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

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tag (license plate) and get out of the way."56 The Natchez Deacons became an essential ingredient in the Natchez and the Mississippi Movements . The Deacons provided the Movement with an instru- ment to neutralize the violence of Klan and other white supremacist civilians . The potential of the Deacons for defense and retaliation also gave Evers and other leaders more potency in their negotiating position with the white power structure and more boldness in their public statements . Without a doubt, the Deacons made the Natchez and Mississippi movements more effective . Natchez-the Boycott, and Enforcing the Movement The day after the attack on Metcalf, on August 28, 1965, Evers and local leaders of the Black community presented "A Declaration of the Negro Citizens of Natchez" to Mayor Nosser and the Natchez city government . "A Declaration of the Negro Citizens Of Natchez" was a list of twelve demands for civil and human rights for local Blacks . The twelve demands included the desegregation of local schools, a denunciation by city officials of the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups, expanded employment opportunities, ( particularly store clerks and police officers ), police escort for Black funerals. One basic human right that the Black leaders included was that local police and civil servants address Black adults as "Mr," "Mrs .," or "Miss" as opposed to "Boy," "Girl," or "Auntie." The Black delegation gave Nosser and the city government until Sep- tember lst, four days, to respond to their demands before the Natchez Black community would apply coercive action . According to journalist accounts of the meeting, one Black participant in the meeting threatened " violence might ensue
unless City government acted favorably on matters contained in the declaration ."" On September 1, 1965, the Natchez Board ofAldermen rejected the demands of the Black leaders . In a public statement the Aldermen stated the city government would : Make no concessions to any group under duress or intimidation . . ..City government would not be coerced by demands accompanied by veiled threats of violence made in times of extreme tension and in reasonable time consider proper petition from any local citizens embracing any matter which this board had jurisdiction58 One year after the racial explosion in McComb and weeks after the Watts uprising in Los Angeles, local and state officials implemented measures to prevent a Black rebellion . To ensure no uprising occurred in the Black community the Natchez government imposed a curfew from lOam to 5am to restrict activity in the city during the evening and early morning hours . All alcohol sales were also banned during this time. Stating Natchez was in "imminent danger of a riot," Governor Paul Johnson ordered 650 armed National Guardsmen to the city.s9 Upon hearing the decision of the Board of Alderman and the restrictions imposed by state and local government, debate ensued within the Natchez movement on how to respond to the challenge . COFO and MFDP forces wanted to immediately challenge the curfew with marches and demonstrations . There had been tightly mass meetings from the time ofthe bombing attack on Metcalf until the evening after the city government rendered its rejection of the Black leaders' demands . At each of the mass meetings, the consensus was that a demonstration would take place if the demands were not met. Charles Evers, who announced a
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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
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and NAACP organizer. Moore had assi
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On Moore's recommendation, Moses fi
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house, under pillows, under chairs
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lacks to challenge Amite's white po
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including Medgar Evers and Roy Wilk
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practice of self-defense . To warn
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Mississippi officials, charging the
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Anyone participating in the march h
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and harassed, local police did not
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Blacks alike were amazed that the g
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ase for SNCCICOFO and the Mississip
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with its own identity in the state
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military soured after Chinn openly
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Besides this group of protective gu
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for younger activists to challenge
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9, 1984, 1-B- 10B ; Chuck McDew int
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47 . Ibid, 178-179 ; Dennis, interv
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demonstrate that disenfranchised Mi
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franchised Black voters, the organi
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themselves and advising SNCC activi
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massacre as implied by Hall . Other
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to be a force in the Southern movem
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CORE also was engaged in debate con
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Schwerner, and one Freedom Summer v
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Goodman . Another element of this c
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Black history, Movement politics, a
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Harmony school and bused Harmony's
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economic arena was also displayed i
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on, in Brown's words, the "organiza
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There was a fine line . There was a
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(formerly known as Stokley Carmicha
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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
Page 207 and 208: settlers . Natchez was the hub for
Page 209 and 210: would spark an acceleration of acti
Page 211 and 212: Even though the police officers wer
Page 213 and 214: U.S . Constitution [including the S
Page 215 and 216: e known, you better figure on dying
Page 217 and 218: situation that day: These pecker wo
Page 219: of the Deacons capabilities, provid
Page 223 and 224: Black community to enforce its deci
Page 225 and 226: claiming victory , announcing the m
Page 227 and 228: teams to enforce the boyott1 In Cla
Page 229 and 230: argument between Shields, and a whi
Page 231 and 232: Jackson also led to near uprising b
Page 233 and 234: implementing the Natchez model, Rud
Page 235 and 236: Okolona, Tupelo, and Byhalia. The U
Page 237 and 238: 18 . Porter, Interview with Deacon
Page 239 and 240: 44 . Ibid ; Young, interview by aut
Page 241 and 242: 73 . Ibid. 74 . James Scott, interv
Page 243 and 244: CONCLUSION ". . ..the armed liberat
Page 245 and 246: existence of armed resistance in th
Page 247 and 248: Some may argue that the evidence pr
Page 249 and 250: ofthe Movement and doesn't apprecia
Page 251 and 252: it was necessary for the Black comm
Page 253 and 254: the white power structure but also
Page 255 and 256: Significance of "Eye forAn Eye" It
Page 257 and 258: 4 . Comel West, Progb= Deliverance
Page 259 and 260: Herman Leach, July 30,1994, Yazoo C
Page 261 and 262: Correspondence Letter from Sundiata
Page 263 and 264: Carson, Clayborne, et al. The Eyes
Page 265 and 266: Jordan, Winthrop, Tumult and Silenc
Page 267 and 268: Payne, Charles, 1've Got the Light
Page 269 and 270: DissertationslTheses Barksdale, Mar
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