Self-Defense Is Approved by Non-Violent Blacks

In honor of the end of Black History Month, here are some quotes from famous Black Americans:

[V]iolence exercised in self-defense, which all societies, from the most primitive to the most cultured and civilized, accept as moral and legal. The principle of self-defense, even involving weapons and bloodshed, has never been condemned, even by Gandhi . . .

– Martin Luther King

The true remedy for the Fugitive Slave Bill is a good revolver, a steady hand, and a determination to shoot down any man attempting to kidnap.

– Frederick Douglass

Today we raise the terrible weapon of Self-Defense. When the murderer comes, he shall no longer strike us in the back. When the armed lynchers gather, we too must gather armed. When the mob moves, we propose to meet it with bricks and clubs and guns.

– W. E. B. Du Bois

We do not deny but reaffirm the right of an individual and collective self-defense against unlawful assaults.

– NAACP (1959 Convention)

I'm a fierce defender of the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.

– Condoleeza Rice

Last but not least, I must say this concerning the great controversy over rifles and shotguns. White people been buying rifles all their lives...no commotion. The only thing I've ever said is that in areas where the government has proven itself either unwilling or unable to defend the lives and the property of Negroes, it's time for Negroes to defend themselves. Article number two of the Constitutional amendments provides you and me the right to own a rifle or a shotgun. It is constitutionally legal to own a shotgun or a rifle. This doesn't mean you're going to get a rifle and form battalions and go out looking for white folks, although you'd be within your rights - I mean, you'd be justified; but that would be illegal and we don't do anything illegal. If the white man doesn't want the black man buying rifles and shotguns, then let the government do its job.

– Malcolm X