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

After the pool showdown, Williams received national and international support .
Unlike earlier incidents, Williams' actions now began to receive coverage in the
mainstream press. This fact, combined with the dissemination of his newsletter, made
him a national celebrity, of sorts. Supporters wrote from California and Qlinois ; letters
also poured in from faraway locales such as Scandinavia and the Netherlands . Other
supporters sent clothing for needy blacks in and around Monroe . As the result of a front-
page story in the Baltimore Afro-American , which deported a meeting in Harlem that had
raised $260.00 to purchase titles for the embattled black populace of Monroe, Williams
began to receive invitations from all over the United States to come help other Afro-
American communities set up title clubs. s ~
Circumstances in Monroe spiraled toward chaos, devolving when Freedom Riders
came to town on August 21, 1961 . Among them was James Forman, who would soon
become president of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) . He and
the other Freedom Riders sought to make a nonviolent stand on Williams' home turf.
Williams claimed that the Freedom Riders weakened his own position in Monroe because
of their "pacifist philosophy ." He wrote : "Their turn-the-other-cheekism inspired the
KKK to resort to the use of violence again ." sa Williams resented the racially one-sided
nature of nonviolent philosophy . "White liberals who claim to abhor violence arc
S~See William Worthy, "Black Muslims NAACP Target: Raise Funds for Arms for
Carolinian,"~ [Baltimorcj Afro-American (July 22, 1961) : 1 . The Williams article
overshadowed an article on Martin Luther King, Jr. in the headlines .
SgWilliams, "Freedom Struggle in the `Free World', Pact II," unpublished manuscript,
Box 2, Undated Folder 1, Robert F. Williams Collection, Bentley Historical Library,
University of Michigan .
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