The Deacons emerged as one of the first visible self-defense forces in the South and as such represented a new face of the
civil rights
movement. Traditional civil rights organizations remained silent on
them or repudiated their activities. They were effective however in
providing protection for local African Americans who sought to register
to vote and for white and black civil rights workers in the area. The
Deacons, for example, provided security for the 1966 March Against Fear
from Memphis to Jackson,
Mississippi.
Moreover their presence in Southeastern Louisiana meant that the Klan
would no longer be able to intimidate and terrorize local African
Americans without challenge.
The strategy and methods that the Deacons employed attracted the
attention and concern of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
which authorized an investigation into the group’s activities. The
investigation stalled, however, when more influential black power
organizations such as US and the
Black Panther Party emerged after the
1965 Watts Riot.
With public attention, and the attention of the FBI focused elsewhere,
the Deacons lost most of their notoriety and slowly declined in
influence. By 1968 they were all but extinct. In 2003 the activities
of the Deacons was the subject of a 2003, “Deacons for Defense.”
- See more at:
HTTPS://www.blackpast.org/aah/deacons-defense-and-justice#sthash.s6D3h3ZZ.dpuf
On July 10, 1964, a group of African American men in Jonesboro,
Louisiana
led by Earnest “Chilly Willy” Thomas and Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick
founded the group known as The Deacons for Defense and Justice to
protect members of the
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) against Ku Klux Klan violence. Most of the “Deacons” were veterans of
World War II and the
Korean War.
The Jonesboro chapter organized its first affiliate chapter in nearby
Bogalusa, Louisiana led by Charles Sims, A.Z. Young and Robert Hicks.
Eventually they organized a third chapter in Louisiana. The Deacons
tense confrontation with the Klan in Bogalusa was crucial in forcing the
federal government to intervene on behalf of the local African American
community. The national attention they garnered also persuaded state
and national officials to initiate efforts to neutralize the Klan in
that area of the Deep South.
The Deacons emerged as one of the first visible self-defense forces in the South and as such represented a new face of the
civil rights
movement. Traditional civil rights organizations remained silent on
them or repudiated their activities. They were effective however in
providing protection for local African Americans who sought to register
to vote and for white and black civil rights workers in the area. The
Deacons, for example, provided security for the 1966 March Against Fear
from Memphis to Jackson,
Mississippi.
Moreover their presence in Southeastern Louisiana meant that the Klan
would no longer be able to intimidate and terrorize local African
Americans without challenge.
The strategy and methods that the Deacons employed attracted the
attention and concern of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
which authorized an investigation into the group’s activities. The
investigation stalled, however, when more influential black power
organizations such as US and the
Black Panther Party emerged after the
1965 Watts Riot.
With public attention, and the attention of the FBI focused elsewhere,
the Deacons lost most of their notoriety and slowly declined in
influence. By 1968 they were all but extinct. In 2003 the activities
of the Deacons was the subject of a 2003, “Deacons for Defense.”
- See more at:
HTTPS://www.blackpast.org/aah/deacons-defense-and-justice#sthash.s6D3h3ZZ.dpuf
On July 10, 1964, a group of African American men in Jonesboro,
Louisiana
led by Earnest “Chilly Willy” Thomas and Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick
founded the group known as The Deacons for Defense and Justice to
protect members of the
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) against Ku Klux Klan violence. Most of the “Deacons” were veterans of
World War II and the
Korean War.
The Jonesboro chapter organized its first affiliate chapter in nearby
Bogalusa, Louisiana led by Charles Sims, A.Z. Young and Robert Hicks.
Eventually they organized a third chapter in Louisiana. The Deacons
tense confrontation with the Klan in Bogalusa was crucial in forcing the
federal government to intervene on behalf of the local African American
community. The national attention they garnered also persuaded state
and national officials to initiate efforts to neutralize the Klan in
that area of the Deep South.
The Deacons emerged as one of the first visible self-defense forces in the South and as such represented a new face of the
civil rights
movement. Traditional civil rights organizations remained silent on
them or repudiated their activities. They were effective however in
providing protection for local African Americans who sought to register
to vote and for white and black civil rights workers in the area. The
Deacons, for example, provided security for the 1966 March Against Fear
from Memphis to Jackson,
Mississippi.
Moreover their presence in Southeastern Louisiana meant that the Klan
would no longer be able to intimidate and terrorize local African
Americans without challenge.
The strategy and methods that the Deacons employed attracted the
attention and concern of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
which authorized an investigation into the group’s activities. The
investigation stalled, however, when more influential black power
organizations such as US and the
Black Panther Party emerged after the
1965 Watts Riot.
With public attention, and the attention of the FBI focused elsewhere,
the Deacons lost most of their notoriety and slowly declined in
influence. By 1968 they were all but extinct. In 2003 the activities
of the Deacons was the subject of a 2003, “Deacons for Defense.”
- See more at:
HTTPS://www.blackpast.org/aah/deacons-defense-and-justice#sthash.s6D3h3ZZ.dpuf
On July 10, 1964, a group of African American men in Jonesboro,
Louisiana
led by Earnest “Chilly Willy” Thomas and Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick
founded the group known as The Deacons for Defense and Justice to
protect members of the
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) against Ku Klux Klan violence. Most of the “Deacons” were veterans of
World War II and the
Korean War.
The Jonesboro chapter organized its first affiliate chapter in nearby
Bogalusa, Louisiana led by Charles Sims, A.Z. Young and Robert Hicks.
Eventually they organized a third chapter in Louisiana. The Deacons
tense confrontation with the Klan in Bogalusa was crucial in forcing the
federal government to intervene on behalf of the local African American
community. The national attention they garnered also persuaded state
and national officials to initiate efforts to neutralize the Klan in
that area of the Deep South. - See more at:
HTTPS://www.blackpast.org/aah/deacons-defense-and-justice#sthash.s6D3h3ZZ.dpuf