Leiden University Student Repository

Kwantes, Lisanne (2018)

The Deacons for Defense and Justice: Revolutionary Force or Defensive Necessity?

Master thesis | History (MA)

The Deacons for Defense and Justice were formed in 1964 by a group of African American men from Jonesboro, Liousiana, who were fed up with the daily threat of Klan-violence. The organization gained reputation for being armed and willing to shoot back at attackers, which was in contrast with the nonviolent strategy as preached by activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. However, as the Movement was progressing, more armed African American organizations were established and the Deacons' faded away against the background of more radical groups such as the Black Panther Party. The Deacons' role within these late years of the Civil Rights Movement is what has been researched in this Master Thesis.

Self-Defense

African American Civil Rights Movement

Louisiana

Author

Kwantes, Lisanne

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Political Culture and National Identities

Supervisors

Vries, Mark Leon de

ECTS Credits

30

Language

en