First published 2020
Robert F. Williams takes over the Monroe, North Carolina NAACP branch in the late 1950s and transforms it into something the civil rights establishment has never seen. While Martin Luther King Jr. preaches nonviolence, Williams stockpiles machine guns, dynamite, and Molotov cocktails. His followers prepare for war against Klan terrorists who have terrorized black communities without consequence. Williams advocates armed self-reliance, putting him at odds with both white supremacists and the mainstream civil rights movement. His militant approach forces him to flee the country in the 1960s. From Cuban exile, he broadcasts "Radio Free Dixie," mixing black politics with music for listeners across America from Los Angeles to New York City. Later he moves to China, remaining controversial until his death in 1996. Timothy B. Tyson reveals how nonviolent protest and armed resistance emerged from identical circumstances, both seeking African American freedom through different means.
Genres: civil-war, historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-american, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Monroe, North Carolina, Cuba, China
Period: 1950s, 1960s, 1996
424 pages · Paperback · The University of North Carolina Press
Content warnings: violence