Self Defense Proposal For Civil Rights (NAACP)

As you can see, these four nonviolent civil rights organizations have paved the way for a lot of the civil rights that our society has today. In many ways, these groups had very similar traits and goals, like to be able to end segregation and improve the civil rights of African Americans. They also shared practices of nonviolence to get there through strenuous sit-ins, marches, and the freedom rides. These groups acted very similarly throughout their fight, but they also had their differences. NAACP was a group who worked behind the scenes through the judicial battle while CORE was credited for leading the charge of the Freedom Rides. SCLC and SNCC were considered pretty similar by most standards, but even they had their differences with age

and radicalness. It is important to see how impactful these organizations were by staying nonviolent in their protests. Early on in the civil rights movement, these groups realized that they could win over the country by appealing to their hearts, even if it meant being severely beaten. But, to these nonviolent protestors, if they could show who the real aggressors were and who the real evil is, they could win. Because of their loyalty and bravery nonviolence groups were able to help make civil equality a tangible goal, but were they more important than the other side of the civil rights movement?
Like the nonviolent civil rights groups, the self-defense groups had very similar goals for the African American people. The only difference was that the self-defense groups were more radical about their approach. These movements like Robert Williams Negroes With Guns, and the Black Panther Party believed that using self-defense was the best way to provide civil rights for African Americans. By using self-defense and more specifically guns, The Black Panther Party used weapons as a rhetorical tool and a tool to bring about revolution (Williams R, 1962). These self-defense groups started because they felt that African American communities needed protecting against racists, and they felt the civil rights movement would only take their rights so far. The new Black Power movements fought to bring a level of respect that the African Americans would be getting and to not let the white America push them over.
Robert Williams who was a member of the NAACP who wanted to see more things done by the non-violent groups of the civil rights movement. Williams did not see the point in watching his fellow activist get beat to a pulp while partaking in sit-ins (Williams R, 1968). Williams followed the ruling of “ . . . we do not deny but reaffirm the right of an individual and collective self-defense against unlawful assaults,” and believed that by law, African Americans had the right to self defend in an event where they were unlawfully attacked. Williams brought this ideal to him in sit-ins in Monroe, North Carolina, where he found that there was less violence in his sit-ins than in any other sit-in in the state of North Carolina (Williams R, 1968). Williams said that there was less violence because they had shown the willingness and readiness to fight back and defend their selves (Williams R, 1968). This new movement showed the country that the African American people would no longer take abuse, and they showed everyone they had strength. Williams stated that because they were willing to fight back it was in everyone’s interest to have peaceful relations, and without it there would be blood spilled on both sides (Williams R, 1968).
The next step for Robert Williams self defense plan was to implement a petition called the 10 point program in Monroe, North Carolina ( Williams, R 1968).

The 10 points included that the county must hire without discrimination, non whites must be granted the same rights as whites, non-whites would receive the same welfare that whites would, construct a swimming pool in the black part of town, remove all segregation signs, instruct the Superintendent that all schools must be desegregated by 1962, provide transportation for all school children, allow Dr. Albert E. Perry to practice medicine in the county, employ African Americans in skipped position in city government, and to act immediately on all of these proposals (Williams, R 1968). This plan did not work out in Monroe County, but Williams had to keep pushing forward. Not to long after this, craziness ensued in Monroe when a white racist couple went parading through the black part of town announcing “Open Season on Coons” (Williams, R 1968). The local African Americans eventually stopped the couple because they were no longer taking these kinds of threats, and soon after they were brought to Williams house to pay for their consequences, but Williams did nothing (Williams, R 1968). In the midst of all of this hundreds of people were on their way to where Williams lived, police cars and units circled the city, and plans were flying overhead to attempt and break up the large mass of African Americans in the county of Monroe

(Williams, R 1968). At this point in time, Williams lost hope for the battle of Monroe, and packed his bags and left the state immediately because he believed that there was no more trying to change the opinions of these people because they were so racist, and Williams believed his efforts were better off in New York where he didn’t need to deal with the constant threat every day (Williams, R, 1968).
The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was originally founded in California to patrol local black communities and protect the African American people (Manning, 82). But eventually the group developed into a Marxist revolutionary group and it led to the arming of African Americans against the oppression of white power (Trueman, 2015). The Panthers practiced militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S Government, and fought to establish socialism throughout the country (Baggins, 2002). Much like Williams 10 point program to Monroe, The Black Panthers also established a 10-point program, which stressed the needs that African Americans felt they deserved (Baggins, 2002). The list included full employment of African Americans, to end the robbery of capitalists in our country, humane housing, education for youth, black males to be exempt form military service, end of police brutality, freedom of African Americans in prison, and peace (Baggins, 2002). As you can see this list is very similar to that of Robert Williams, but it focuses on four major desires of housing, equality in education, employment, and civil rights (Baggins, 2002). The head of the FBI Edgar Hoover, called the Black Panther Party “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country” (Baggins, 2002). Believe it or not, but that is why the Panther Party was so successful, because they were a threat and people recognized that the African Americans were no longer going to get beat, but instead they were going fight what is rightfully theirs, freedom.

The two examples of self-defense that I talked about had some of the most influence on civil rights in our nation.

Yes, they had very different methods than the nonviolent groups had, but just as effective and important. These groups did no more waiting around, and were willing to fight back for what they believed in. They could no longer allow themselves to be beaten by police for no reason, so instead they fought back, which showed the country that an eye for an eye would now be acceptable. In some areas they weren’t successful but in most they were. Great self defense leaders like Robert Williams, Malcolm X, Huey Percy Newton, and Bobby Seale, saw that they were running out of options and the only way the United States would notice them was if they fought back, and that is why this became one of the most successful methods during the civil rights

movement.
Now the to answer my question from the beginning, which method was most successful in giving civil rights to African Americans? The answer is that they were both successful because they were different. Both methods had their strengths and weakness and both helped accomplish their ultimate goal of equality. The nonviolence movement was pivotal in gaining the hearts of people watching them get attacked, beaten, and often killed. While the self-defense group caused the government to feel some heat because they were threatening the security of the nation through violence and revolts. That is why the civil rights movement was successful because two different groups with different groups had a common goal and gained the hearts of the people while also not taking abuse.