Today in Labor History February 26, 1925: Robert F. Williams was born in Monroe, North Carolina. He was a Civil Rights leader, author and the first president of the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) from 1968 to 1971. As a young child, he witnessed the vicious beating of a black woman by a cop who was the father of future racist senator Jesse Helms. As a young man, he migrated north, where he worked in factories in Detroit and was present during the 1943 Detroit race riot. He served in the military during World War II and then returned home to Monroe, where he became the president of the local NAACP chapter from 1951-1961.

As an NAACP leader, he succeeded in getting the local public library and swimming pool integrated. However, the local KKK fired on the activists as they picketed the swimming pool in 1957. No one was ever charged or convicted for the attack. It is believed that over 60% of Monroe’s 12,000 residents were members of the KKK at that time. Because of the rampant violence against Civil Rights activists, and the impunity with which the local KKK acted, Williams advocated for the armed self-defense of African Americans, obtaining a charter from the National Rifle Association. He also started a rifle club called the Black Armed Guard, made up of about 50–60 men, to defend Black residents from the KKK and other violent racists. Williams referred to it as "armed self-reliance" in the face of white terrorism. In the summer of 1957, they repelled an armed assault by the KKK on a local black doctor who was also the vice president of the local NAACP chapter.

In 1958, Williams defended two African American boys, aged seven and nine, who were jailed and beaten after a white girl kissed them on the cheek. The case garnered international headlines and the authorities eventually released the boys and pardoned them. However, the state never apologized to the boys, or their families. Because of his advocacy and the international attention, the authorities escalated their harassment of him. His insurance company, for example, dropped his coverage, blaming the repeated attacks on his vehicle by local racists. And in 1959, the NAACP suspended him because of his public support for armed self-defense.

In 1961, the Freedom Riders arrived in Monroe to integrate the interstate buses. In August of that year, a violent white mob, thousands-strong, attacked and shot at the Freedom Riders as they picketed in downtown Monroe. Williams and his wife sheltered a white couple who were trying to escape the violence. However, the authorities charged them with kidnapping, forcing them to flee town. They evaded a police dragnet and eventually made their way to New York, before fleeing to Cuba, and later China. The FBI charged them as international fugitives and warned the public that they were “armed and extremely dangerous.”

While in Cuba, Williams wrote his most famous book, “Negroes with Guns” (1962), which influenced a generation of black radicals, particularly Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, who would later go on to found the Black Panther Party. He also established Radio Free Dixie (1962-1965), with the approval and support of the Cuban government, which broadcast revolutionary messages from Cuba to Southern blacks, along with a mix of blues and soul music. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he used his broadcasts to urge black soldiers to revolt against the United States. In 1964, he was elected president of the US-based Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM). While in Cuba, he continued organizing for international support for the struggle against racism and for armed self-defense. In 1963, he got Mao Zedong to issue a statement in the People's Daily supporting the African American struggle. He later congratulated China on its development of the nuclear bomb, referring to it as the “freedom bomb.” He also argued that without China, there could be no Black struggle in America.

Many leaders of the U.S. Communist Party opposed Williams’s stance on armed self-defense, fearing it would divide the working class. He accused them of sending envoys to Cuba to halt his work with Radio Free Dixie and ban his local newspaper, “The Crusader.” He said, “I absolutely refuse to take direction from Gus Hall's idiots.” He described many in the Civil Rights movement as "fake Marxists" for their position that black people should wait for remedies through the courts and the electoral process.

The Williams’s returned to the U.S. in 1970 and the charges against them were dropped in 1975, after a lengthy legal battle. William Kunstler led the defense. Williams died 21 year later, at age 71, from Hodgkin's lymphoma. Rosa Parks gave the eulogy at his funeral.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #robertwilliams #blackpanthers #communism #racism #jimcrow #naacp #civilrights #revolution #cuba #blackhistorymonth #BlackMastodon

Today in Labor History February 26, 1925: Robert F. Williams was born in Monroe, North Carolina. He was a Civil Rights leader, author and the first president of the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) from 1968 to 1971. As a young child, he witnessed the vicious beating of a black woman by a cop who was the father of future racist senator Jesse Helms. As a young man, he migrated north, where he worked in factories in Detroit and was present during the 1943 Detroit race riot. He served in the military during World War II and then returned home to Monroe, where he became the president of the local NAACP chapter from 1951-1961.

As an NAACP leader, he succeeded in getting the local public library and swimming pool integrated. However, the local KKK fired on the activists as they picketed the swimming pool in 1957. No one was ever charged or convicted for the attack. It is believed that over 60% of Monroe’s 12,000 residents were members of the KKK at that time. Because of the rampant violence against Civil Rights activists, and the impunity with which the local KKK acted, Williams advocated for the armed self-defense of African Americans, obtaining a charter from the National Rifle Association. He also started a rifle club called the Black Armed Guard, made up of about 50–60 men, to defend Black residents from the KKK and other violent racists. Williams referred to it as "armed self-reliance" in the face of white terrorism. In the summer of 1957, they repelled an armed assault by the KKK on a local black doctor who was also the vice president of the local NAACP chapter.

In 1958, Williams defended two African American boys, aged seven and nine, who were jailed and beaten after a white girl kissed them on the cheek. The case garnered international headlines and the authorities eventually released the boys and pardoned them. However, the state never apologized to the boys, or their families. Because of his advocacy and the international attention, the authorities escalated their harassment of him. His insurance company, for example, dropped his coverage, blaming the repeated attacks on his vehicle by local racists. And in 1959, the NAACP suspended him because of his public support for armed self-defense.

In 1961, the Freedom Riders arrived in Monroe to integrate the interstate buses. In August of that year, a violent white mob, thousands-strong, attacked and shot at the Freedom Riders as they picketed in downtown Monroe. Williams and his wife sheltered a white couple who were trying to escape the violence. However, the authorities charged them with kidnapping, forcing them to flee town. They evaded a police dragnet and eventually made their way to New York, before fleeing to Cuba, and later China. The FBI charged them as international fugitives and warned the public that they were “armed and extremely dangerous.”

While in Cuba, Williams wrote his most famous book, “Negroes with Guns” (1962), which influenced a generation of black radicals, particularly Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, who would later go on to found the Black Panther Party. He also established Radio Free Dixie (1962-1965), with the approval and support of the Cuban government, which broadcast revolutionary messages from Cuba to Southern blacks, along with a mix of blues and soul music. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he used his broadcasts to urge black soldiers to revolt against the United States. In 1964, he was elected president of the US-based Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM). While in Cuba, he continued organizing for international support for the struggle against racism and for armed self-defense. In 1963, he got Mao Zedong to issue a statement in the People's Daily supporting the African American struggle. He later congratulated China on its development of the nuclear bomb, referring to it as the “freedom bomb.” He also argued that without China, there could be no Black struggle in America.

Many leaders of the U.S. Communist Party opposed Williams’s stance on armed self-defense, fearing it would divide the working class. He accused them of sending envoys to Cuba to halt his work with Radio Free Dixie and ban his local newspaper, “The Crusader.” He said, “I absolutely refuse to take direction from Gus Hall's idiots.” He described many in the Civil Rights movement as "fake Marxists" for their position that black people should wait for remedies through the courts and the electoral process.

The Williams’s returned to the U.S. in 1970 and the charges against them were dropped in 1975, after a lengthy legal battle. William Kunstler led the defense. Williams died 21 year later, at age 71, from Hodgkin's lymphoma. Rosa Parks gave the eulogy at his funeral.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #robertwilliams #blackpanthers #communism #racism #jimcrow #naacp #civilrights #revolution #cuba #blackhistorymonth #BlackMastodon