Editing Deacons for Defense and Justice (section)

{{Short description|Armed Black-American self-defense group}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
The '''Deacons for Defense and Justice''' was a Black American self-defense group founded in November 1964, during the civil rights era in the United States, in the mill town of [[Jonesboro, Louisiana]]. On February 21, 1965—the day of [[Malcolm X]]'s [[Assassination of Malcolm X|assassination]]—the first affiliated chapter was founded in [[Bogalusa, Louisiana]], followed by a total of 20 other chapters in this state, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama. It was intended to protect civil rights activists and their families, threatened both by white vigilantes and discriminatory treatment by police under [[Jim Crow laws]]. The Bogalusa chapter gained national attention during the summer of 1965 in its violent struggles with the [[Ku Klux Klan]].

By 1968, the Deacons' activities were declining,<ref name=nyt/> following passage of the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]], the entry of Black people into politics in the South, and the rise of the [[Black Power]] movement. Black people worked to gain control of more political and economic activities in their communities.

A television movie, [[Deacons for Defense (film)|''Deacons for Defense'']] (2003), directed by [[Bill Duke]] and starring [[Forest Whitaker]], was aired about the 1965 events in Bogalusa. The movie inspired Mauricelm-Lei Millere to meet [[Deacon]] Hicks at his Hicks House in Bogalusa, Louisiana. The [[Robert "Bob" Hicks House]] in Bogalusa commemorates one of the leaders of the Deacons in that city; it was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 2015. Fundraising continues for a civil rights museum in Bogalusa to honor the work of the Deacons for Defense; it was expected to open in 2018.