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African American Life
Negroes with Guns
First published in 1962, Negroes with Guns is the story of a southern black community's struggle to arm itself in self-defense against the Ku Klux Klan and other racist groups. Frustrated and angered by violence condoned or abetted by the local authorities against blacks, the small community of Monroe, North Carolina, brought the issue of armed self-defense to the forefront of the civil rights movement. The single most important intellectual influence on Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panther Party, Negroes with Guns is a classic story of a man who risked his life for democracy and freedom.
89 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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4357 people want to read
About the author
Robert Franklin Williams
8 books39 followersRobert Franklin Williams was a civil rights leader, author, and key figure in promoting both integration and armed Black self-defense in the United States.
After a stint in the army during WWII, Williams returned to his hometown in Monroe, North Carolina where he built a uniquely militant NAACP chapter and attracted international attention to racist hypocrisy. When eventually forced by the KKK and an FBI dragnet to flee the U.S. with his family in 1961, he found safe harbor in revolutionary Cuba, where he produced Radio Free Dixie, a program of politics and music broadcast to America.
In 1965, he and his wife left Cuba to settle in China where he was well received. He lived comfortably there and associated with higher functionaries of the Chinese government.
Later in life, Williams was given a grant by the Ford Foundation to work at the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies. He wrote While God Lay Sleeping: The Autobiography of Robert F. Williams. In 1996 he died from Hodgkin's disease.
After a stint in the army during WWII, Williams returned to his hometown in Monroe, North Carolina where he built a uniquely militant NAACP chapter and attracted international attention to racist hypocrisy. When eventually forced by the KKK and an FBI dragnet to flee the U.S. with his family in 1961, he found safe harbor in revolutionary Cuba, where he produced Radio Free Dixie, a program of politics and music broadcast to America.
In 1965, he and his wife left Cuba to settle in China where he was well received. He lived comfortably there and associated with higher functionaries of the Chinese government.
Later in life, Williams was given a grant by the Ford Foundation to work at the University of Michigan Center for Chinese Studies. He wrote While God Lay Sleeping: The Autobiography of Robert F. Williams. In 1996 he died from Hodgkin's disease.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
April 19, 2024
There are few things more infuriating and radicalizing than reading about American history.
October 12, 2007
I believe this quote best summarizes why this book is the bomb...and why Robert Williams was ahead of his time in identifying flexible armed defensive AND non-violent demonstration as case-specific and dynamic based on the circumstances you find yourself dissenting.
"The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a 'militant' because he defends himself, his family, his home and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system--the violence is already there and has always been there. It is precisely the unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say they are opposed to Negroes "resorting to violence" what they really mean is that they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practiced by white racists."
How more honestly can you speak truth to power than by speaking that truth with the force to back it up. Look at the difference between protesting nowadays and demonstrating in the 1960's civil rights movement. Protests now yell into the void all of the problems, but provide no tangible "cost" to those who wield power, thusly the government and business simply turn a blind eye, and do nothing. Whereas demonstrations which impinge upon a governing power's ability to profit, war make, silence dissent, etc. are immediately heard and often greeted with violence (see Civil Rights South, WTO, etc.) Then you must switch from passive non-violent protest" to assertive "non-violence" with the understood power to defend yourselves, and the inplied understanding that force will be used if necessary.
This is not a call to incite violence, nay it is a caveat that no non-violent demonstration is respected by immoral oppressors without the threat of retaliatory violence to raise the cost of trying to quell dissent with violence.
read this book...
"The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a 'militant' because he defends himself, his family, his home and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system--the violence is already there and has always been there. It is precisely the unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say they are opposed to Negroes "resorting to violence" what they really mean is that they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practiced by white racists."
How more honestly can you speak truth to power than by speaking that truth with the force to back it up. Look at the difference between protesting nowadays and demonstrating in the 1960's civil rights movement. Protests now yell into the void all of the problems, but provide no tangible "cost" to those who wield power, thusly the government and business simply turn a blind eye, and do nothing. Whereas demonstrations which impinge upon a governing power's ability to profit, war make, silence dissent, etc. are immediately heard and often greeted with violence (see Civil Rights South, WTO, etc.) Then you must switch from passive non-violent protest" to assertive "non-violence" with the understood power to defend yourselves, and the inplied understanding that force will be used if necessary.
This is not a call to incite violence, nay it is a caveat that no non-violent demonstration is respected by immoral oppressors without the threat of retaliatory violence to raise the cost of trying to quell dissent with violence.
read this book...
February 25, 2018
Robert Williams was the head of the Monroe, North Carolina NAACP, and an important voice in the early Civil Rights movement. This book in particular served as an inspiration to a generation of influential groups, including Huey Newton and the Black Panther Party.
What makes this book interesting is that it is not a handbook for action but rather a chronicle of some of the horrific violence and abuse the Black community of Monroe suffered at the hands of Whites. It’s a chronicle of a complete breakdown of law and order where the sheriff can be standing next to a Black man protesting some locals shooting bullets over his head only to have the sheriff repeatedly say “I didn’t hear anything. Did you?”. It’s a chronicle of a town where Williams asks for the assistance of the Governor’s office to protect his community from an imminent attack only to hear this:
" When I called back the Governor's office he replied, 'You mean to tell me that you're not dead yet?' And I told him, 'No, I'm not dead, not yet, but when I die a lot of people may die with me.' So he said, 'Well, you may not be dead, but you're going to get killed.'
I kept telling him that we wanted protection, trying to avoid bloodshed. He said, 'If you're trying to avoid bloodshed you shouldn't be agitating.' "
Events such as these that Williams relates throughout the book are shocking, and when he makes his argument that violence in the name of self defense is justified, it becomes difficult to argue with him. As he so eloquently writes:
" Always the powers in command are ruthless and unmerciful in defending their position and their privileges. This is not an abstract rule to be meditated upon by Americans. This is a truth that was revealed at the birth of America and has continued to be revealed many times in our history. "
He goes on to write:
“Why do the white liberals ask us to be non-violent? We are not the aggressors; we have been victimized for over 300 years! Yet nobody spends money to go into the South and ask the racists to be martyrs or pacifists. But they always come to the downtrodden Negroes, who are already oppressed and too submissive as a group, and ask them not to fight back.”
What I admire most about Williams however, is his recognition that different situations call for different tactics. Refusing to move from a lunch counter or a bus seat was extremely effective in achieving limited goals. However if a man is storming your house with a gun, sitting quietly while he shoots you and your family is an ineffective means of resistance. It’s this flexibility that Williams writes about when he says:
" The tactics of non-violence will continue and should continue. We too believed in non-violent tactics in Monroe. We have used these tactics, we've used all tactics. But we also believe that any struggle for liberation should be a flexible struggle. We should not take the attitude that one method alone is the way to liberation. This is to become dogmatic. This is to fall into the same sort of dogmatism practiced by some of the religious fanatics. We can't afford to develop this type of attitude. We must use non-violence as a means as long as this is feasible, but the day will come when conditions become so pronounced that non-violence will be suicidal in itself. "
In short, the powerful and entrenched interests rarely give up their power simply by being asked to. Williams is not advocating violence here, but he is arguing that until a man understands that his violence has the potential to be answered with equal or greater violence, his brutality is unlikely to end.
What makes this book interesting is that it is not a handbook for action but rather a chronicle of some of the horrific violence and abuse the Black community of Monroe suffered at the hands of Whites. It’s a chronicle of a complete breakdown of law and order where the sheriff can be standing next to a Black man protesting some locals shooting bullets over his head only to have the sheriff repeatedly say “I didn’t hear anything. Did you?”. It’s a chronicle of a town where Williams asks for the assistance of the Governor’s office to protect his community from an imminent attack only to hear this:
" When I called back the Governor's office he replied, 'You mean to tell me that you're not dead yet?' And I told him, 'No, I'm not dead, not yet, but when I die a lot of people may die with me.' So he said, 'Well, you may not be dead, but you're going to get killed.'
I kept telling him that we wanted protection, trying to avoid bloodshed. He said, 'If you're trying to avoid bloodshed you shouldn't be agitating.' "
Events such as these that Williams relates throughout the book are shocking, and when he makes his argument that violence in the name of self defense is justified, it becomes difficult to argue with him. As he so eloquently writes:
" Always the powers in command are ruthless and unmerciful in defending their position and their privileges. This is not an abstract rule to be meditated upon by Americans. This is a truth that was revealed at the birth of America and has continued to be revealed many times in our history. "
He goes on to write:
“Why do the white liberals ask us to be non-violent? We are not the aggressors; we have been victimized for over 300 years! Yet nobody spends money to go into the South and ask the racists to be martyrs or pacifists. But they always come to the downtrodden Negroes, who are already oppressed and too submissive as a group, and ask them not to fight back.”
What I admire most about Williams however, is his recognition that different situations call for different tactics. Refusing to move from a lunch counter or a bus seat was extremely effective in achieving limited goals. However if a man is storming your house with a gun, sitting quietly while he shoots you and your family is an ineffective means of resistance. It’s this flexibility that Williams writes about when he says:
" The tactics of non-violence will continue and should continue. We too believed in non-violent tactics in Monroe. We have used these tactics, we've used all tactics. But we also believe that any struggle for liberation should be a flexible struggle. We should not take the attitude that one method alone is the way to liberation. This is to become dogmatic. This is to fall into the same sort of dogmatism practiced by some of the religious fanatics. We can't afford to develop this type of attitude. We must use non-violence as a means as long as this is feasible, but the day will come when conditions become so pronounced that non-violence will be suicidal in itself. "
In short, the powerful and entrenched interests rarely give up their power simply by being asked to. Williams is not advocating violence here, but he is arguing that until a man understands that his violence has the potential to be answered with equal or greater violence, his brutality is unlikely to end.
August 19, 2021
This book is a striking account of the emergence of modern Black militancy in the mid-20th Century, centered in tiny Monroe, North Carolina. It encapsulates the debate concerning the efficacy of non-violent direct action (as advanced by Dr. King) in bringing about the liberation of Black people in the United States, as opposed to organized self-defense. Robert F. Williams was truly a pioneering theorist of the latter method.
It is easy to see how Williams came to serve as an inspiration for a generation of Black radicals, and a forebear of the Black Power movement. Williams—a former President of the Monroe, North Carolina chapter of the NAACP—centered his experience leading various armed self-defense campaigns against the KKK as evidence that the struggle for Black liberation must make room for organized, collective, and armed self-defense. Williams believed that self-defense was a necessity not least because law enforcement could not be counted on or trusted to protect Black people. In fact, law enforcement perpetuated, participated in, and protected the terroristic violence of white supremacists. Thus, Williams believed that not only was self-defense a natural right and response to gratuitous and repressive violence, it could actually serve as an asset to non-violent direct action, as it would allow Black folks to fully protest and organize without fear of violent reprisal (since to quote Williams, “violence would be met with violence”).
Williams’ story shows that Black calls for organized self-defense will always get distorted by Black and white liberals alike. Williams derided Black liberals who preached pacification and non-violence for their own self-preservation and out of a fear of extermination. His adventures in Monroe NC proved that Black organized self-defense was not an invitation for extermination, but rather, was the only way to prevent it. Robert Williams did not explicitly advance or or advocate for a particular radical ideology in this book (although you can figure out what his ideological leanings might have been). He pushed back against the use of labels such as “Communism” and “Black Nationalism” as a means to distort his self-defense agenda. Plain and simple, Williams was about protecting his community and ensuring it’s survival in the face of violent white supremacists, paternalistic white liberals, and pacifying Black elites.
It is easy to see how Williams came to serve as an inspiration for a generation of Black radicals, and a forebear of the Black Power movement. Williams—a former President of the Monroe, North Carolina chapter of the NAACP—centered his experience leading various armed self-defense campaigns against the KKK as evidence that the struggle for Black liberation must make room for organized, collective, and armed self-defense. Williams believed that self-defense was a necessity not least because law enforcement could not be counted on or trusted to protect Black people. In fact, law enforcement perpetuated, participated in, and protected the terroristic violence of white supremacists. Thus, Williams believed that not only was self-defense a natural right and response to gratuitous and repressive violence, it could actually serve as an asset to non-violent direct action, as it would allow Black folks to fully protest and organize without fear of violent reprisal (since to quote Williams, “violence would be met with violence”).
Williams’ story shows that Black calls for organized self-defense will always get distorted by Black and white liberals alike. Williams derided Black liberals who preached pacification and non-violence for their own self-preservation and out of a fear of extermination. His adventures in Monroe NC proved that Black organized self-defense was not an invitation for extermination, but rather, was the only way to prevent it. Robert Williams did not explicitly advance or or advocate for a particular radical ideology in this book (although you can figure out what his ideological leanings might have been). He pushed back against the use of labels such as “Communism” and “Black Nationalism” as a means to distort his self-defense agenda. Plain and simple, Williams was about protecting his community and ensuring it’s survival in the face of violent white supremacists, paternalistic white liberals, and pacifying Black elites.
July 27, 2020
Woah - So helpful to learn from the past, and to get into primary sources like this book. I appreciated this synopsis of William's worldview at the end of the book: "Robert Williams sources are not European. His ideas are pure expressions of his social existence as a Southern Negro." Williams writes eloquently about the struggles he experienced first hand and the natural response of self-defense to unrelenting and unchallenged violence against the black community. The following quote is really a great summary of the core idea of the text and problem with calling for a pacifist response to violence without first condemning/acting to disarm the violent initiators, and working to defend the victims of their violence from future attack:
"The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a 'militant' because he defends himself, his family, his home and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system--the violence is already there and has always been there. It is precisely the unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say they are opposed to Negroes "resorting to violence" what they really mean is that they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practiced by white racists."
"The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a 'militant' because he defends himself, his family, his home and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system--the violence is already there and has always been there. It is precisely the unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say they are opposed to Negroes "resorting to violence" what they really mean is that they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practiced by white racists."
July 24, 2015
I can see how this book inspired the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Quick and easy read. It gets heavy quite a bit so although I thought I was going to finish it in one day, I ended up stretching it out over 4 days. I couldn't take in all those accounts of racial hatred and injustice at once. It was too much.
Well-written, frequent breaks in the writing (which is kind of my thing), blunt, straightforward, and a very quick read. Loved it. Another favorite. All of these social media activists and hashtag warriors could learn a thing or two about making headway in a cause for social justice and liberation of the oppressed by reading this. It should be required reading in all movements of racial equality and social justice...
Well-written, frequent breaks in the writing (which is kind of my thing), blunt, straightforward, and a very quick read. Loved it. Another favorite. All of these social media activists and hashtag warriors could learn a thing or two about making headway in a cause for social justice and liberation of the oppressed by reading this. It should be required reading in all movements of racial equality and social justice...
July 4, 2015
A lucidly and passionately reasoned call to conscience and call to arms in this classic text of the Civil Rights era. With novelistic flair Williams describes how the Union County, NC NAACP fought off attacks by the local KKK and corrupt police by employing an organized system neighborhood self-defense. Williams writes as a forsaken prophet, villainized by the media and political officials, but nevertheless resolute in the conviction that the principled embrace of self-defense is central to the American creed, and that doctrinaire invocations of the principles of non-violent protest fail to grasp the urgency and scale of Jim Crow terror, and nonviolence's own perverse incentives to anti-black violence.
March 30, 2018
"The stranglehold of oppression cannot be loosened by a plea to the oppressor's conscience." Martin Luther King is remembered fondly because of his nonviolent tactics, but Robert F. Williams emphasizes that there could not have been progress through these means without the threat of force. I support the 2nd Amendment because I feel that all oppressed Americans should have the right to defend themselves, especially transwomen. This book strengthens my commitment to that belief.
November 11, 2017
Profoundly necessary, especially as a corrective to dogmatic pacifism - a pacifism that does not only disallow but passionately berates and ridicules any other strategies to liberation that do not centre "nonviolence".
Also important with regards to challenging the deeply held idea (*cough* myth) that the civil rights movement was entirely based on/fuelled by a 'let's-hold-hands-and-sing-as-our-bodies-are-torn-to-shreds' motto.
Ward Churchill's 'Pacifism as pathology' also does a phenomenal job in adding nuance and a deeply needed universal perspective to understanding the pivotal roles armed self-defence/violence have played in revolutions (as well as why ignoring/belittling is central to American exceptionalism).
"...we came to have an active understanding of the racist system and we grasped the relationship between violence and racism. The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a 'militant' because he defends himself, his family, his home, and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system - the violence is already there, and has always been there. It is precisely this unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say that they are opposed to Negroes 'resorting to violence', what they really mean is that they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practised by white racists".
Also important with regards to challenging the deeply held idea (*cough* myth) that the civil rights movement was entirely based on/fuelled by a 'let's-hold-hands-and-sing-as-our-bodies-are-torn-to-shreds' motto.
Ward Churchill's 'Pacifism as pathology' also does a phenomenal job in adding nuance and a deeply needed universal perspective to understanding the pivotal roles armed self-defence/violence have played in revolutions (as well as why ignoring/belittling is central to American exceptionalism).
"...we came to have an active understanding of the racist system and we grasped the relationship between violence and racism. The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a 'militant' because he defends himself, his family, his home, and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system - the violence is already there, and has always been there. It is precisely this unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say that they are opposed to Negroes 'resorting to violence', what they really mean is that they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practised by white racists".
May 18, 2015
Negroes with Guns is an account of how Robert F. Williams arrived at this belief in armed self-defense. To be clear, Robert never called for violent provocation by black individuals, “I do not mean that Negroes should go out and attempt to get revenge for mistreatments or injustices,” he advocated for black individuals to defend themselves and the lives of their loved ones.
This account of life in Monroe reveals a time that is not to foreign to today. Williams recalls the atrocities he and black citizens of the south, particularly Monroe, faced as they tried to push for integration—specifically a white’s only pool that refused to permit black children, forcing them to swim in creeks resulting in several drownings. Williams talks of how he leaned on the law for protection and for enforcement of the 14th amendment and all inalienable rights supposedly due to American citizens. When the law repeatedly failed to do either, Williams reveals how self-defense thwarted many situations that could have resulted in the death’s of innocent black citizens of Monroe.
Read more: https://depthofields.wordpress.com/
This account of life in Monroe reveals a time that is not to foreign to today. Williams recalls the atrocities he and black citizens of the south, particularly Monroe, faced as they tried to push for integration—specifically a white’s only pool that refused to permit black children, forcing them to swim in creeks resulting in several drownings. Williams talks of how he leaned on the law for protection and for enforcement of the 14th amendment and all inalienable rights supposedly due to American citizens. When the law repeatedly failed to do either, Williams reveals how self-defense thwarted many situations that could have resulted in the death’s of innocent black citizens of Monroe.
Read more: https://depthofields.wordpress.com/
December 12, 2024
You could tell me this book was written and published yesterday and I would believe you without question. It is an eye opening recount of racist America in the most matter of fact approach. Yes America as an institution was/is anti-Black and the resources typically available to white Americans which ensure safety, employment, and health were/are not available to the same extent as they are Black Americans. This is a first had account of what facing these insurmountable obstacles in the 60's and 70's centered primarily in North Carolina. My home state which is riddled with racism and horrifying historic events. Not only is this book relevant, it's important. Important doesn't do this work by Robert Williams justice.
What is justice? How can justice be protected in the face of institutional ridicule and failure? When does one's own hands get to take justice for themselves and who gets to decide when this is? A straight up, no nonsense retelling of 'how things were'.
What is justice? How can justice be protected in the face of institutional ridicule and failure? When does one's own hands get to take justice for themselves and who gets to decide when this is? A straight up, no nonsense retelling of 'how things were'.
December 22, 2024
Re-read | December, 2024:
A reread has reaffirmed to me how preposterous it is that this book has been around since the 60s yet still has under 1,000 ratings! Williams is such an underappreciated leader.
First Read | June, 2024:
How frustrating this was to read, but it's very important none the less.
It was also interesting to see violent vs. non-violent resistance discussed here after recently reading Street Rebellion: Resistance Beyond Violence and Nonviolence. Williams seemed to be way ahead of his time with his reflections on it and his stance on the flexibility of resistance tactics.
A reread has reaffirmed to me how preposterous it is that this book has been around since the 60s yet still has under 1,000 ratings! Williams is such an underappreciated leader.
First Read | June, 2024:
How frustrating this was to read, but it's very important none the less.
It was also interesting to see violent vs. non-violent resistance discussed here after recently reading Street Rebellion: Resistance Beyond Violence and Nonviolence. Williams seemed to be way ahead of his time with his reflections on it and his stance on the flexibility of resistance tactics.
June 23, 2015
If interested in tracing the genealogy of the Black Radical Tradition, one cannot overlook this book. Williams has influenced generations of Black freedom fighters by laying it plain and speaking from a position consistent with the realities of American terror.
The book is short and more documentary than theoretical; it does not seek to elucidate a moral argument for self-defense. It tells the story of a small North Carolina town under siege by white racists and their legal, institutional apparatus. Through speaking his own truth, his lived experience, Williams dismisses the insidious myth: we must turn the other cheek. Williams is precise and never dogmatic and, surely, I will continue to learn from what his legacy has produced.
The book is short and more documentary than theoretical; it does not seek to elucidate a moral argument for self-defense. It tells the story of a small North Carolina town under siege by white racists and their legal, institutional apparatus. Through speaking his own truth, his lived experience, Williams dismisses the insidious myth: we must turn the other cheek. Williams is precise and never dogmatic and, surely, I will continue to learn from what his legacy has produced.
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August 28, 2021This book offers a lot to think about. It addresses things like self-defence, when it is appropriate to use violence, double-standards for who can use violence and what actions (and by whom) are even considered violence at all, pacifist hypocrisy, Uncle Toms, gains made because the dominant force (white racists) didn’t find denying those gains inconvenient, how some victories can become detrimental to the cause by mollifying activists, taking for granted Black people’s patience and “willingness” to endure abuse and so on.
I really love how measured Williams is. His arguments follow a very plain logic and he does not seem like a violent man so much as simply a reasonable, pragmatic man who sees the need to employ all methods available to protect the dignity of his community which was regularly put in mortal danger. I remain very strongly anti-guns, but as far as the place of violence in the Black liberation movement goes, there is a lot of room for nuance in what could be made into a black and white argument (pun unintended) where one is expected to be abused until the abuser decides to stop. I think this book explains that well and, even though the ideal would be non-violence, I see where the use of violence has been effective in liberation struggles where all other non-violent methods have been exhausted. When you are forced into a corner and your life and those in your community (or other vulnerable people) are in danger, what other choice do you have?
Something that jumped out at me was that Williams’ NAACP chapter seemed to be one of the few that white racists were wary of because they were willing to fight back and had driven the KKK away on one(?) occasion. It’s interesting too that some of the white, pacifist freedom riders said in a written statement (to the NAACP which was denouncing Williams’ stance of armed self-defence if necessary) that they supported/understood the need sometimes for violent retaliation.
I’m reading this one for a leftist/anarchist/Black liberation book club and we should be meeting to discuss it tomorrow so I’m interested to hear what everyone else has to say about it.
I really love how measured Williams is. His arguments follow a very plain logic and he does not seem like a violent man so much as simply a reasonable, pragmatic man who sees the need to employ all methods available to protect the dignity of his community which was regularly put in mortal danger. I remain very strongly anti-guns, but as far as the place of violence in the Black liberation movement goes, there is a lot of room for nuance in what could be made into a black and white argument (pun unintended) where one is expected to be abused until the abuser decides to stop. I think this book explains that well and, even though the ideal would be non-violence, I see where the use of violence has been effective in liberation struggles where all other non-violent methods have been exhausted. When you are forced into a corner and your life and those in your community (or other vulnerable people) are in danger, what other choice do you have?
Something that jumped out at me was that Williams’ NAACP chapter seemed to be one of the few that white racists were wary of because they were willing to fight back and had driven the KKK away on one(?) occasion. It’s interesting too that some of the white, pacifist freedom riders said in a written statement (to the NAACP which was denouncing Williams’ stance of armed self-defence if necessary) that they supported/understood the need sometimes for violent retaliation.
I’m reading this one for a leftist/anarchist/Black liberation book club and we should be meeting to discuss it tomorrow so I’m interested to hear what everyone else has to say about it.
May 12, 2016
Absolutely amazing, disturbing, and thought-provoking! I came across this book after Eldridge Cleaver referenced it in SOUL ON ICE. One read and the connection between this book and the Black Panthers becomes apparent. Published in 1966 - the same year as the formation of the Panthers - the book introduces the reader to Robert F. Williams, an important but unknown figure in the Civil Rights Movement. Williams was a marine who returned to Monroe, North Carolina to find rampant violence against blacks and total segregation in his town. After pursuing all "proper" and legal channels to attain equality and justice to no avail (in some instances law enforcement encouraged violence toward blacks), Williams decided to organize an armed militia of blacks for self protection. This action inspired the Black Panthers who famously armed themselves in protest of the Oakland Police.
Of course, the book is so much more than a retelling of the events that led Williams to arm himself. It is a rarely heard piece of history, a glimpse into the deep-seated nature of segregation, a commentary on even respectable black organizations (such as the NAACP), and a meditation on armed struggle as a strategy for justice. The book also contains essays by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Truman Nelson - the latter essay alone being worth the price of the book.
After reading this book, I've decided to incorporate it into my course on nonviolent civil disobedience. It is an important voice on the topic of strategies and deserves an fair hearing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
February 25, 2015
hm.. a different kind of American revolution. incredibly nuanced arguments. could it be that fighting back might be a kind of civic duty? curious about definitions of "civilization" and legitimate forms of "civil" disobedience. wondering how we can begin to redefine fear. wondering about the spectacle of lynchings and the murder of all black heroes. thinking about erasure and liberating knowledge and militant youth. thinking about how to make youth know their humanity, instead of knowing their oppression.
October 21, 2017
prescient and relevant. a quick, easy, and important read. my one real gripe was with the characterization of racism as psychosis (since obviously mentally ill and disabled people, particularly those who are poor and/or of color, are among the most marginalized, maligned, and threatened), but speaking in the colloquial rather than the medical-social sense, i suppose it is. non-violence is a tactic, but organized armed self-defense gets the goods. read this book!!!!!
September 8, 2024
Editor did a good job with the supplementary materials, and Williams’ titular piece just blew me away. More people should know his name, or at least about his struggle in Monroe, even if I don’t think his goal was necessarily to be remembered by history. Makes me excited for my future readings for this class!!!
September 26, 2008
This book is a must read! I believe it will empower anyone of any background in the value of their unique struggle, the importance of resistance and standing up for your human rights, and the connections we share with all peoples who realize the beauty of our humanity. Pick it up!
September 15, 2020
It’s a shame what these freedom fighters had to go through but me and so many people are thankful to them for wanting change
October 29, 2020
Truly incredible to hear his thoughts and experiences on the struggle for liberation. It's eerie how much this applies to today's world.
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October 6, 2025felt compelled to read after listening the Ezra Klein ta nehisi Coates interview. crazy, evil, radicalizing stuff this American history shit
November 26, 2025
the future belongs to todays oppressed!
a required reading for anyone who understands that non-violence is a liberal fantasy when we live under the most violent empire in the world.
a required reading for anyone who understands that non-violence is a liberal fantasy when we live under the most violent empire in the world.
September 11, 2013
“God damn, God damn, what is this God damn country coming to that the niggers have got guns, the niggers are armed and the police can’t even arrest them!” This was spoken by an old white man upset that Rob Williams was defending himself against a mob. It is also the quote used by Rob Williams for the title of his book, “Negroes with Guns” (1962).
Rob Williams is one of the many unsung heros of the Civil Rights Movement. If it was not for his short manifesto, “Negroes with Guns,” Williams would have faded into the past. His argument is simple and few people would disagree with Rob Williams. “But where there is a breakdown of the law, the individual citizen has a right to protect his person, his family, his home and his property” (4). The racist, according to Williams, is not willing to risk loosing their life for dehumanizing someone they view to be inferior. Racists will continue to abuse and violently attack the non-violent protester until the protester defends themselves against attacks by racists.
Williams sets out to do a number of things in his book. First, he wants to argue for the importance of non-violent protest as one of many tactics in the struggle for equality. Second, he believes that there are circumstances that a person must defend themselves against injustice and mob rule (which happens to include the police and government officials at the national, state, and local level). Third, he sets out to simply tell his story to set the record straight against the FBI’s false accusations, injustice of local law enforcement, and the “Uncle Tom” leaders of the NAACP, along with Dr. Martin Luther King who feared a race war. Lastly, he includes the African-American struggle for equality within a larger international context of oppressed peoples around the world fighting for liberation.
Rob Williams is representative of the American character. Yet, he showed far more discipline and restraint then many of the celebrated white heros of America’s past. Sadly, he was demonized for articulating a deeply held American belief of self-defense because of the color of his skin. “Negroes with Guns” is an important text for any student of American Civil Rights. It is a shocking text and it is hard to believe that the events he lived through happened in the United States.
Rob Williams is one of the many unsung heros of the Civil Rights Movement. If it was not for his short manifesto, “Negroes with Guns,” Williams would have faded into the past. His argument is simple and few people would disagree with Rob Williams. “But where there is a breakdown of the law, the individual citizen has a right to protect his person, his family, his home and his property” (4). The racist, according to Williams, is not willing to risk loosing their life for dehumanizing someone they view to be inferior. Racists will continue to abuse and violently attack the non-violent protester until the protester defends themselves against attacks by racists.
Williams sets out to do a number of things in his book. First, he wants to argue for the importance of non-violent protest as one of many tactics in the struggle for equality. Second, he believes that there are circumstances that a person must defend themselves against injustice and mob rule (which happens to include the police and government officials at the national, state, and local level). Third, he sets out to simply tell his story to set the record straight against the FBI’s false accusations, injustice of local law enforcement, and the “Uncle Tom” leaders of the NAACP, along with Dr. Martin Luther King who feared a race war. Lastly, he includes the African-American struggle for equality within a larger international context of oppressed peoples around the world fighting for liberation.
Rob Williams is representative of the American character. Yet, he showed far more discipline and restraint then many of the celebrated white heros of America’s past. Sadly, he was demonized for articulating a deeply held American belief of self-defense because of the color of his skin. “Negroes with Guns” is an important text for any student of American Civil Rights. It is a shocking text and it is hard to believe that the events he lived through happened in the United States.
April 30, 2012
Classic book on why 'gun control' is a historically dangerous and shortsighted mistake. Following the pogroms in the Jim Crow South, this is a firsthand account of the most important catalysts in 20th century black America: Robert Franklin Williams. Recounting a spontaneous armed resistance against the KKK/Monroe NC Police Department, the books details events of a community under siege, exercising their natural right to self-defense that shook the establishment and racists to their core. Forget Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X, and everyone else. Direct action gets the goods. Remember, you will get the exact amount of tyranny that you will put up with.
January 6, 2016
I'd givce this 5 stars--10 stars if I could. I donl't know how I missed this classic until now I think whenver I read some white liberal wonker on FB complain about "guns" 'll refer them to this book.
March 11, 2012
This is a must read!
August 5, 2024
Phenomenal writer. The bravery he had and the fact that he lived to tell the tale is chilling. Hate how I didn't know about him until very recently.
December 8, 2019
Essentiel pour mieux comprendre le "Mouvement des droits civiques" des années 50/60 aux Etats-Unis, pas aussi unifié derrière l'appel à la non-violence comme il est souvent dit.
Au-delà du principe d'auto-défense armée, Robert F. Williams tentait déjà en 1961, avant le Malcolm X d'après 1963 et les Black Panthers, de mettre au coeur de sa critique du pacifisme suicidaire et corrumpu par le suprématisme blanc étatique les questions internationales et d'oppression de classe de la communauté noire qui devait gagner pas seulement un accès à l'avant des bus mais aussi des places à l'usine locale et dans les conseils municipaux.
Ce livre autobiographique est à la fois une mine d'informations sur son engagement personnel dans la communauté rurale et active politiquement de Monroe, une étude de la répression systématique des activistes radicaux aux Etats-Unis (ignorance du FBI des crimes impunis visant les Noir.e.s mais répression des actes d'autodéfense, accusation de communisme) à la fois une synthèse de principe de lutte, très facile à lire.
Au-delà du principe d'auto-défense armée, Robert F. Williams tentait déjà en 1961, avant le Malcolm X d'après 1963 et les Black Panthers, de mettre au coeur de sa critique du pacifisme suicidaire et corrumpu par le suprématisme blanc étatique les questions internationales et d'oppression de classe de la communauté noire qui devait gagner pas seulement un accès à l'avant des bus mais aussi des places à l'usine locale et dans les conseils municipaux.
Ce livre autobiographique est à la fois une mine d'informations sur son engagement personnel dans la communauté rurale et active politiquement de Monroe, une étude de la répression systématique des activistes radicaux aux Etats-Unis (ignorance du FBI des crimes impunis visant les Noir.e.s mais répression des actes d'autodéfense, accusation de communisme) à la fois une synthèse de principe de lutte, très facile à lire.
April 8, 2021
“Token integration is a developing pattern. This type of integration is merely an affirmation of a principle without the substance of change.”
“When an oppressed people show a willingness to defend themselves, the enemy, who is a moral weakling and coward is more willing to grant concessions and work for a respectable compromise. Psychologically, moreover, racists consider themselves superior beings and they are not willing to exchange their superior lives for our inferior ones. They are most vicious and violent when they can practice violence with impunity.”
“It is certainly a first magnitude truism that social justice starts at home and spreads abroad.”
“It is common knowledge that the master race of the free world is out to export North American manufactured racism. Racism in the USA is as much a world problem as was Nazism. If the USA is to be the only nation exempt from the Human Rights Charter of the United Nations, then that august body is a party to the great transgressions against America’s captive people. I, for one, refuse to remain silent and cooperate with the very force that is seeking after my destruction . The racists in America are the most brutal people on earth. It is foolhardy for an oppressed Afro-American to take the attitude that we should keep this life-death struggle a family affair. We are the oppressed, it is only natural for us to air our grievances at home and abroad. This race fight in the USA is no more a fight to be fought just by Americans than is the fight for black liberation to be conducted by colored only. Any struggle for freedom in the world today affects the stability of the whole society of man. Why would you make our struggle an exception?”
“Yes, wherever there is a oppression in the world today, it is the concern of the entire race. My cause is the same as the Asians against the imperialist. It is the same as the African against the white savage. It is the same as Cuba against the white supremacist imperialist. When I become a part of the main stream of American life, based on universal justice, then and then only can I see a possible mutual cause for unity against outside interference.”
“Anyone who can think logically can see that the racist Minute Men are being armed and prepared for pogroms. They are becoming a fascist vanguard that will some day be turned loose on all Afro-Americans and white Americans who get out of line. And to get out of line means to petition militantly for Constitutional rights. These Minute Men types will be the people who do the dirty work.”
“The stranglehold of oppression cannot be loosened by a plea to the oppressor’s conscience. Social change in something as fundamental as racial oppression involves violence. You cannot have progress here without violence and upheaval, because it’s struggle for survival for one and a struggle for a liberation for the other. Always the powers in command are ruthless and unmerciful in defending their position and their privileges.”
“We realize that there must be a struggle within our own ranks to take the leadership away from the black Quislings who betray us. Then the white liberals who are dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into our struggle in the South to convert us to pacifism will have to except our understanding of the situation or drop their liberal pretensions.
Why do the white liberals ask us to be non-violent? We are not the aggressors; we have been victimized for over 300 years! Yet nobody spends money to go into the South and ask the racist to be martyrs or pacifists... Instead of the doctrines which produced the rugged aggressively independent and justice-seeking spirit that we associate with Colonial America as the New England Conscience, the slaves were indoctrinated in the most submissive “trust-your-master” pie-in-the-sky after-you-die you form of Christianity.”
“It is because our militancy is growing that they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to convert us into pacifists. Because our militancy is growing they come to us out of fear. Of course, the respectable Negro leadership are the most outspoken exponents of non-violence. But if these people, especially the ministers, are such a pure pacifists, why is it that so few, if any, criticize the war preparations of this country?”
“The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a “militant” because he defends himself, his family, his home, and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system – the violence is already there, and has always been there. It is precisely this unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say that they are opposed to Negroes “resorting to violence” what they really mean is they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practiced by white racists.”
“As for being a “Black Nationalist,” this is a word that’s hard to fine. No, I’m not a “Black Nationalist” to the point that I would exclude whites or that I would discriminate against whites or that I would be prejudiced towards whites. I would prefer to think of myself as an Inter-Nationalist that is, I’m interested in the problems of all mankind. I’m interested in the problems of Africa, of Asia, and of Latin America. I believe that we all have the same struggle; a struggle for liberation. Discrimination and race hatred are undesirable, and I’m just as much against racial discrimination, in all forms, every place in the world, as I am against it in the United States.”
“The tactics of non-violence will continue and should continue. We too believed in non-violent tactics in Monroe. We’ve used these tactics; we’ve used all tactics. But we also believe that any struggle for liberation should be a flexible struggle. We shouldn’t take the attitude that one method alone is the way to liberation.”
“When an oppressed people show a willingness to defend themselves, the enemy, who is a moral weakling and coward is more willing to grant concessions and work for a respectable compromise. Psychologically, moreover, racists consider themselves superior beings and they are not willing to exchange their superior lives for our inferior ones. They are most vicious and violent when they can practice violence with impunity.”
“It is certainly a first magnitude truism that social justice starts at home and spreads abroad.”
“It is common knowledge that the master race of the free world is out to export North American manufactured racism. Racism in the USA is as much a world problem as was Nazism. If the USA is to be the only nation exempt from the Human Rights Charter of the United Nations, then that august body is a party to the great transgressions against America’s captive people. I, for one, refuse to remain silent and cooperate with the very force that is seeking after my destruction . The racists in America are the most brutal people on earth. It is foolhardy for an oppressed Afro-American to take the attitude that we should keep this life-death struggle a family affair. We are the oppressed, it is only natural for us to air our grievances at home and abroad. This race fight in the USA is no more a fight to be fought just by Americans than is the fight for black liberation to be conducted by colored only. Any struggle for freedom in the world today affects the stability of the whole society of man. Why would you make our struggle an exception?”
“Yes, wherever there is a oppression in the world today, it is the concern of the entire race. My cause is the same as the Asians against the imperialist. It is the same as the African against the white savage. It is the same as Cuba against the white supremacist imperialist. When I become a part of the main stream of American life, based on universal justice, then and then only can I see a possible mutual cause for unity against outside interference.”
“Anyone who can think logically can see that the racist Minute Men are being armed and prepared for pogroms. They are becoming a fascist vanguard that will some day be turned loose on all Afro-Americans and white Americans who get out of line. And to get out of line means to petition militantly for Constitutional rights. These Minute Men types will be the people who do the dirty work.”
“The stranglehold of oppression cannot be loosened by a plea to the oppressor’s conscience. Social change in something as fundamental as racial oppression involves violence. You cannot have progress here without violence and upheaval, because it’s struggle for survival for one and a struggle for a liberation for the other. Always the powers in command are ruthless and unmerciful in defending their position and their privileges.”
“We realize that there must be a struggle within our own ranks to take the leadership away from the black Quislings who betray us. Then the white liberals who are dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into our struggle in the South to convert us to pacifism will have to except our understanding of the situation or drop their liberal pretensions.
Why do the white liberals ask us to be non-violent? We are not the aggressors; we have been victimized for over 300 years! Yet nobody spends money to go into the South and ask the racist to be martyrs or pacifists... Instead of the doctrines which produced the rugged aggressively independent and justice-seeking spirit that we associate with Colonial America as the New England Conscience, the slaves were indoctrinated in the most submissive “trust-your-master” pie-in-the-sky after-you-die you form of Christianity.”
“It is because our militancy is growing that they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to convert us into pacifists. Because our militancy is growing they come to us out of fear. Of course, the respectable Negro leadership are the most outspoken exponents of non-violence. But if these people, especially the ministers, are such a pure pacifists, why is it that so few, if any, criticize the war preparations of this country?”
“The existence of violence is at the very heart of a racist system. The Afro-American militant is a “militant” because he defends himself, his family, his home, and his dignity. He does not introduce violence into a racist social system – the violence is already there, and has always been there. It is precisely this unchallenged violence that allows a racist social system to perpetuate itself. When people say that they are opposed to Negroes “resorting to violence” what they really mean is they are opposed to Negroes defending themselves and challenging the exclusive monopoly of violence practiced by white racists.”
“As for being a “Black Nationalist,” this is a word that’s hard to fine. No, I’m not a “Black Nationalist” to the point that I would exclude whites or that I would discriminate against whites or that I would be prejudiced towards whites. I would prefer to think of myself as an Inter-Nationalist that is, I’m interested in the problems of all mankind. I’m interested in the problems of Africa, of Asia, and of Latin America. I believe that we all have the same struggle; a struggle for liberation. Discrimination and race hatred are undesirable, and I’m just as much against racial discrimination, in all forms, every place in the world, as I am against it in the United States.”
“The tactics of non-violence will continue and should continue. We too believed in non-violent tactics in Monroe. We’ve used these tactics; we’ve used all tactics. But we also believe that any struggle for liberation should be a flexible struggle. We shouldn’t take the attitude that one method alone is the way to liberation.”
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