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Old–Yankee.Com » Monroe, North Carolina 1957 « |
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The Monroe chapter of the NAACP feared intimidation and violent attack at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan. Bravely, the Monroe NAACP members continued their role in the civil rights struggle. They exercised their civil liberties. Their voting rights. Their right to speak out. To assemble. To associate with one another. But the Ku Klux Klan kept pushing -- and they were armed, and they were illegally using those arms. In retaliation for a resistance effort organized by the chapter's vice president, the Klan set about driving through black neighborhoods and firing guns at homes. They targeted particularly the home of the chapter vice president, Dr. Albert E. Perry. So, the Monroe, North Carolina, chapter of the NAACP decided to exercise another of their civil liberties. The right to keep and bear arms. In 1957, sixty members of the Monroe chapter of the NAACP affiliated with the National Rifle Association of America and received firearms training. Many posted themselves at the home of Dr. Perry, their vice president. When the Klan motored in for another night of tyranny, they came face to face with the Second Amendment. In the words of one participant, An armed motorcade attacked Dr. Perry's house which is situated on the outskirts of the colored community. We shot it out with the Klan and repelled their attack and the Klan didn't have any more stomach for this type of fight. They stopped raiding our community. The terrorists failed, because one right prevailed. The Whole StoryA pamphlet was written about this situation in the early 1960s. It tells the story of the events in Monroe from 1957 through 1961 and describes what is mentioned above, the infamous Monroe "Kissing Case", and later happenings. The whole text, reproduced as faithfully as possible, is available here: People With Strength. |
Last Updated — January 20, 2009 |