Charles Manson tried to start a race war in 1969 and failed. He made up his plan as he went along, between drug binges and orgies. Nobody ever said it was a good plan, but it was his goal none the same. It first came to him when he shot a Black man, Bernard Crowe, and left him for dead in a drug deal gone awry. Crowe survived, but when Manson heard the following day the body of a Black Panther had been discovered, he believed that man was Crowe.
Days later, Manson’s followers held musician Gary Hinman hostage because they believed he had $20,000 he could give them. Hinson often allowed cult members to stay at his home. After Hinman was tortured for two days, it became clear no money was coming. Manson gave the order to kill him, and his followers wrote “Political Piggy” on the wall and drew a panther paw to implicate the Black Panthers in Manson’s quest to begin a race war.
After seeing the nationwide riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Manson feared a Black movement, and the only way white people could stay in power was via a race war. Black people would win the battle but not be able to retain control, and Manson and his followers would emerge from the hills and take control. Nobody ever said it was a good plan.
Dylann Roof believed whites and Blacks needed to be segregated; he told a group of friends while drinking that he intended to hurt a lot of Black people and start a race war. One friend was worried enough that he hid Dylann’s gun from him. He ultimately returned it, not wanting to have the weapon himself.
In 2015 (which seems like yesterday), Roof entered Emanuel A.M.E. Church and sat with a Bible study group that welcomed him and prayed for his soul. He was given a sheet of verses to review. After 15 minutes, he got up his nerve and killed nine people, shooting over 70 rounds from his Glock .45-caliber pistol.
“I have no choice. I am not in the position to, alone, go into the ghetto and fight. I chose Charleston because it is most historic city in my state, and at one time had the highest ratio of blacks to Whites in the country.” — Dylann Roof
A search of Roof’s computer and social media led to multiple clues, including photos and a 2,000-word manifesto outlining his racist beliefs. He credited the Trayvon Martin murder and protests as his motivating factor. What he learned from the death of a Black teenager was that Black people are more violent and must be stopped. Roof expects to “be rescued by white nationalists after they took over the government.” Nobody ever said it was a good plan.
Lest you believe that two incidents almost 40 years apart are the extent of people attempting to start a race war, there are white supremacist groups, including Atomwaffen and Feuerkrieg Division, whose stated reason for existence includes inciting a race war. Many individuals have tried carrying out their misguided plans, some caught in advance and others after multiple murders.
“Shoot! Fire the first shot in the race war.” — William Fears, Unite the Right Rally
I give you Kaleb Cole, William Fears, Comer Climo, Joshua John Leff, Jeffrey Raphael Clark, James Harris Jackson, Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman, Todd Vanbiber, William Dodge, and Joseph Paul Franklin. This list is by no means complete. I believe I’ve only scratched the surface.
Most attempts to start race wars have been based on one of two theories. One relies on killing white people and blaming it on Blacks like Manson or killing Black people like Roof, causing Blacks to rush out in response against the better-armed white people that will wipe them out. Killing Black leaders has been tried as well; Daniel Cowart and Paul Schlesselman were planning to assassinate Barack Obama. The assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and Fred Hampton were arguably part of an ongoing war prosecuted by the FBI against Black organizations and leaders. What was COINTELPRO is now Black Identity Extremists; the war goes on.
If a race war ever comes, one side is far more prepared than the other. Redlining, restrictive covenants, steering, FHA and VA lending practices led to segregated communities where relatively few have escaped to the suburbs. Name a major U.S. city not bordered by railroad tracks and highways providing easy access for the National Guard and city police forces that are also militarized for just such an occasion. Individual white families have been arming themselves at a disproportionate rate since slavery times. Those days, they may have often been outnumbered but never outgunned. White households currently vastly outnumber the homes of people of other races in their percentage of gun ownership. I scrolled through hundreds of ads for AR-15 assault rifles that featured white men, some white women, and even white children, but none with Black gun owners. What should I infer?
We’ve seen some ways not to start a race war effectively. In recent months, it became apparent what might work—the assassination of a white leader with a significant following of those already inclined to start one. It won’t matter if the killer once voted for that person or shared their ideology. The nature of hate groups is to look for an excuse to attack those they already hate. The Ku Klux Klan expanded into areas with few or no Black people because their rage was organized against Catholics, Jews, or immigrants instead.
A white twenty-year-old could assassinate the right white leader, and it wouldn’t matter. The shooter would soon be linked to the hated group. He’d be made out to be a member of Antifa, which ties him to Black Lives Matter, which becomes the excuse to let slip the dogs of war on the Black community. World War 1 began with the assassination of an obscure Archduke of Austria. Given the present divide in America, how much would it take to set off a race war or even a civil war? With that in mind, I pray no harm comes to such a white leader if they exist. God help us all should it occur.
I'd like to say here Mr. Spivey, it seems that a segment of white folks are actually scared to see a riot jump off by a bunch of pissed off black, brown and poor white folks. They'd rather "jump-start" a riot ahead of time, sort of counting their eggs before they hatch mentality. They live in perpetual fear as a result of (generation to generation) living on the edge of madness- keeping a "hawk's eye" over their enslaved on the plantation, (knowing slavery is wrong), but hoping they will have enough fore warning to get their guns and shot when they see the whites in the slave's eyes. Honey, these folks are so SLEEP deprived from taking a short winks here and there over centuries! --They are now the zombies - the true walking dead! Creeping beetle juice! A racist is an unhinged, depraved, guilt-ridden maniac "sleep walker" with a gun, locked in a cycle of generational fear and trauma. Their only solution(REST), Yes, it's possible, just apologize and pay-up------Reparations-- restore and repair. What a wonderful way to end a nightmare.
I am a white woman originally from the south. Every time I read one of your articles I have a visceral reaction to the clarity you bring. Thank you.