NEW RADICALISM
45
but she did it anyway. Afterward I took her to see a CORE person
who works at WeHare. He reassured her about her political rights,
but told her to call him
if
anyone bothered her.)
Since then, two weeks ago, some of the people have favored
"giving the City enough time," and others were for "protesting the
run-around we're getting." Last week we held a meeting with people
four blocks away who also want a traffic light, and the agreement
was we'd back each other up
if
there was no action by today.
Miller had been missing meetings, because he had the flu just
after his wife and father were sick, and today he was taking the
more cautious position: "got to give them time. Some things they stall
on, but some things, you know, takes time." His "gradualist" thinking
was
not
that of a "Negro leader" trying to undermine radicalism.
Miller's feeling reflected his experience of a militancy that went no–
where, and his interest in finding tactics which would get the traffic
light as well as organize people. I told him we would have to go
over to the other block and see what people wanted to do; if they
wanted to go ahead and demonstrate, Miller said he would accept it.
His brother went with several of us to the other block meeting.
FOUR O'CLOCK:
The people on the other block, Avon Avenue,
were in a different situation. They had seen someone, apparently
from the Traffic Division, surveying the street on Friday. This made
them feel as
if
it might be sensible to wait and see what the City
would conclude about the petition which they, too, had sent in.
However, since the people I was with from 18th Avenue had received
no
word from the City, the Avon folk said they were willing to go
with us to demonstrate. I thought they were a little nervous and
maybe caught in the trap of "procedure"-but I checked the feeling,
because I'm usually much too suspicious or impatient. Sampson
tended to agree with my instincts, I think, though as a community
person, he tends more than I do to bristle when "his own people"
don't seem militant. I said, finally, "OK, then, let's go over to 18th
and demonstrate." About ten people-most of those there--came
with me, Sampson and Willie. Walking over to 18th, I was a little
nervous, partly because I never tried before to stop busy traffic, but
mainly because I didn't know what people would think
if
only a few
from our block came, or if we were all arrested and banged around.
When we got there, an early skirmish of what I expect to be a
major political war for control of the Central Ward, had begun.
