Don’t think for one minute all of our ancestors just rolled over and allowed white terrorists to walk all over them. The popular narrative may be focused on non-violence, but as these organizations believed, sometimes self-defense means shooting back!
#1: The Liberty League. They not only believed in physically fighting back against white terrorists, but also promoted ignoring white society’s opinions of how Black people should live in general. The image of the “New Negro” this organization created was welcomed in the 1920s.
#2: The African Blood Brotherhood. A revolutionary Black nationalist organization, they believed our people should live separately from whites, here in the U.S. After racist attacks against our people in the summer of 1919, this organization began to mobilize and shoot those attempting to hurt our people ON SIGHT!
#3: The Black Panther Party For Self Defense. Formed in 1966 as a response to police brutality against our people, the organization grew to a variety of goals: providing meals and social services to our people in the inner city and standing up for the disabled among them.
As these organizations demonstrated – and Black gun clubs today continue – peaceful responses to white terrorism are NOT our only option! Whatever your stance, the truth is there are countless approaches to achieving liberation.