, another in the Marines, <strong>and</strong> countless jobs in Michigan, New<br />
Jersey, New York, <strong>and</strong> California (as well as North Carolina), he returned to Monroe in<br />
1955 . "When I got out of the Marine Corps," Williams remembered, "I knew I wanted to<br />
go home <strong>and</strong> join the NAACP."~~ His experience in the armed services, tainted by<br />
segregation <strong>and</strong> discriminatory practices, spurned him to political activism . His ardor<br />
found outlet in Monroe's anemic chapter of the National Association for the<br />
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).<br />
~3For more information on Williams' youth, <strong>and</strong> his experience in the arnKd services,<br />
see Robert Carl Cohen, Black Crusader : A Biog~Qhy of Robert Franklin Williams<br />
(Secaucus, New York: Lyle Stuart, Inc ., 1972), 1-83 .<br />
~~ltobeR Williams, "1957 : The Swimming Pool Showdown," Southern Ex sure 8 n2<br />
(Summer 1980) : 70-72 .<br />
3 7
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