I'm surprised to still see 'I am not my ancestors...' messages

Truth is, much like today, our ancestors and elders spanned the spectrum of political involvement. Not everyone was marching, and protesting.

But the idea that

passiveness and non-violence were the only ways our folks resisted aren't true.

Our elders and ancestors were arming themselves. They were fighting, forming militias and shooting back.

Here's some really great resources for folks interested in reading more about that history:

Negroes with Guns, a short article about Rob Williams- one of the first civil rights leaders and NAACP Chapter presidents who advocated for armed resistance:

https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/negroeswithguns/rob.html

This next article is 'African Americans and Armed Resistance' by Hettie Williams and takes a lengthy look at our history of rebelling https://www.huffpost.com/entry/african-americans-and-armed-resistance_b_57cc2948e4b06c750dda86b1

And then there's this piece by Thad Morgan about how the @NRA supported gun control when it came to the BP party https://www.history.com/news/black-panthers-gun-control-nra-support-mulford-act

Of course there's my professor's book "We Will Shoot Back" by Akinyele Omowale Umoja and Negroes With Guns by Nicholas Johnson. Both can be picked up online.

We also have documented insurrections by enslaved Black people like Gabriel's conspiracy you can read about here https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/gabriel_s_conspiracy_1800#start_entry

Or the the insurrection that took place in Louisiana where 200 enslaved Black people marched along the coast destroying plantations. https://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/gabriel_s_conspiracy_1800

Lot's of good Sunday readings. And I'm sure others have more they can share!