No subject

Your question is solid. The short answer is that the National Office of=20
NAACP was not concerned about Medgar's being armed. [It was obviously=20
concerned about other things -- but not that.] It was understood in every=
=20
civil rights organization that field representatives -- and certainly the=
=20
grassroots people with whom we worked -- would very likely be armed. [The=
n=20
and now, of course, most people in what's called the United States do hav=
e=20
firearms. This is certainly true of African Americans, South and North --=
=20
and universally true with Native Americans.] But although many if not mos=
t=20
civil rights field people were armed, we were not -- usually -- too publi=
c=20
about that. A major reason was the concern that many liberal/left Norther=
n=20
supporters [not all] would be troubled by that. I was probably more open=20
about my firearms than were many civil rights field persons. The NAACP ha=
d=20
felt itself to be "burned" by the Rob Williams self-defense situation in=20
Monroe, NC -- where Williams, NAACP local president, and faced with const=
ant=20
and very substantive Klan violence, secured an NRA charter and organized =
a=20
broad self-defensive structure in the Black community. [He was also a=20
supporter of the Cuban revolution.] When trouble erupted in the Monroe=20
situation, the NAACP attacked Williams, who was forced from the country a=
nd=20
several of his colleagues subjected to "criminal" charges. Medgar, during=
=20
one our earliest conversations, expressed to me his strong sympathy for=20
Williams and his self-defensive actions.

There were "ways of warning" the hostile forces we faced. I and my wife,=20
Eldri, recall vividly Medgar's telling us that a young white utility work=
er=20
came by his house, somewhat nervously, to check on some outside power lin=
es.=20
When the guy was finished, Medgar invited him into his home, ostensibly t=
o=20
show him "a large fish that I caught, stuffed, and put on my wall." The=20
young man came in but, only glancing at the stuffed fish, stared at a cou=
ple=20
of Medgar's rifles that were also racked on the wall. "He couldn't take h=
is=20
eyes off my guns," Medgar told us, chuckling.

Hope this has been helpful. All best -- and write again if so inclined. I=
n=20
Solidarity, Hunter [Hunter Bear]
HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis=20
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk=20
Protected by Na=C2=B4shdo=C2=B4i=C2=B4ba=C2=B4i=C2=B4=20
and Ohkwari'=20

Check out our Hunterbear website Directory http://hunterbear.org/director=
y.htm
[The site is dedicated to our one-half Bobcat, Cloudy Gray:=20
http://hunterbear.org/cloudy_gray.htm

And see Outlaw Trail: The Native as Organizer: http://hunterbear.org/outl=
aw_trail1.htm