In the summer of 1961, J. Edgar Hoover issued wanted posters nationwide bearing 34-year-old Mae Mallory’s face. But why was Mallory on the run in the first place?
An anti-capitalist and advocate for Black self-defense, Mallory traveled to Monroe, North Carolina to support a friend, Robert F. Williams, and other Freedom Riders in North Carolina. A white mob soon emerged outside his home.
And when Williams offered refuge to a white couple who seemingly stumbled onto the scene, the couple turned on the activists, landing Mallory with a kidnapping charge.
Mallory stayed underground in Cleveland for weeks until her arrest on October 12, 1961. And from the Workers World Party to James Baldwin, her community donated and protested for her release from jail. Months later, however, a judge revoked her bond. An all-white jury deemed her guilty.
“When they lynch me, don’t cry,” she told her family.
Luckily, even after years of government surveillance, Mallory avoided decades in prison. In 1965, the NC Supreme Court voided her conviction.
COINTELPRO may be considered “history,” but the FBI still frames, attacks, and strategizes against Black activists.
Self-determination and community efforts were a powerful combination in Mallory’s story. And as the criminal legal system continues to target our people and give us reason to struggle, ask yourself: Who are the Mae Mallorys in your life you can uplift today? Or is it you?