The Deacons for Defense: Armed Resistance and the Civil Rights Movement

399 Pages·2004·2.42 MB·English

by  Lance Hill

The Deacons for Defense
The Deacons
armed
resistance
and the
civil rights
movement
Lance Hill
for Defense
The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill and London
∫ 2004 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
Designed by Jacquline Johnson
Set in Charter by Keystone Typesetting, Inc.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the
Council on Library Resources.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hill, Lance E. (Lance Edward), 1950–
The Deacons for Defense : armed resistance and
the civil rights movement / Lance Hill.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 0-8078-2847-5 (alk. paper)
1. Deacons for Defense and Justice—History.
2. African American civil rights workers—
Louisiana—Jonesboro—History—20th century.
3. Self-defense—Political aspects—Southern
States—History—20th century. 4. Political
violence—Southern States—History—20th century.
5. Ku Klux Klan (1915– )—History—20th century.
6. African Americans—Civil rights—Southern
States—History—20th century. 7. Civil rights
movements—Southern States—History—20th
century. 8. Southern States—Race relations.
9. Louisiana—Race relations. 10. Mississippi—Race
relations. I. Title.
e185.615.h47 2004
323.1196%073%009046—dc22 2003021779
08 07 06 05 04 5 4 3 2 1
For Eileen

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Beginnings 10
2 The Deacons Are Born 30
3 In the New York Times 52
4 Not Selma 63
5 On to Bogalusa 78
6 The Bogalusa Chapter 96
7 The Spring Campaign 108
8 With a Single Bullet 129
9 Victory 150
10 Expanding in the Bayou State 165
11 Mississippi Chapters 184
12 Heading North 216
13 Black Power—Last Days 234
Conclusion: The Myth of Nonviolence 258
Notes 275
Bibliography 335
Index 353
A section of photographs appears after p. 107.

Acknowledgments
i first learned of the Deacons for Defense and Justice
while attending a meeting of activists in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, in
1984. I had moved to rural Louisiana in 1979 and initially worked not far
from Bogalusa as a welder and an industrial organizer. At the meeting in
Plaquemines Parish—once the stronghold of arch-racist Leander Perez—I
met one of the founders of the Deacons, Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick.
From my first meeting with Kirkpatrick, I decided that the history of this
remarkable group of courageous men needed to be told.
Several people offered thoughtful and stimulating reactions to this book
and deserve a great deal of thanks. Foremost is Lawrence N. Powell, for his
indispensable advice, perceptive criticism, and steadfast encouragement.
Adam Fairclough, Michael Honey, and Tim Tyson provided challenging criti-
cisms and invaluable advice, which greatly benefited the final manuscript.
Patrick Maney, Rosanne Adderley, and Kim Harris all read earlier drafts and
offered many useful and illuminating insights. I have also learned much
from long conversations over the years with my colleague Plater Robinson.
Tulane University’s History Department made my research possible
through several teaching assistantships and travel and research grants. I am
especially indebted to Gwendolyn Midlo Hall for her professional assistance
and expansive generosity. Gwen allowed me to consult her research papers
on the Deacons for Defense and Justice at the Amistad Research Center, and
has been an endless source of information on the left and black nationalist
movements. Many friends and archivists aided me in obtaining materials,
among them Tyler Bridges, Katherine Nachod, Annie Purnell Johnson, and
Brenda Square. David Perry, Paula Wald, and Stevie Champion at the Uni-
versity of North Carolina Press made this book possible through their wise
advice and skillful editing.
Writing a book about a semiclandestine organization poses some unique
problems. The Deacons left no written records, and save for the fbi files and
news reports, the real history of the organization resides in the collective