Posted on 02/05/2004 9:09:50 AM PST by Stew Padasso
"Negroes With Guns: Rob Williams & Black Power"
Lawrence Toppman
The Charlotte Observer
Published: Friday, January 30, 2004
Was Monroe's Robert Williams a brave civil rights activist or a menace to society?
“I just wasn’t going to allow white men to have that much authority over me.” – Robert Williams Taken from the title of Robert Williams’ 1962 manifesto entitled Negroes with Guns, this film tells the wrenching story of the now forgotten civil rights activist who dared to challenge not only the Klan-dominated establishment of his small North Carolina town but also the non-violence-advocating leadership of the mainstream Civil Rights movement. Williams, who had witnessed countless acts of brutality against his neighbors, dared to give public expression to the private philosophy of many African Americans -- that armed self defense was not only a practical matter of survival but also an honorable position, particularly in the violent, racist heart of the deep South.
NEGROES WITH GUNS combines modern-day interviews with rare archival news footage and interviews to tell the story of Williams, the forefather of the Black Power movement and a fascinating, complex man who played a pivotal role in the struggle for respect, dignity and equality for all Americans.
“I advocated violent self-defense because I don’t really think you can have a defense against violent racists and against terrorists unless you are prepared to meet violence with violence and my policy was to meet violence with violence.” - Robert Williams
NEGROES WITH GUNS is not only an incisive look at a truly fascinating man but also a thought-provoking examination of our notions of patriotism and the acceptable limits of dissent.
"Negroes with Guns" documents the black community in Monroe, which wanted to arm against the Ku Klux Klan and other racist groups. Under Williams' leadership, the city became a test case for African Americans' right to armed self-defense when law and order broke down.
Williams, who was born in 1925 and died in 1996, was a Marine and leader of the NAACP chapter in Monroe, though expelled for his views in 1959. He wrote a 1962 book about his experiences, "Negroes with Guns." He also championed the Cuban revolution, living there in the 1960s and running a station called Radio Free Dixie.
http://cleveland.indymedia.org/news/2003/12/7379.php
100% agreement from me. REGARDLESS of race, creed, color, or religion...
What kind of gun are they shooting in that pic?
Are there still people in this world who do NOT believe this is true?
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