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

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dark. The small community of Harmony was one such haven area. Harmony was a small farming community in Leake County. Harmony was located fourteen miles from the county seat, Carthage. Leake County was in Mississippi's Fourth Congressional District (CORE's domain in the state), east of Madison County and west of Neshoba County. Harmony's location in the heart of the Fourth District made it a natural safe haven for activists going from one center to another. Har- mony was composed of "several hundred (Black) families who own their own farms." The Harmony community was organized after Emancipation around a school which had been built by local resident Blacks with assistance from the philanthropic Rosenwald Fund. The school was a central institution and a source of community pride for Harmony residents ." Freedom Summer was not the first episode for Harmony in the Freedom Movement . Armed resistance was an essential element of the Freedom struggle in Harmony. Leake County, as well as its eastern neighbor, Neshoba, were centers for the Klan . Due to its location in the center of white supremacy, Harmony residents "would look out for one another." Harmony's males in particular were concerned about the possibility of white men sexually violating the women folk of Harmony and were prepared in retaliate against white rapists . Harmony officially linked up with the statewide Freedom Movement when Medgar Evers visited the small hamlet in the late 1950's to assist local residents to develop the Leake County NAACP Given the threats on the lives of Evers and other Mississippi activists, Harmony residents organized protection for Evers anytime he was in Leake County. In 1962, residents filed a desegregation suit against the Leake County school system. The suit was initiated after county officials closed the
Harmony school and bused Harmony's youth to a segregated school in Carthage . After the local NAACP filed suit, nightriders retaliated on Harmony residents . Blacks in Harmony in turn organized vigilante teams and initiated retaliatory violence on Leake County whites . Following a couple of forays by vigilantes from both "sides of the tracks," white officials thought it might be better to nego- tiate a truce between the warring factions . Even though the truce was in effect, Blacks realized "you better not get caught out of the community." In 1964, federal courts forced the Leake County schools, as well as those in Jackson and Biloxi, to desegregate . 2' As a haven community, Harmony's tradition of armed resistance was probably more important than its strategic location in Congressional District Four. Giving his impressions of this proud community, CORE activist Jerome Smith called Harmony "a together community" of "powerful people who would defend themselves ." Adult men and women and the youth were all involved in a community defense system. In the evening, young men took turns participating in an armed watch of the Harmony community center, which housed the local freedom school and COFO headquarters, and the main roads entering Harmony. Signals utilizing car horns and blinking headlights were developed to identify when intruders where approaching the general community or individual farms . So as not to violate their security, signals were changed periodically. Volunteer Von Hoffman commented " . . .it is dangerous to drive off the paved highway into the Harmony area after sundown if your car is unfamiliar there ." Husbands and wives took turns during the evening staying awake and participating in a armed watch of their individual property.'
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Eye for an Eye: The Role ofArmed Re
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This is an authorized facsimile, ma
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ABSTRACT Although, the Civil Rights
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Light and Power on their spirits Mo
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Eye for an Eye: The Role ofArmed Re
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Ch
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armed resistance in Black struggle
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Review of the Literature The Litera
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from advocates of armed self-defens
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the Movement. Each of these authors
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whom were committed to and practice
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and enforced against Black humanity
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transcript" of insurgency that has
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Chapter One: Historic Armed Black R
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to Kongolese armies. The use of arm
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people who were antagonistic to the
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nation, and to promise Africans fre
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coons to chattel status. Rather tha
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South legal . The Seminoles prepare
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more than slaves or mercenaries . A
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maroons, calling themselves the "Ki
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Adams county, Mississippi, in 1861
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The same year abolitionist and fugi
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separate Black army with its own "c
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soldiers defended their sisters and
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Southern whites were not willing to
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die where they stood before they wo
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teers throughout Hinds county. Real
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supremacy was not secure without th
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hours . While in each case there we
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of Alabama, to be armed at their me
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initiated gunfire after hearing rum
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apists . In February of 1948, Mrs.
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U .S . Army, was known as a sharpsh
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11 . Kenneth Wiggins Porter, The Ne
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31 . Edwin S. Redkey, AGrand Army o
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North Carolina Press, 19903, 44-45
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in the Age of Jim C,Eow, states tha
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S 1,614 for whites . Close to two-t
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ers his father would not allow him
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ist mob continued their intimidatio
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unit designed after the Mau Mau of
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the 1954 U .S . Supreme Court decis
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he refused to persuade the thirty r
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Meredith to "Ole Miss." Because of
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eturned home around midnight . Myrl
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11 . C.O . Chinn, interview by the
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crime . He was abducted by a mob of
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Chapter Three: The Non-Violent Move
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as the popular leader of this new o
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ments for protest based on moral an
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ticed some form of self-defense cov
Page 105 and 106: and NAACP organizer. Moore had assi
Page 107 and 108: On Moore's recommendation, Moses fi
Page 109 and 110: house, under pillows, under chairs
Page 111 and 112: lacks to challenge Amite's white po
Page 113 and 114: including Medgar Evers and Roy Wilk
Page 115 and 116: practice of self-defense . To warn
Page 117 and 118: Mississippi officials, charging the
Page 119 and 120: Anyone participating in the march h
Page 121 and 122: and harassed, local police did not
Page 123 and 124: Blacks alike were amazed that the g
Page 125 and 126: ase for SNCCICOFO and the Mississip
Page 127 and 128: with its own identity in the state
Page 129 and 130: military soured after Chinn openly
Page 131 and 132: Besides this group of protective gu
Page 133 and 134: for younger activists to challenge
Page 135 and 136: 9, 1984, 1-B- 10B ; Chuck McDew int
Page 137 and 138: 47 . Ibid, 178-179 ; Dennis, interv
Page 139 and 140: demonstrate that disenfranchised Mi
Page 141 and 142: franchised Black voters, the organi
Page 143 and 144: themselves and advising SNCC activi
Page 145 and 146: massacre as implied by Hall . Other
Page 147 and 148: to be a force in the Southern movem
Page 149 and 150: CORE also was engaged in debate con
Page 151 and 152: Schwerner, and one Freedom Summer v
Page 153 and 154: Goodman . Another element of this c
Page 155: Black history, Movement politics, a
Page 159 and 160: economic arena was also displayed i
Page 161 and 162: on, in Brown's words, the "organiza
Page 163 and 164: There was a fine line . There was a
Page 165 and 166: (formerly known as Stokley Carmicha
Page 167 and 168: Union Baptist Church, led by its pa
Page 169 and 170: terrorist violence was initiated by
Page 171 and 172: Reeves family had a history of bein
Page 173 and 174: and Movement activists of McComb .
Page 175 and 176: friend by pretending he was only pa
Page 177 and 178: and cohesiveness of each community.
Page 179 and 180: lenge the credentials of the segreg
Page 181 and 182: 5 . Hollis Watkins, interviewed in
Page 183 and 184: 28 . Dovie Hudson, interviewed in B
Page 185 and 186: 56 . Bob Moses, interview by the au
Page 187 and 188: turn followed a different posture t
Page 189 and 190: cials were uneasy about Charles bec
Page 191 and 192: Cooper stated " We had 30.06. We ha
Page 193 and 194: Charles Evers's stated: He encourag
Page 195 and 196: the boycott. Arange of coercive tac
Page 197 and 198: thereby silenced and neutralized by
Page 199 and 200: crushed when a police car led a Kla
Page 201 and 202: Robert Williams . Thomas had read a
Page 203 and 204: of the Deacons in Bogulusa. The lea
Page 205 and 206: McKeithen also called for negotiati
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settlers . Natchez was the hub for
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would spark an acceleration of acti
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Even though the police officers wer
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U.S . Constitution [including the S
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e known, you better figure on dying
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situation that day: These pecker wo
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of the Deacons capabilities, provid
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unless City government acted favora
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Black community to enforce its deci
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claiming victory , announcing the m
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teams to enforce the boyott1 In Cla
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argument between Shields, and a whi
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Jackson also led to near uprising b
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implementing the Natchez model, Rud
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Okolona, Tupelo, and Byhalia. The U
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18 . Porter, Interview with Deacon
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44 . Ibid ; Young, interview by aut
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73 . Ibid. 74 . James Scott, interv
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CONCLUSION ". . ..the armed liberat
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existence of armed resistance in th
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Some may argue that the evidence pr
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ofthe Movement and doesn't apprecia
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it was necessary for the Black comm
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the white power structure but also
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Significance of "Eye forAn Eye" It
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4 . Comel West, Progb= Deliverance
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Herman Leach, July 30,1994, Yazoo C
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Correspondence Letter from Sundiata
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Carson, Clayborne, et al. The Eyes
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Jordan, Winthrop, Tumult and Silenc
Page 267 and 268:
Payne, Charles, 1've Got the Light
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DissertationslTheses Barksdale, Mar
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