Deacons for Defense and Justice facts for kids
The Deacons for Defense and Justice was an important group of African-American men. They formed in November 1964 in Jonesboro, Louisiana. Their main goal was to protect civil rights activists and their families. These activists were often threatened by white groups and unfair police actions.
The Deacons started during the civil rights movement in the United States. They were an armed self-defense group. The first chapter outside Jonesboro began in Bogalusa, Louisiana, on February 21, 1965. This was the same day Malcolm X was assassinated. Later, 20 more chapters formed in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama.
The Bogalusa chapter became well-known in 1965. They had many struggles with the Ku Klux Klan. By 1968, the Deacons' activities slowed down. This was after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. Also, more Black people began to get involved in politics. The Black Power movement also grew.
A TV movie called Deacons for Defense was made in 2003. It was about the Deacons' actions in Bogalusa in 1965. The Robert "Bob" Hicks House in Bogalusa remembers one of the Deacons' leaders. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Contents
Why the Deacons Formed
The Deacons were not the first to believe in armed self-defense during the civil rights movement. But they were the first to organize as a group in November 1964.
Even Martin Luther King Jr., who believed in non-violence, had protection. During the early days of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956, he had people guarding him.
In many parts of the Deep South, groups like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) acted outside the law. Police forces, mostly white, treated Black people unfairly. In Jonesboro, Louisiana, the KKK bothered local activists. They burned crosses and destroyed churches and other Black community buildings.
By 1965, groups like the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and CORE also supported armed self-defense. They had always promoted non-violence. But they started to think that new laws were not enough to protect activists.
The national leaders of CORE, including James Farmer, publicly recognized the Deacons. This showed that many Black people in the South supported armed self-defense. They had faced white violence for a long time.
Robert F. Williams, a leader of the NAACP in Monroe, North Carolina, changed his local group into an armed self-defense unit. He was criticized for this. Fannie Lou Hamer, another activist, also kept guns for protection.
How the Deacons Started
In 1964, white KKK members attacked African Americans in Jonesboro, Louisiana. They burned five churches, a Masonic hall, and a Baptist center. Because of these threats, Earnest "Chilly Willy" Thomas and Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick started the Deacons for Defense in November 1964.
Their goal was to protect civil rights workers, their families, and the Black community. Many Deacons were veterans who had fought in the Korean War and World War II.
In 1964, during Freedom Summer, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) opened a "Freedom House" in Jonesboro. The Klan attacked it often. The Black community decided to organize to defend themselves.
Before the Deacons officially formed, two groups were already protecting Black people in Jonesboro. One group guarded the Freedom House. The other group watched police arrests and kept the community safe. Thomas and Kirkpatrick brought these groups together. They formed a group of twenty men to protect the citizens of Jonesboro. This was the start of the Deacons.
Thomas, who had military training, quickly became a leader. Kirkpatrick, a civil rights activist and minister, joined him. Coretta Jackson was the treasurer. The Deacons had strict rules for joining. They only accepted male American citizens over 21. They preferred married men with military service and registered voters. They did not accept men who were known for being "hotheaded." They promised to act only in self-defense. Every member had to promise to defend justice, Black people, and civil rights workers.
During the day, the men hid their guns. At night, they carried them openly, which was allowed by law. This was to stop Klan activity. In early 1965, Black students were protesting for integration at a high school in Jonesboro. Police were ready to use fire hoses against them. A car with four Deacons arrived. The men loaded their shotguns in front of the police. The police then ordered the fire truck to leave.
This was the first time in the 20th century that an armed Black group successfully used weapons to defend a protest. The Deacons also made history by getting the Louisiana governor to help solve the civil rights crisis in Jonesboro. This was the first time a Deep South governor gave in to the civil rights movement.
On February 21, 1965, Kirkpatrick, Thomas, and a CORE member traveled to Bogalusa, Louisiana. They helped local leaders start the first Deacons chapter there. Black activists in Bogalusa were being attacked by the powerful Ku Klux Klan. The police and most government groups in Bogalusa were influenced by the Klan. The Deacons became the only protection for the people of Bogalusa.
Even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, Black people in Bogalusa made little progress. They struggled to use public places or register to vote. Activists like Bob Hicks, Charles Sims, and A. Z. Young led this new chapter. Charles Sims, a World War II veteran, was the president of the Bogalusa Deacons. He spoke for the Deacons, demanding fair treatment. He also warned of violent action if they were attacked. Sims said the Deacons formed because they were "tired of the women, the children being harassed by the white night-riders."
Earnest Thomas also formed a Deacons chapter in Chicago in 1965. The Deacons wanted to spread across the North and West. But their methods were less effective outside the South.
In the summer of 1965, the Bogalusa chapter worked for integration. They often clashed with the Klan. The state police set up a base there, expecting violence. Before the summer, the first Black deputy sheriff in Washington Parish was killed by whites.
The Deacons' strong actions against the Klan in Bogalusa in 1965 aimed to get the federal government involved. Their plan worked. In July 1965, the fighting between the Deacons and the Klan in Bogalusa led the federal government to step in. They ordered local police to protect civil rights workers. The Deacons also started a regional effort. They formed 21 official chapters and 46 connected groups in other cities.
What the Deacons Did
The Deacons worked with other civil rights groups that believed in non-violence. The Deacons' support allowed groups like the NAACP and CORE to stick to their non-violent rules.
In 1965, the Deacons protected CORE leader James Farmer. Farmer came to Bogalusa to help with desegregation. The Deacons kept him safe from the moment he arrived at the New Orleans airport. They also provided security while he spoke and marched at events.
The Deacons got media attention for protecting Charles Evers' desegregation efforts in Natchez, Mississippi. Unlike earlier groups, the Deacons did not hide their names from the media. This, along with their use of armed self-defense, made them heroes to Black communities facing harassment.
After the Jonesboro Public Library was successfully integrated, the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses. The Deacons wrote flyers threatening to kill anyone who burned a cross. These flyers were given to white homes by their Black house workers. The cross-burnings then stopped.
On July 8, 1965, during a non-violent march, hundreds of white people threw rocks at protesters. A 21-year-old Air Force veteran named Henry Austin faced the crowd. He fired a warning shot. Then he shot an attacker three times. The crowd scattered. Both Austin and the attacker survived.
In Bogalusa, the Deacons worked with CORE on their campaigns. When local police and the KKK tried to harass two white CORE members, the Deacons stepped in. They protected the white volunteers from the police. The Deacons guarded CORE headquarters and patrolled the Black community. They protected both white and Black activists who were looking for voters. They also transported civil rights workers in and out of Bogalusa. The Deacons had rules that each member had to follow. Sims made it clear that the Deacons were only to act in self-defense.
The Deacons also helped in other civil rights campaigns. Activist James Meredith organized the March Against Fear in June 1966. It was planned to go from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi. Meredith was shot and wounded early in the march. Other civil rights leaders then gathered thousands of marchers to continue his effort.
Activist Stokely Carmichael suggested that the Deacons provide security for the rest of the march. After some discussion, many civil rights leaders agreed, including Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.. This involvement of the Deacons showed a change in the civil rights movement. It had been known as a "nonviolent movement."
Stokely Carmichael first spoke about Black Power in Mobile, Alabama in 1965. In 1967, Carmichael said that Black people could not afford a "non-violent" approach to civil rights.
Historian Lance Hill wrote that the Deacons' campaigns often led to big victories at the local level. These victories created real power and lasting organizations. According to Hill, local armed groups helped create equal opportunities for African Americans.
Some histories of the Civil Rights Movement often overlook groups like the Deacons. This is because the main idea of the Movement was non-violence. Also, the Deacons had to keep their activities secret to avoid attacks. They only accepted mature male members. The organization also did not last very long, fading by 1968. At that time, attention shifted to issues for Black people in the North. The Black Power movement also grew. The Deacons were overshadowed by The Black Panther Party, which became known for its strong actions.
FBI Investigation
In February 1965, after an article about the Deacons appeared in The New York Times, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover became interested. His office ordered an investigation into the Deacons. The FBI later created a program called COINTELPRO. Through this program, agents did many illegal things against groups Hoover saw as a "threat."
The FBI collected over 1,500 pages of records on the Deacons. They got this information from many informants who were close to or had joined the group. FBI agents questioned and tried to scare Deacons members many times. Harvie Johnson, one of the last original Deacons, said agents only asked how they got their weapons. They never asked about the Klan activity or police actions the Deacons were responding to.
Even though the FBI saw the Deacons as causing race warfare, they worked closely with CORE. They helped CORE's nonviolent protests bring about change in Bogalusa. The federal government finally stepped in. They forced local police to follow the law and protect citizens. Because of the Deacons' actions, the Klan had to limit themselves to night terror raids. The Deacons became a symbol of power and pride. They helped break the idea that Black people would always give in.
Columnist Ken Blackwell said in 2007 that activist Roy Innis stated the Deacons "forced the Klan to re-evaluate their actions."
Remembering the Deacons
- The Robert "Bob" Hicks House in Bogalusa is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Robert "Bob" Hicks Foundation is working to fix up and save the house.
Deacons in Movies
- Michael D'Antonio wrote a short story called "Deacons for Defense." It was based on events in Bogalusa, Louisiana.
- The Deacons in Bogalusa are the subject of a 2003 television movie, Deacons for Defense. It was based on D'Antonio's story. The movie stars Forest Whitaker, Ossie Davis, and Jonathan Silverman. It shows how the group developed in 1964 and 1965. The film follows a Black family and community members. It shows their change from believing in non-violence to supporting armed self-defense.
See also
