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

economic arena was also displayed in the area of self-defense and community
protection. As a result of the potential for violence during the Summer Project, in
the summer of 1964 the Mileston community formed a community patrol . In
terms of defending their community, Mileston folk took responsibility for their
own security, also relying on the informal networks and bonds they had estab-
lished in agricultural production . The self-reliance and cooperative spirit of the
Mileston community on the issue of armed defense gave COFO/SNCC activists
and summer volunteers a sense of security in that section of Holmes County.
Concerning Mileston's preparedness for segregationist violence, SNCC activist
Ed Brown, who worked in Holmes County during the Summer Project, stated
"when there were instances of confrontation, there was sufficient organizational
strength behind us to make whites think twice before doing anything.""
COFO/SNCC organizer Hollis Watkins, who was assigned to Holmes
County for the Summer Project, participated in the Mileston armed patrol .
Watkins' participation was in direct violation of SNCC policy for the Summer
Project (see page 7; at the June 1964 SNCC staff meeting, the decision made that
no SNCC activists would be armed for the Summer Project) . Since Watkins was
relying on families in the Mileston community, particularly the household of Dave
Howard, he felt obligated to participate in the defense of the community. Watkins
described, in great detail, the system that was set up to "make sure strangers
didn't venture" into the Mileson community. Watkins stated :
If a vehicle came across the tracks down into the community and
didn't give the proper signals, after a certain hour, you know after
dark, then the telephone messages would be relayed and ultimately