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
felt they could match the local police and Klansmen with their gun-handling skills . "When a man learns to use arms ;' Williams noted, "he gets more self-confidence in himself, and the fact that he knows what to do with arms, he knows the power of arms."~ With the support of local white Unitarians, Williams and his constituents began a campaign to integrate various public facilities around Monroe in 1957 . They desegregated the public library without any friction at all, " according to Williams .~ In one of his first moves as NAACP president, Williams organized a cadre of men devoted to self-defense and protection of the black neighborhood in Monroe. "Since the city officials wouldn't stop the Klan, we decided to stop the Klan ourselves," he later explained .u Tensions peaked in 1957 when the group actually engaged nightriders in combat, repelling a Klan raiding party sent to terrorize Dr. A . E. Penry on the evening of October 5 . Perry, vice-president of the local NAACP, had been outspoken in petitioning the city council for the construction of a swimming pool in the black section of town . Monroe's only swimming pool, built with federal funds and municipally maintained, was for whites only; black children swam in "swimming holes" : unsafe ponds and drainage ditches, where several had drowned . When local Klan members threatened to "get" Perry, Williams posted watch at his house from dusk till dawn . Guards dissuaded a KKK zap. Z4Williams, Negroes With Guns , S 1 . ~~ 54. 4 2
motorcade with gunfiro when the cars advanced on Perry's house~ The incident received little prose. Only throe publications reported the 1'1ght: the Baltimoro ~~, the Norfolk Journal and Guide , and Jsi magazine, which published a feature- length article on October 31, 1957, entitled "Is North Carolina NAACP Leader a Marked Man?" n A year later, a strange drama unfolded which not only centered international attention on Monroe, but also underscorod the hysterical tendencies of white Southerners when confronted with issues of race and sex . On October 28, 1958, two boys, seven year-old David Simpson and nine-year-old Hanover Thompson, wero playing with a group of white girls, including seven-year-old Sissy Sutton . As part of a game, she kissed Hanover on the cheek . Later that afternoon, Sissy told her mother about the incident . Incensed, her mother called the police, who later arrested the boys with their service revolvers drawn . The girl's father had allegedly armed himself with a shotgun and went searching for the little boys. Sissy's mother later told a roporter: "I was furious . I would have killed Hanover myself if I had the chance." ie Police held the boys incommunicado at the jail for questioning . Their mothers, frantic with wont' over their missing childron, had no idea where they wero for six days, 2a"What Happened in Monroe, North Carolina," undated manuscript, printed by the Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants ; "`Kidnapping' Papers" Folder, Box 3, Robert F. Williams Collection, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan . 'For example, see "Citizens Fire Hack at Klan," Journal and Guide [Carolina Edition] (October l2, 1957) : 1 . ='George L. Weissman, "'fhe Kissing Case," Nation 188 n 3 (January 17,1959): 46- 49. 4 3
- 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
- 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: Montgomery was buried without incid
- 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
- 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
- Page 99 and 100: candidate for county representative
- 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
- Page 107 and 108: terms of "`violence' versus `nonvio
- Page 109 and 110: than as separate entities, seenKd q
- Page 111 and 112: The best descriptor of Malcolm X wa
- Page 113 and 114: qualities in themselves. Finally, a
motorcade with gunfiro when the cars advanced on Perry's house~ The incident<br />
received little prose. Only throe publications reported the 1'1ght: the Baltimoro<br />
~~, the Norfolk Journal <strong>and</strong> Guide , <strong>and</strong> Jsi magazine, which published a feature-<br />
length article on October 31, 1957, entitled "Is North Carolina NAACP Leader a Marked<br />
Man?" n<br />
A year later, a strange drama unfolded which not only centered international<br />
attention on Monroe, but also underscorod the hysterical tendencies of white Southerners<br />
when confronted with issues of race <strong>and</strong> sex . On October 28, 1958, two boys, seven<br />
year-old David Simpson <strong>and</strong> nine-year-old Hanover Thompson, wero playing with a<br />
group of white girls, including seven-year-old Sissy Sutton . As part of a game, she kissed<br />
Hanover on the cheek . Later that afternoon, Sissy told her mother about the incident .<br />
Incensed, her mother called the police, who later arrested the boys with their service<br />
revolvers drawn . The girl's father had allegedly armed himself with a shotgun <strong>and</strong> went<br />
searching for the little boys. Sissy's mother later told a roporter: "I was furious . I would<br />
have killed Hanover myself if I had the chance." ie<br />
Police held the boys incommunicado at the jail for questioning . Their mothers,<br />
frantic with wont' over their missing childron, had no idea where they wero for six days,<br />
2a"What Happened in Monroe, North Carolina," undated manuscript, printed by the<br />
Committee to Aid the Monroe Defendants ; "`Kidnapping' Papers" Folder, Box 3, Robert<br />
F. Williams Collection, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan .<br />
'For example, see "Citizens Fire Hack at Klan," Journal <strong>and</strong> Guide [Carolina<br />
Edition] (October l2, 1957) : 1 .<br />
='George L. Weissman, "'fhe Kissing Case," Nation 188 n 3 (January 17,1959): 46-<br />
49.<br />
4 3
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