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
spirit. s ~ Meanwhile, Williarns had begun stockpiling arms. Circulation of The Crusader grew . In April 1%1-in the wake of the unsuccessful U .S . invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs-he sent a telegram to the United Nations that read: Now that the United States has proclaimed military support for people willing to rebel against oppression, oppressed colored people in the South urgently request tanks, artillery, bombs, money, use of American airfields, and white mercenaries to crush racist tyrants who have betrayed the American Revolution and Civil War. We also request prayers for this noble undertaking.s2 Relentlessly, Williams continued to needle the sensibilities of those around him by trying to promote change . News of his efforts, and of the tense atmosphere between blacks and whites there, slowly seeped out of Monroe. One white man wrote to Williams from Syracuse, New York : "If it comes to violent defense against the attacks of the segregationists, there will be many of us with you, just as there were in the time of John S ~Clayborne Carson has provided the most comprehensive and insightful analysis of SNCC to date in U Swa¢le : SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s (Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1981). s : "Robert Williams asks U. S . To Support War on South,"~[Baltimore]~ (April 29, 1%1) : 1 . 5 4
Brown ." sa That same month, Williams confided to an interviewer : "What some people don't understand is that in the South we'ne fighting for our lives."~ For five years, Williams and his constituency had enforced a strained peace in Monroe. Williams' efforts antagonized local white supremacists, and when the NAACP decided to picket the town's swimming pool in June l%1, local white supremacists swung into action . ss By pressuring for de-segregation, Williams evoked the wrath of the Ku Klux Klan, which rallied at the pool in counter-protest . Looking for trouble, white ruffians milled about the picket line . When the crowd closed in on Williams and other protestors (mostly young students), an armed showdown ensued between the protestors, police and crowd members . Williams brandished a .45-caliber automatic, waving it at both police and counter-protestors . He and the other protestors managed to escape unscathed. "Goddamn, goddamn," an elderly white man cried through his tears, "what is this goddamn country coming to that the niggers have got guns, the niggers are armed and the police can't even arrest them! ssJohn Boardman, letter to The Cnrsader, January 10, 1%1 ; ConYSpondence, Jan .- Sept . 1%1, Box 1, Robert F. Williams Collection, Bentley Historical Libn~ry, University of Michigan . ~Williams, quoted in Julian Mayfield, "Challenge to Negro Leadership : The Case of Robert Williams;' Commentary 31(April t%1) : 300 . ss'I'he NAACP used the threat of a lawsuit to pressure local officials to desegregate . According to Andrew My~ers, this incident shows that Williams "initially tried to work within the traditional NAACP framework of change through legal action ." Sec Myers, "When Violence Met Violence," 18 . ~1Nilliams, Negroes With Guns, 46. 5 5
- 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
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- 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
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- Page 57 and 58: paratroopers from the 101" Airborne
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- Page 61 and 62: NAACP had always appealed, he scour
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- Page 71 and 72: act : anyone who would utilize nonv
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- Page 87 and 88: Williams' ideas came to fruition in
- Page 89 and 90: When juxtaposed with the ideas of M
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- Page 97 and 98: The women propared food, and served
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- Page 103 and 104: the sheriff again and told him that
- Page 105 and 106: characterized by hatred or meanness
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- Page 109 and 110: than as separate entities, seenKd q
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- Page 113 and 114: qualities in themselves. Finally, a
- Page 115 and 116: someone is treating you in a crimin
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- Page 119 and 120: attacked . Now, fve never been the
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Brown ." sa That same month, Williams confided to an interviewer : "What some people<br />
don't underst<strong>and</strong> is that in the South we'ne fighting for our lives."~<br />
For five years, Williams <strong>and</strong> his constituency had enforced a strained peace in<br />
Monroe. Williams' efforts antagonized local white supremacists, <strong>and</strong> when the NAACP<br />
decided to picket the town's swimming pool in June l%1, local white supremacists<br />
swung into action . ss By pressuring for de-segregation, Williams evoked the wrath of the<br />
Ku Klux Klan, which rallied at the pool in counter-protest . Looking for trouble, white<br />
ruffians milled about the picket line . When the crowd closed in on Williams <strong>and</strong> other<br />
protestors (mostly young students), an armed showdown ensued between the protestors,<br />
police <strong>and</strong> crowd members . Williams br<strong>and</strong>ished a .45-caliber automatic, waving it at<br />
both police <strong>and</strong> counter-protestors . He <strong>and</strong> the other protestors managed to escape<br />
unscathed. "Goddamn, goddamn," an elderly white man cried through his tears, "what is<br />
this goddamn country coming to that the niggers have got guns, the niggers are armed <strong>and</strong><br />
the police can't even arrest them!<br />
ssJohn Boardman, letter to The Cnrsader, January 10, 1%1 ; ConYSpondence, Jan .-<br />
Sept . 1%1, Box 1, Robert F. Williams Collection, Bentley Historical Libn~ry, University<br />
of Michigan .<br />
~Williams, quoted in Julian Mayfield, "Challenge to Negro Leadership : The Case of<br />
Robert Williams;' Commentary 31(April t%1) : 300 .<br />
ss'I'he NAACP used the threat of a lawsuit to pressure local officials to desegregate .<br />
According to Andrew My~ers, this incident shows that Williams "initially tried to work<br />
within the traditional NAACP framework of change through legal action ." Sec Myers,<br />
"When Violence Met Violence," 18 .<br />
~1Nilliams, Negroes With Guns, 46.<br />
5 5
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