Tarik Williams

African American History

Mr. Sam Mitrani

12/12/18

The 13th and Negroes With Guns

The film “13th” directed by Ava DuVernay and the novel “Negroes with Guns” written by

Robert F. Williams are the two readings/ documents that caught my attention the most during

the semester. Civil rights activist and author of “Negroes with Guns” Robert Williams was

battling against black discrimination and civil rights and equality for the black community.

Director of the “13th” Ava DuVernay exposes the corruptness of the U.S justice system and the

disproportionate representation of African Americans are in the U.S prison system. Together,

these two pieces of literature revealed that, even though slavery was abolished , African

Americans still face discrimination, prejudice, and inequality in the U.S.

During the 1950s, the black residents of Monroe, North Carolina were attempting to

defend themselves against white supremacy groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Robert Williams

wanted to challenge these discriminative groups. He fought for equality for himself as well as

the Black community. Before Robert Williams, blacks struggled with whites acts, and poverty.

He opened up a lot more opportunities for the community. After he was elected as the president

of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), he offered jobs to

the Black working class in hopes to raise them out of poverty. Williams’ work put his life in
danger as enraged white supremacists didn’t want African Americans to move up the social

ladder.

As Williams settled into his job at the NAACP, white men became impatient and started to

retaliate. When blacks are assaulted they are usually unarmed and defenseless. In the book

there was an incident where Robert Williams was about to be attacked by a white man with a

bat. Robert defends himself with a weapon and the white man, seeing Roberts with a weapon,

gets scared and leaves. If Williams didn't have his weapon, he would have been assaulted. This

was the point where whites recognized that African Americans weren’t going to be pushed

around any longer. The white man backed down because a black man had power over him.

This was not good enough for Williams; he kept on pushing for change. The book

discussed a court case. A white man was being blamed for assaulting a black lady and was

tried innocent. In the 1950s the justice system favored white people and not the blacks. If the

races would have been switched and a black man was accused of raping a white woman, the

black man would have gone to jail even if all the evidence was proving his innocence.

Things seemed to be improving in Monroe, but that was not the case. There was a night

where the white mobs had gotten aggressive. They sent various death threats to Williams. The

threats were so intense he was forced to flee to Canada and eventually Cuba. Later in the

novel, it is found out that the mobs were encouraged by the local police. How could blacks feel

safe in an environment when the ones sworn to serve and protect are against them? Not only

were citizens being discriminatory, but the justice system was, too. Racism was inescapable.

In the “13th” the black communities back then black men and women were always

arrested by the police. The United States hold 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the
world’s prisoners. That's the highest incarceration rates in the world. In 2016, blacks

represented 12% of the U.S population but represent 33% of those incarcerated. The justice

system disproportionately represents African Americans in the U.S prison system because

society fears the stereotyped violent and aggressive black male that media has portrayed them

to be. They were not going to jail for real crimes either. In the 1970’s, their crimes were being

apart of movements such as the sit-ins, Black Panther and Anti-War efforts. Any African

American political movement was looked at as a crime. The presence angered whites. Blacks

were forced to fight for themselves. They were just wanting equal rights and giving them self a

voice of their opinion, however, the justice system did not see it this way, as African Americans

incarceration increased across America.

In those days, white people didn't care for seeing African Americans succeeding. Whites

trusted it was them who should have the power. Their attitude was "racial domination" and

considering blacks to be their equivalents was inconceivable for them. The idea threatened

them. Using the justice system in their favor and against the black population was their way of

making sure equality would never exist. It began with stupid crimes and turned into false

accusations of bad crime. The white man would effectively ensure racial superiority.

Mass incarceration is something that is still going on in the world today. The 13th

expresses that 1--in-4 black men would spend time a lifetime in jail. Black men are more likely to

be pulled over by the police than white men and prison sentencings are usually longer for black

people than for white people. These situations are examples of the justice system favoring white

people over black people. This isn't an issue of the past; racism still exists today. There are

cops that place blacks in danger because media portrays the aggressive and violent stereotype

placed on black males. The 13th shows how the issues regarding race are not very different

from the period of slavery.

 There are a lot of circumstances that are different, but there are some issues that still

remain the same. This impact all races, regardless of whether individuals acknowledge it or not.

The education system today needs to speak more on this topic so the youth can be educated

and better equipped to handle the situation. We will only change as a nation if it starts with the

young people of the nation. I feel that African Americans won't really be free until society

realizes that there racial inequality still exists. Mass incarceration of black males is something

that is still going on today. Things like racial stereotypes and racism are things the African

Americans are still forced to deal with today. African American are still being cheated out of

their rights. Racism still exists hundred of years later and people need to collectively fight

against it.

Finally, the “13th” gives the truth what was going on back in the day. It portrayed what

African Americans are challenged with in today’s society. The “Negroes with Guns” also had the

same life in the same time period. The main point of the “Negroes with Guns” it showed daily

struggles of African Americans and what one person devoted his life in fighting for equality.

These pieces showed me that racism and racial inequality still exists in America today and that

people need to realize this in order to fight it.