Eye for an Eye: The Role of Armed Resistance ... - Freedom Archives

While even after abandoning nonviolence, Dennis was never armed in his work in
Mississippi. The fundamental change in his practice was that prior to the abduc-
tion and murders of Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman, Dennis was a confirmed
pacifist who believed that not retaliating to the violence of white racists would
eventually change their hearts . After the tragedy of Neshoba County Dennis and
otherCORE workers in Mississippi did not discourage anyone from defending
themselves . In fact Dennis wondered if his three deceased comrades and other
victims of racist violence who he had encouraged to be nonviolent had perhaps
been armed maybe the results would have possibly been different . 13
The events leading up to Freedom Summer reveal serious differences in
the Movement around the role of nonviolence and the use of weapons. Certainly
though, SNCC and CORE members in Mississippi were becoming more receptive
to and in some cases participants in armed self-defense . At the same time nonvio-
lence was becoming less popular within the ranks of the Southern Movement.
These trends would be strengthened by the occurrences of the summer of 1964.
Freedom Summer
In spite of the abduction and murders of Chaney, Schwerner, and
Goodman and the threatened violence by Mississippi segregationist, the Missis-
sippi Summer Project went on as planned . Over 3000 students were recruited to
volunteer in local COFO projects in thirty-eight communities . In each of these
communities COFO attempted to revitalize its voter registration efforts . In
twenty-three Mississippi localities community centers were constructed and
organized . Also as a result of the Summer Project, freedom schools which taught