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

e known, you better figure on dying." Stokes believed no member of the Dea-
cons ever divulged information about the Deacons to local, state, or federal law
enforcement . The Deacon's internal security methods were apparently effective
and prevented the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, the FBI, local
police, and the Klan from receiving an adequate assessment of the size and
capability of the Deacons. Also, in order to maintain security, small groups within
the membership made all of the plans. Individual members knew their assign-
ments, but not the entire security plan . This also prevented information from
leaking to the opposition.
Unlike the informal defense group which protected Black communities in
places like Harmony, McComb, and Greenwood, women and youth were not
involved in the Natchez or most other Deacons groups in Mississippi . All mem
bers in the Natchez group were male and over Twenty-one years of age."
As earlier stated, the proliferation of arms in the Black community in
Natchez was a response to the white supremacist reign of terror which heightened
in Adams County around 1963 . The Natchez Deacons believed it was important
for them to be well armed in order to meet the demands of protecting the Black
community and the leadership and workers of the Movement. One unidentified
source in the Natchez Deacons revealed the organization possessed "hand gre-
nades, machine guns, whatever we needed." According to this source, only one
store in Natchez would sell ammunition to the Deacons . If white supremacists
knew the Deacons had a limited supply of ammunition, the Deacons defense
would be compromised . To counter this the Natchez Deacons received ammuni-
tion from outside sources . According to the above unidentified source Fidel