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

act : anyone who would utilize nonviolent direct action "will need ample courage and
willingness to sacrifice." Nonviolence "needs the bold and the brave because it is not
free from danger. It faces the vicious and evil enemies squarely."~° The rivalry between
followers of the two men became so great that the first published biography of King
seemingly took its name--in a gesture meant to refute Williams--from the newsletter,~
. Published in 1959, the hastily compiled biography was entitled Crusader
Without Violence.
King's failure to back Williams in his tribulations in Monroe helped to ostracize
the latter at a time when he most needed public sympathy. After his admonition to "mat
violence with violence" in 1959, the national board of the NAACPdenounced and
suspended Williams~~ Many, including Robert A. Eraser, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-
CIO, protested the suspension 4z The branch voted to make Williams' wife, Mabel,
president in his place (he was later re-elected unanimously, in absentia) . Her election in
her husband's stead suggests that the couple were popular in Monroe and enjoyed
widespread support in the local black community, but "five years ago when I started
6.
°°King, `"The Social Organization of Nonviolence," Liberation 4 n7 (October 1959) :
'For the official account of Williams' suspension (provided by the NAACP), sa
`"The Robert Williams Case :' Crisis 66 n 6 (June-July, 1959) : 325-329; for another
version, see Julian Mayfield, "Challenge to Negro Leadership," Commentary 31 (April
1961) : 297-305 .
`~Robert A. Eraser, letter to Roy Wilkins, May 29, 1959, "Cortespondence 1959"
Folder, Box 1, Robert F. Williams Collation, Bentley Historical Library, University of
Michigan .
49