Negroes with Guns
1962 book by Robert F. Williams
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Negroes with Guns is a 1962 book by civil rights activist Robert F. Williams.[1][2] Timothy B. Tyson said, Negroes with Guns was "the single most important intellectual influence on Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panther Party".[3] The book is used in college courses[4][5] and is discussed in debates.[6][7]
2015 ebook edition reproduction of original cover art | |
| Author | Robert F. Williams |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Black Power |
| Publisher | Marzani & Munsell |
| Publication date | 1962 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print. |
Negroes with Guns was Williams' experience throughout the Civil Rights Movement of Monroe, North Carolina. Because black rights were constantly violated, the self-defense policy was born, with Williams saying there was a need to "meet violence with violence."[8] However, Williams claimed that black militants were not promoting violence, but were combating it, believing in self-defense and not aggression.[8]
In film
The subject matter of the book was made into the documentary film Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power, directed by Sandra Dickson and Churchill Roberts, released in 2004.[9][10] The film provides witness testimonies of many of the events described in the book and attempts to gather Williams from margins of movement scholarship.[11]
Foreign publication
In summer 1963, the book was translated and published in China.[12]: 263
Impact
Negroes with Guns influenced Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in their founding of the Black Panther Party.[12]: 275