Such an important read giving context to the role of armed self-defense as a complement to nonviolent tactics during the civil rights movement. This book shines a light on just how awful racism in the south was in the 1940s/50s/60s, and how organizations such as SNCC, CORE and SCLC empowered local Black folks to stand up for themselves and push harder against the status quo. It also provided historical context for the sociopolitical landscape of the south, framing the civil rights movement in that context, and highlighting the ways that this history has been largely whitewashed and sanitized.