Here is an informative excerpt about this extraordinary group of brave, dedicated and courageous Brothers:
Deacons for Defense
By Dustin Langley
"My name is Charles Sims. I'm 43 years old and I fear no man. Some of you may leave disappointed. I'm a fighter, not a speechmaker."
These are the real words that the founder of Deacons of Defense used to introduce himself in 1964 as he spoke about the struggle in Bogalusa, La. These words, backed by weapons and the determination of the African American community to defend themselves against racist attacks, won a powerful victory over the status quo of the Jim Crow South in the mid-1960s.
'You have to meet force with force'
In describing the actual struggle of his organization, Ernest Thomas, the vice president and national organizer for the Deacons for Defense, has stressed: "We teach that you have to meet force with force. The only thing the Klan respects is force. It is also the only thing understood by the others who battle Negroes, such as the John Birch Society, the Minutemen, and the American Nazi Party."
Many of the Black men who took up arms with the Deacons were military veterans who had fought overseas in the name of "democracy," but then returned home to continued denial of basic civil rights and economic opportunity.
Their determination to defend themselves put an end to night riding in Bogalusa and inspired others to take up arms to defend themselves. By 1965, there were 62 chapters of the Deacons throughout the South, and they helped to inspire the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.
Deacons for Defense
By Dustin Langley
"My name is Charles Sims. I'm 43 years old and I fear no man. Some of you may leave disappointed. I'm a fighter, not a speechmaker."
These are the real words that the founder of Deacons of Defense used to introduce himself in 1964 as he spoke about the struggle in Bogalusa, La. These words, backed by weapons and the determination of the African American community to defend themselves against racist attacks, won a powerful victory over the status quo of the Jim Crow South in the mid-1960s.
'You have to meet force with force'
In describing the actual struggle of his organization, Ernest Thomas, the vice president and national organizer for the Deacons for Defense, has stressed: "We teach that you have to meet force with force. The only thing the Klan respects is force. It is also the only thing understood by the others who battle Negroes, such as the John Birch Society, the Minutemen, and the American Nazi Party."
Many of the Black men who took up arms with the Deacons were military veterans who had fought overseas in the name of "democracy," but then returned home to continued denial of basic civil rights and economic opportunity.
Their determination to defend themselves put an end to night riding in Bogalusa and inspired others to take up arms to defend themselves. By 1965, there were 62 chapters of the Deacons throughout the South, and they helped to inspire the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.
Reprinted from the Feb. 26, 2004, issue of Workers World newspaper