Pure Fire--Self-Defense as Activism in the Civil Rights Era.Pure Fire--Self-Defense as Activism in the Civil Rights Era Christopher B. Strain U. of Georgia Press 330 Rochester Dr., Athens, GA 30602-4901 ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0820326860 $49.95 254+viii pp. ISBN 0820326879 $19.95 Strain shifts the perspective on much of the civil-rights activism in the 1960s. For the most part, African Americans were not so much trying to make a new political order or create new social and economic ground as simply acting in self-defense (Law) in protection of self, - it being permitted in law to a party on whom a grave wrong is attempted to resist the wrong, even at the peril of the life of the assailiant. - Wharton. See also: Self-defense . This makes sense when one considers that at the time, blacks were subject to institutionalized in·sti·tu·tion·al·ize tr.v. in·sti·tu·tion·al·ized, in·sti·tu·tion·al·iz·ing, in·sti·tu·tion·al·iz·es 1. a. To make into, treat as, or give the character of an institution to. b. racism and frequently the targets of violence by whites with the tacit approval of the white political and legal authorities. In such circumstances, self-defense "was an essential part of the struggle for citizenship itself." Struggling for equality in education, employment, opportunity, etc., the various forms of black activism from Martin Luther King's nonviolent tactics to demonstrations and boycotts to occasional armed resistance cannot be regarded as anything other than self-defense; which self-defense is recognized in law and is an inherent part of psychology and behavior of all individuals. The title comes from Malcolm X's comment that he was urging African Americans to return "pure fire" to whites' hatred and suppression of them. Strain--teaching history and American studies at Florida Atlantic U.--also notes a statement by a Robert Williams For other persons of the same name, see Williams (surname). Robert Williams is the name of
see dairy herd. that "we should fight for the enforcement of the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the United States, document embodying the fundamental principles upon which the American republic is conducted. Drawn up at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, the Constitution was signed on Sept. ." Others have noted the character of self-defense in the civil-rights activism. But Strain goes far beyond simply giving a nod to this. He explores debates within the black community on the effectiveness and risks of violence in response to blatant and covert white violence and oppression; recounts the beliefs of proponents of violence such as Malcolm X Malcolm X, 1925–65, militant black leader in the United States, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, b. Malcolm Little in Omaha, Neb. He was introduced to the Black Muslims while serving a prison term and became a Muslim minister upon his release in 1952. ; and assesses the role of advocating violence and instances of committing it in the changes worked by the civil-rights movement. |
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