Involvement in Atlanta (PJW)

"Involvement in Atlanta" is an excerpt from Robert F. William's novel Negros With Guns, written during his exile in Mexico.

Involvement in Atlanta
A popular question I am asked, often bluntly, is, "Was the National Revolutionary Movement involved in Atlanta?" Now, of course, they don't mean the protests; they mean the assassination attempt on President Wayne. And I always respond, "We weren't directly involved; the racists pushed one of our more extreme members into assassination."

At the time, the NRM only preached self-defense. We weren't trying to cause a revolution; we were just trying to defend our homes from an increasingly hostile white population. Of course, as with any movement, the incredibly small portion of extremists take the spotlight in the news, and their actions are associated with the rest of us. In 1958, we didn't advocate for bombings or murder; those were actions by a small members that decided, earlier than the rest of us, that self-defense wasn't enough.

The NRM was involved in Atlanta, that was true. When President Wayne announced his southern tour, we knew we had to act. A protest was planned with a local organization protesting sending our troops to Cuba. We gathered along a main street, with signs and slogans, ready to inform the president that while we sat high and mighty in the White House, the rest of us were struggling, and his actions and decisions were making it worse.

I was in the thick of it, and was only a few yards away when the gunman made his move. The presidential motorcade came to a near halt as the mass of protesters nearly blocked the street. With the president a sitting duck, the gunman saw the opportunity and took it. In the midst of the anti-war and pro-rights yells, three gunshots went out, nearly silencing the crowd.

That's when all hell broke loose.

Secret Service agents fired back at the gunman, who went down in a heap. I realized right away were in deep trouble. I grabbed the protester to the right and told him to get out of there, but no sooner than a second later a police officer's billy club smacked him right in the temple. As screams went across the crowd the Atlanta Police Department sprung into action, smacking their clubs across any head they came across. I immediately fled, and took refuge in a church where some of us were lodging. I took out my rifle - you never know when you might need to defend yourself, and took charge of a defense of the church.

The rioting continued, and eventually whites, from the local Citizens' Council I was later told armed with clubs and knives approached the church. Apparently the Council had decided to "establish peace" by beating the hell out of any negro they found. I pointed the barrel of my rifle out of the church window and told them to get out of here before I sent them to the afterlife. After a few moments of deliberation, they agreed to my demand and left to find some other defenseless citizen to beat.

As I saw the fires and chaos rage across the city, I made the realization that the only thing between me and the end of a white man's knife was my gun. That's when I knew the non-violent approach was wrong, and the National Revolutionary Movement was in the right. When you are faced with violence, only a violent response will make the aggressor listen.