Deacon's Leader Defends Strategy Of Fighting Back

Charles Sims, president of the Bogalusa, La., Deacons for Defense and Justice, wowed 150 attentive listeners at 2 Divinity Ave. last night with an hour of anecdotes about his secret organization and some hammy showmanship.

"I'm not a speaker, I'm a fighter," Sims told his audience and then proceeded to show them he was both. When he was finished, his listeners gave him a standing ovation.

Sims made a short speech before throwing the floor open to questions. "The only thing that a Southern white man respects is another man like him who has a gun and is ready to fight and die." Sim said, explaining why he formed the Deacons last February. The audience took it from there, as Sims proceeded to debunk some myths and perpetuate others about the Negro defense organization.

Asked if there was any truth to news accounts that he is always armed. Sims rose from his chair, smiled, and spread his lapels. "You can see; I do not carry a gun," he said.

He was more evasive to other questions about the Deacons. He refused to say how many members the organization has. "I learned in winning a battle is the element of surprise," he said.

He avoided questions about Vietnam, Watts, and the Black Muslims, saying he did not feel qualified to discuss things about which he was not well-informed.

Sims said that the Deacons are not so truculent as the press has made them out to be. "We are the defensive team," he said. "We are just doing a job. If the whole nation can lay down their arms when the job is done, why can't we?"