In 1961 two activists, Stokely Carmichael and Dion Diamond, were arrested for their involvement in peaceful desegregation demonstrations.
Sent to jail, they slept – until they were suddenly awakened by a drunken police officer pointing a gun at them!
Carmichael froze at the sight of the gun. But “Crazy” Dion Diamond, known for pulling radical activist stunts, was about to pull another!
Would they survive, or would one soon be speaking at the other's funeral?
Finger on the trigger, the officer threatened them. “So you the two little sons of bitches who started this, huh? Wal, tonight you some dead Niggers.”
Diamond didn’t miss a beat. He advanced on the officer, yelling, “Come on, you cracker, shoot! Pull the damn trigger. Ain’t nobody scared of you. Shoot. I’m ready to die if you bad enough. Shoot, white man. Do it!”
Carmichael joined in, yelling at the officer until he lowered the weapon and ran. Diamond and Carmichael whooped and hollered, victorious!
After their release, they continued being fierce leaders within the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Today, Black people are still arrested for bogus reasons and while in jail face police brutality that goes unreported or is strategically covered up.
Like Diamond and Carmichael, we must fight racism by any means necessary, even when facing death. Better to die free than cowering to white supremacy!