Negroes with guns (utgåvan 1962)

Robert F. Williams' "Negroes With Guns" is a concise history of the struggle for social equality at the base of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. It provides a much needed contrast to the heavily promoted watered-down Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. narrative - not to discount Dr. King's efforts, he was more radical than we are commonly led to believe. Monroe, North Carolina native Robert Williams was a U.S. Marine/WWII veteran. Due to his upbringing and military service, Williams espoused trust in "the letter of the law" until equal enforcement of the law and American judicial system failed his community. Following the trial and acquittal of a white man who assaulted and attempted to sexually assault a pregnant African American woman at her home, her community was incensed by the outcome and angry at Williams for advising them to allow the authorities to handle the incident. After exhausting other feasible options as an NAACP leader, NRA member, and military veteran Williams elected to exercise his Second Amendment right to take up arms (as an effective means defense of self and others) against racist white citizens and law enforcement officers who failed to protect or threatened lives of African Americans in the town of Monroe.
"Negroes With Guns" is Williams' account of the process that led his community toward armed resistance against what would today be labeled a form of domestic terrorism, although such behavior was socially acceptable in various circles in mid-twentieth century America. It is a succinct narrative written in Standard American English primarily using quotidian vernacular. This work also influenced members of the Black Panther Party's leadership in the decades following its publication. "Negroes With Guns" is an informative and provocative read. Some passages may tug at the reader's emotions evoking anger and laughter. Williams does a service to the United States and its history by documenting events that vividly captures the zeitgeist of mid-twentieth century American society with candor and integrity. ( )