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

But if Willisms "made just as much impact as Malcolm," he would seldom be
found alongside Malcolm X in history textbooks . National media attention tended to
focus exclusively on Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference as the sole determinants of black protest . Because whites preferred King's
message of nonviolence to the exclusion of all other alternatives, instances of black self-
defense during the civil rights movement were defined as "violent," and therefore
aberrant, behavior ; as such, they did not warrant serious attention . Historical records
tended further to obfuscate those who did not conform to King's way of thinking. The
most detailed historical records from the proceedings of courts, police departments, and
various government agencies working to suppress black militancy tended to support the
views of those who held power, not those of activists .
But Williams' influence was too great to go unnoticed . Despite being censored
from the mainstream media, he left a paper trail around the globe, and many records of
his life remain . His collected papers, for example, include a letter from a college student
at the University of Redlands in California . The student, C. Timothy Heaton, praised
Williams' efforts and affirmed his tactics :
You arc right: violence should not be used for aggression, for this only gives the
racists an excuse to beat the people down--but there is no reason why the people
should not defend themselves against murderous mobs and Nazi-like officials .
Fascists, white-suprcmac[ist] idiots, and "let-the-blood-spill, we-arc-notresponsible"
government agents will not be won to truth and justice with prayer-they
must be shown that an aroused people will no longer tolerate injustice, and
will no longer allow governments which ignore or promote it to fo~+ce them into
submission se
88C. Timothy Heaton, undated letter to Robert F. Williams, Box 1, Undated Folder 1,
Robert F. Williams Collation, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.
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