The Lessons of Algiers Point

In 1962, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, "It may be true that morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important." Dr. King was referring, of course, to the need for federal intervention to protect the lives of African Americans from mob violence in the South.

Less than a half-century later, this idea has been turned on its head by the gun lobby. The National Rifle Association (NRA) wants us to believe that all gun owners are super-citizens--"law-abiding" folks that will rise up in time of need to protect themselves and their fellow Americans from the excesses of an overbearing or "tyrannical" federal government. Gun owners, however, are just men and women like you and me. Some are outstanding citizens with great judgment, and others, well, not so much. The NRA may not want to acknowledge this, but there is no guarantee that members of an "unorganized militia" will be more Minuteman than Vigilante. In fact, while our Founding Fathers considered service in a "well regulated" state militia a prerequisite to solid citizenship, they regarded private militias as nothing more than dangerous mobs.

A recent article by journalist A.C. Thompson in The Nation shows how unorganized militias can work against the interests of freedom and democracy. The article, "Katrina's Hidden Race War," describes events that occurred in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane. During this period, Algiers Point, a predominantly white neighborhood in New Orleans that remained relatively dry and undamaged, served as an official evacuation site for refugees from the flooded sections of the city. Rather than organizing to assist the refugees, however, the residents of Algiers Point had different ideas. As Thompson describes it, "They stockpiled handguns, assault rifles, shotguns and at least one Uzi and began patrolling the streets in pickup trucks and SUVs. The newly formed militia, a loose band of about fifteen to thirty residents, most of them men, all of them white, was looking for thieves, outlaws or, as one member put it, anyone who simply 'didn't belong.'"

Among their victims was Donnell Herrington, a 32-year-old African American man; his cousin, 17 year-old Marcel Alexander; and their friend, 18 year-old Chris Collins. The three were walking to the Algiers Point ferry terminal on September 1, 2005, when Herrington was shot in the throat with a shotgun. Herrington's two companions took off running and hid in a nearby shed, where members of the militia discovered them, put pistols in their faces and yelled, "We got you niggers! We got you niggers!" The boys were interrogated and then sent back the way they had come with a stern warning. Meanwhile, Herrington barely managed to run back to a friend's house. He was sped to a hospital, where he survived after emergency surgery to repair a hole in his jugular vein.

Herrington, Alexander, and Collins were not the only ones attacked in or around Algiers Point. Evidence obtained from interviews with vigilantes, residents, surgeons and coroners indicates that at least eleven people were victimized in this fashion in the neighborhood. In each case, the targets were African-American men, while the shooters were white. To date, no charges have been filed against the perpetrators of any of these crimes, nor have they been so much as questioned by authorities.

It's certainly not for lack of evidence. The vigilantes themselves have spoken openly and with pride about their actions. One militia member, Vinnie Pervel, described the tactics the group would use when a stranger entered the neighborhood: "We would yell, 'we're going to count to three and if you don't identify yourself, we're going to start shooting.'" He recalled in detail one gun battle where 25 rounds were fired.

Another militiaman, Wayne Janak, told A.C. Thompson: "Three people got shot in just one day! Three of them got hit right here in [an intersection outside his home] with a riot gun." He is equally candid in a video clip from the Dutch film "Welcome to New Orleans," smiling as he tells the camera, "It was great! It was like pheasant season in South Dakota. If it moved, you shot it." Janak even kept the bloody shirt of a shooting victim as a trophy. He explained the militia's actions to Thompson by stating that "Algiers Point is not a pussy community."

I have no doubt that there were legitimate instances where guns were used in defense of life and property in post-Katrina New Orleans, but the Algiers Point example demonstrates clearly the limits and dangers of individuals taking the law into their own hands. From Shay's Rebellion in 1786 to the current Mexican drug wars, private militias have been destabilizing to democracy and an affront to Constitutional principles (Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution states that one of the purposes of state militias is to "suppress insurrections"). The next time the NRA rants about the need to balance an overbearing government with private arms, we should take a deep breath and remember the lessons of Algiers Point. In truth, these self-appointed militia members were exactly the type of men that Dr. King believed could benefit from a healthy dose of federal oversight.

Comments

[Prtnts336]

The point is that as Americans we should be chilled by the fact that our fellow citizens feel perfectly free to exact this kind of justice and go without punishment. The point is that after the decision in Heller, in which Scalia wrote the majority opinion, is that this may no longer be a "twinkie defense" as you so eloquently put it. We should be concerned that a window for the continuation of such reprehensible behavior has been opened. There are some who would like you to believe that all gun-owners are law abiding citizens who would never intend to use their firearm for ill, but that simply isn't true and we must be aware of that fact. We must also make certain that the law does not protect such vigilantes from punishment.

[Thirdpower]

And yet using it as a defense for shooting up places because you don't want to pay taxes or whatever will still be a Twinkie defense. Just like the nitwits who try and claim that the 16th Amendment wasn't ratified. They can use the excuse all they want, they'll still go to jail. They'll use any excuse they can.

All you need to do is show the law that would "protect such vigilantes from punishment."

I'll wait.

[djkrlsn]

The Heller decision in no way decriminalizes vigilante/criminal behavior--take off your hoplophobe goggles

[djkrlsn]

2 major points--the gang of Caucasians in Algiers Point do not meet the basic standard definition of militia in the Federalist Papers--they are operating more as an impromptu gang. Also any validity of your firearm usage tied to militia use DIED with the Heller decision

[GritsJr]

Actually, Scalia decided in Heller that service in a state militia is no longer a necessary condition for someone to enjoy an individual right to bear arms under the Second Amendment. And he affirmed, in general terms, the insurrectionist notion that the Second Amendment serves as a deterrent against a potentially "tyrannical" federal government by allowing individuals to stockpile firearms. Taken together, those two holdings can easily lead to future incidents like the one we recently saw at Algiers Point.

[Thirdpower]

Because incidents like it never happened before, right?

Just like CCW leads to people going around creating "Wild West shootouts", right?

[djkrlsn]

Josh--I guess you have no difficutly with the theft of firearms under color of authority in NOLA after Katrina when law enforcement kicked down the doors of occupied homes and stole firearms or stopped cars and stole firearms the lawful owners were taking with them out of NOLA

[Thirdpower]

Of course he doesn't. It's perfectly alright for the authorities to beat the hell out of little old ladies.

[GritsJr]

Where are the documented instances of law enforcement "stealing" firearms out of "occupied" homes? The NRA, to date, has only been able to identify 75 firearm owners who said they have guns taken, and there has been no detail provided about those cases to suggest they were disarmed in their homes.

[Thirdpower]

Apparently you missed the numerous videos of the confiscations while they were occurring. It's OK. We all know the truth hurts.

[djkrlsn]

Did you miss the fact that courts ruled the gun confiscations in post Katrina NOLA were illegal? I would call illegal confiscations theft--if you don't believe Third and I--you can google it. I quess you missed the Youtube video of CHP officers tackling an 80 something yearold woman in NOLA for having a snub nose revolver

[GritsJr]

Very interesting piece and well argued. It's shocking to think that, during a time when the first African American president in history was inaugurated, so few Americans know about what happened at Algiers Point. Particularly given how the militia's members have bragged about their "hunting" exploits. Chilling stuff, and certainly the type of extrajudicial violence that the Founders would have vigorously opposed.

[djkrlsn]

It is too bad that so many gun control supporters forget that the civil rights protestors with MLK started getting protection only after they started carrying guns to protect themselves

[GritsJr]

Which supporters are you referring to? They certainly weren't individuals who were adhering to King's philosophy, and the major marches of the time, which were so successful, were non-violent.