Former student activist and SNCC field Secretary Charles Cobb, acknowledges that guns were imperative to the Freedom Movement. Cobb asserts in his book, This Nonviolent Stuff’ll Get You Killed as well as in his interview with Eddie Conway--that guns are left out of the conversation but black people have owned guns since the ending of the civil war. Guns were used since the Reconstruction era against white supremacist organizations. In his interview with Eddie Conway Cobb states that guns fit into the story of the freedom movement because guns were a part of the culture, people would use to protect themselves and feed their families. Being that guns were a part of everyday life in the rural south, it should not be surprising that black people …show more content…
While guns made the civil rights and freedom movement possible — Cobb admits in his interview that, there is a missed lesson. Cobb believes that what truly defines the freedom movement was not solely guns, but grassroots organizing in rural communities in the south. When discussing the violent eruption on East Eight Street Cobb writes, “As it had in the white community, word of the arrests had spread rapidly through the black community, who felt that James’s life and possibly his mother’s life were in peril” (Cobb). Over one hundred black people organized the night that white police officers and white supremacists went out looking for James Stephenson and his mother. Black people organized themselves and were ready to protect each other and their community using guns as self-defense. However, if it were not for guns, the black community would not have been able to organize the way it had during the Freedom Movement. The students who travelled to Mississippi and other southern states during this time eventually became the students Ella Baker organized into SNCC. These students were protected while utilizing grassroots organizing by southern black people who owned guns post war. Cobb recognizes organizing as tradition within the black community stemming from slavery through the freedom movement to present day
This book explores the relationship between nonviolence and armed self-defense in the Civil Rights Movement in the South. Cobb points out the importance of armed self-defense in African American history and its role in the Civil Rights Movement. Cobb gives a voice to war veterans, nonviolent activists, and members of the armed self-defense groups to explain the significance of self-protection during the Civil Rights Movement. Cobb discusses how dangerous nonviolence political demonstrations were in an area (the South) where Jim Crow laws
Through the rise of groups such as the Black Panther Party, violence became increasingly prevalent. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense calls upon the American people in general and the black people in particular to take careful note of the racist California Legislature which is now considering legislation aimed at keeping the black people disarmed and powerless at the very same time that racist police agencies throughout the country are intensifying the terror, brutality, murder, and repression of black people (Document F).” As a result of the lack of movement on the bill previously proposed my Kennedy to remove segregation, many African-Americans began to give up on this method of peaceful protest. “All of these efforts have been answered by more repression, deceit, and hypocrisy (Document F).” This is because as it appeared to them, it was not working and had no effect on the government. Instead, they discovered a much more direct approach which, was assured to catch the eye of the government. This method was violence. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense believes that the time has come for the black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late (Document F).” Through violent “black power” groups such as the Black Panthers, the previously peaceful Civil Rights movement began to take on a new
Young African American’s had to take an active role because many older adults were set in their ways, too afraid to do anything. Previously learning in school, The NAACP was the primary group focusing on civil rights. Further reading has shown that this is not completely accurate. Per Cleveland sellers, the NAACP was widely known but had setback from certain events. Many students who were involved in sit-ins before the freedom writers were believed to be under the SCLC or NAACP. As in the book, many African Americans only know of the NAACP. The SNCC group was a small student led group that also planned and participated in demonstrations. The SNCC formed to give younger blacks more of a voice in the civil rights movement because they felt that the SCLC was out of touch for them. With support from Ella Barker the SNCC worked their way into the movement. The SNCC evolved over time, from being a small unknown student organization, to a very known
During the 1960’s of American history violent acts were aimed at African Americans in the name of racism and segregation. In a case such as this one, many would seek refuge from the government, but to little surprise, cries for refuge went unanswered. Making matters worse was the fact that the Government allowed segregation to continue due to legal documents in many southern states. Acceptable forms of oppression were separated into four categories: racial segregation; voter suppression, in southern states; denial of economic opportunity; private acts of violence aimed at African Americans. At this time, many civil rights laws were
During the American Civil War, several citizens placed their well-being on the line in order to disrupt the
Many African Americans would have separate schools, bus seats, and even fountain drinks for the “colored”. If an African American would ever break these “laws”, they were either jailed, beaten, or killed for it. In response, many Africans saw the negative effects of violence and instead of choosing to fight back violently, they chose to protest through “nonviolence [,] as it grows from Judaic-Christian traditions [and] seeks a social order of justice permeated by love” (Doc. A). Many African Americans believed that through nonviolence it would help benefit the fight for equality because it would help them gain sympathy and support from the people through the sight violence being used on peaceful people. However, many African American’s were getting frustrated at how long it was taking to gain equality, protection of civil rights, and justice in courts so many thought that the time had “come for black people to arm themselves against [violence] before it [was] too late” (Doc. F) Many African Americans then started to turn to violence to try to push the fight for equality, but this was ultimately a disastrous decision because this caused the Civil Rights Movement to lose a lot of support they had from the
Another significant transformation took place in the Civil Rights Movement in terms of its strategies. In analyzing this facet of the movement, we notice a great shift from nonviolent demonstration to forward, forceful action. Specifically, at the start of the Civil Rights Movement, lunch counter sit-ins were evident throughout the nation, as were Freedom Riders. Starting in Greensboro, North Carolina at a luncheonette called Woolworths, young black citizens would seat
The earliest forms of gun control in America had barred the sale of guns to Indians, African Americans, Catholic, and indentured servants. Now the anti gun movement uses these early forms of gun control to justify their actions against guns, but the early forms of gun control had targeted groups and ethnic minorities of people who being oppressed because they didn't want those groups to rise up against their racist and oppressive system. Spitzer, Robert J. “Five Myths about Gun Control.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 21 Dec. 2012. Even after the colonial period in America gun control such as the black codes were used to suppress African Americans right to bear arms and it also left them defenseless to the terror that was being imposed on them by white supremacist groups and corrupt local governments.
Soldiers gave a sense of hope to the Little Rock Nine as stated by Minnijean Brown “For the first time in my life I feel like an American Citizen” (“Miller 59”). The soldiers became a symbol of acceptance of the integration efforts. They helped assure the Little Rock Nine students in their actions, made them feel secure that they were fighting for equality, and that the integration was even worth fighting for. During the turmoil, two harsh groups formed: the Capital Citizens Council and the Mother’s League of Central High School which served to promote segregation (“Integration” 2). These two groups became a challenge that strengthened the Negro students, because no praiseworthy battles are without a commendable opposing side. On the side of the segregationists, it united them together as a group. Furthermore, A report by The New York Times was issued on September 25, 1957, which explained that several of the African-American students had a positive first day of school, but others were routinely harassed and violence occurred throughout the remainder of the year (“Integration” 4). Thus proving, desegregation was not a pointless effort. It was conceivable for these students to successfully integrate and people were open for change. This is another example of how the media focuses on the negativity of a situation. One student, in particular, effectively changed and is historically remembered as an African-American hero; Ernest Green. Green was Central’s first black student to graduate on May 27th in 1958 (“LRNE” 2). He proved his skin color did not limit him, and he was as capable as the white students to receive a diploma. He inspired the remaining eight Little Rock Nine students and other people of color. Finally, African-Americans were impending at acquiring one of the most basic human rights: the right to an
Victory was seen months later when the same four students that initiated the movement were served at the counter. Prior to the sit-ins, youth showed their strength during the movement. The Little Rock Nine, a group of nine black high school students, were the first to integrate into an all white school in Little Rock, Arkansas. These nine students, despite being blocked from attending the school by the governor, showed how serious the United States was about educational integration; President Eisenhower himself issued an order for federal troops and the National Guard to make sure that the students made it to school safely. In 1962, success came in the form of James Meredith when he became the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Although he was also met with resistance, 5,000 governmental troops were sent by the president’s orders to dispel the chaos. SNCC or the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was formed in favor of youth and inspired by the SCLC. This organization gave young African Americans an important role to play in the movement and increased the peaceful, unified nature of the Civil Rights Movement. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee initiated events like “freedom rides” where student volunteers tested laws prohibiting segregation on public transportation and was not just for blacks, but other people with the same
One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written, African Americans were still fighting for equal rights in every day life. The first real success of this movement did not come until the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 which was followed by many boycotts and protests. The largest of these protests, the March on Washington, was held on August 28, 1963 “for jobs and freedom” (March on Washington 11). An incredible amount of preparation went into the event to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people attending from around the nation and to deal with any potential incidents.
The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), was a civil rights organization that had worked towards social change in Mississippi. Bob Moses of the SNCC, and other civil rights organizations worked in conjunction with COFO to establish voter registration for African Americans, and to provide programs for education, nicknamed “Freedom Schools”. An effective method they used to bring about change which angered the white citizens of Mississippi would be to use white activists to help organize the schools. What truly motivated the black citizens of Mississippi to register to vote would be yet another violent tragedy towards activists. James Chaney, an African American activist who worked with the Freedom Rides and CORE along with white activists Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were murdered while traveling around Mississippi to encourage voting.
My grandfather was born and raised in the backwoods of Louisiana during a turbulent time for African Americans. As a black man he lived in perpetual danger. Through race riots, physical exploitation, and attempted rape, he has developed a much different opinion about gun reform than mine. So much so that my mother carries the many of the same opinions.
The authors accuse the fear to make it pro-gun. This is not freedom. The authors also criticize the media by encouraging fear. The article claims that the communities most affected by violence approve the control of the guns, and the areas least affected by violence often celebrated the guns as emblematic of freedom.
Nonviolence is the use of peaceful methods instead of force, to bring political or social change. However, practicing nonviolence is much more difficult than this short definition. Also, people may argue that why just using force against force? If using violence is more efficient, why bother to use nonviolence? Furthermore, using violence is more easy and direct, but nonviolence requires more strategy and effort to really make progress. The truth is, using force against force rarely worked, and it’s never really brought political and social improvement to reach the positive peace in the society. In the World War II, the United State dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima Japan, and lead to many unnecessary deaths and nuclear radiation for many years after the explosion. Then, if not using force to return, what should we do to deal with the extreme violence? What is the most efficient nonviolence method to do when you face a brutality?