36. Taking on the KKK and Local Cops
The Deacons’ first show of force occurred when protests commenced in Jonesboro, Louisiana, against the segregation of public swimming pools and the public library. The KKK and local police organized a caravan to intimidate the protesters and the black community. Twenty armed Deacons showed up to stare down the caravan, which hastily withdrew when confronted with the prospect of armed opposition.
The Deacons eventually expanded beyond Jonesboro, and established twenty-one formal chapters, and over forty affiliates, in other cities. Setting up communications networks using walkie-talkies and CB radios, they conducted armed patrols of black neighborhoods to ward off the Klan and white vigilantes.