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

situation that day:
These pecker woods down there, they lined up at the junction of
the 15 highway. . . They was all bad and we pulled in there. The
President of the Deacons got out and come up to them and said `
Ok, unblock that road. . .We pulled in there and started unloading all
of this heavy artillery and they loaded up and left.'
SNCC Hollis Watkins, who was also there that day remembered the leader of the
Deacons stating " We represent the Deacons for Defense, if you come in here with
that you're going to be in trouble." According to Watkins, hearing the name
"Deacons of Defense" invoked was almost as effective in scattering the mob as
the guns
The Deacons were not hesitant about using their weapons also . One
evening in the late 1960's, the Natchez Deacons were asked to provide security in
Jefferson County, just north of Adams, at a mass meeting in a rural church. An
armed watch was placed on the perimeter of the church . Any white person coming
after dark was considered suspicious, so white allies of the Movement were asked
to come to the meeting early. After the meeting started a car approached the scene
of the meeting . The security observed some whites in the automobile coming
down the road leading to the church with the vehicle lights out. One of the whites
in the vehicle was observed preparing to throw a Molotov cocktail . A Deacons'
security team, armed with a dozen shotguns, bombarded the vehicle preventing
the fire bomb from even being propelled from the vehicle . According to Stokes
the potential bomber was seriously injured. Stokes said "we mutilated his but." S'
Ed Cole, One of the participants in the meeting, reported: