Em Defesa da Honra

In the battle for civil rights in the south, it wasn't all about turning the other cheek and not defending yourself. SCLC, CORE, and SNCC garnered the most headlines due to such tactics, but there were a number of African Americans not willing to be human pinatas. The Deacons for Defense were one such group.

"Deacons for Defense" takes place in Bogalusa, LA in 1965. The biggest employer there was the Patterson Paper Plant. They employed Whites and Blacks, they were segregated, and Blacks couldn't rise above the lowest paying jobs. On the national scene Lyndon Baines Johnson was the president and he'd just signed the Civil Rights Act, yet its effect hadn't taken hold in many parts of the south. When a couple of northern white men, Michael Deane (Jonathan Silverman) and Charles Hillibrand (Adam Weiner), came to Bogalusa to reopen the national civil rights office they were met with mixed emotions. There were those who relished their presence and their mission, while there were those who dreaded it. Marcus (Forest Whitaker) was one who disdained their presence. But that all changed when his daughter was beaten for marching. He would go on to form the Deacons for Defense.

This movie does two things:

1. It shines a light on some lesser known, but instrumental people in the struggle for civil rights and

2. It presented the non-violent v. armed defense argument.

As a TV movie, "Deacons for Defense" lacks the budget and cinematic quality of a theater-released movie, but it still gets the point across. Mississippi and Alabama weren't the only southern states coming down hard on African Americans-- Louisiana had its dirt too--but in one small community they stood their ground.