Copyright © 2002-2009
by James P. Hauser except where otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
"We heard the radical black voices--Stokely Carmichael, Eldridge Cleaver, and H. Rap Brown with his 'Burn, baby, burn!'--with uneasiness... In later years, however, I came to understand that a movement requires many different voices, and the tirades of the agitators were like a fire bell ringing in the night, waking up defenders of the status quo with the message that change had better be on the way."
--Colin Powell (quoted from his autobiography, My American Journey)
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This page is devoted to Stagger Lee figures, African American men--and women--who have become symbols of black resistance and ba-a-adness. Several of those figures are listed below. Some of them are characters out of African American literature and folklore. Others are real-life historical or contemporary figures. Some of those included here developed their reputations for ba-a-a-adness through aggressive dispositions, violent actions, criminal activity, or militant political beliefs. And others may be classified as ba-a-a-ad due to their courage and fierce determination to take a stand against racism and oppression despite the great personal costs involved in doing so.
The Black Panthers - Bobby Seale and Huey Newton founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in 1966. Eldridge Cleaver was one of the group's major spokespersons. The Black Panthers were a militant organization and had a number of confrontations with the police during the racial strife of the 1960s. Seale thought of himself, Newton, Cleaver, and Malcolm X as Stagger Lee figures. The Stagger Lee legend was so important to him that he even named his son Stagolee.
Robert Charles - On July 23, 1900, an African American man named Robert Charles was waiting out on the street waiting to meet his girlfriend when he got into an altercation with several police officers. Charles fled the scene and went into hiding. Several days later, the building in which he had been hiding was set on fire, forcing him out into the open where he was shot and killed. He had been armed and--in defending himself over the few days that he was on the run--he managed to shoot 27 people including seven police officers. Whites reacted to the news that a black man was shooting police officers and other pursuers by rioting. They attacked blacks, destroyed their property, and set a school on fire in what has become known as the New Orleans Riot of 1900.
Learn more about Robert Charles in William Ivy Hair's book Carnival of Fury: Robert Charles and the New Orleans Race Riot of 1900.
Jack Johnson - In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first black man to win the heavyweight boxing title. He was such a skilled and powerful fighter that he would toy with even the best of his opponents in the ring. Many whites found it hard to accept that a black man was champion because they believed in the superiority of the white race. They were also enraged by the fact that Johnson violated many racial taboos, including the taboo against blacks marrying whites. Many African Americans saw Johnson's winning of the heavyweight title as a victory against racism and proof that blacks were the equals of whites.
Martin Luther King, Jr. - Martin Luther King, Jr. was the most important leader of the African American fight for civil rights during the 1950s and 1960s. As a young unknown Baptist minister, King first made the national news headlines in as a leader of the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955 and 1956. Basing his tactics on Gandhi's use of militant nonviolence, King used nonviolent protest and civil disobedience to defeat racism and segregation. His "I have a dream" speech is one of the greatest speeches in American history. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Malcolm X - Malcolm X transformed himself from a street hustler and criminal into one of black America's most powerful and charismatic leaders in the 1950s and 1960s. As a young man, he was sent to prison for burglary, and, during his incarceration, he became a member of a small religious group called the Nation of Islam (also known as the Black Muslims). After his release from prison, he was ordained a minister in the sect and soon became a controversial figure, delivering fiery speeches in which he emphasized black pride and separatism. He built a large following among African Americans and his militancy made the white establishment fear him. While on a pilgrimage to Mecca, he was surprised to find different races living together in harmony, prompting him to change his stance about the separation of races. Malcolm was shot and killed in 1965. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted.of the murder.
Railroad Bill - In the late 19th century, a man who robbed freight trains for a living became a black folk hero. His name was Morris Slater, but he was better known as Railroad Bill. According to legend, Bill would steal food from trains and sell it to the poor at a bargain price or give it away. It was thought that he had supernatural powers and could only be killed by a silver bullet. Legend also has it that he was so bold that once, after learning that lawmen were on a train waiting in ambush, he went ahead and robbed it anyways.
Paul Robeson - Paul Robeson, the son of an escaped slave, was the first black celebrity to speak out against the injustices of racial inequality and work to correct them. He virtually sacrificed his career in order to help other African Americans better their lives. Before becoming a political activist, he was a great singer, actor, and college athlete. He was valedictorian of his class at Rutgers University, an All-American football player, and a star in several other collegiate sports. He graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1923. His political activities led to the U.S. government revoking his passport in 1950. Accused of being a Communist, and persecuted by those who saw him as un-American and a threat to democracy, Robeson's career as a singer and entertainer suffered terribly. But he refused to back down from speaking out about his beliefs. Through his unwavering moral courage, he helped to open the door for the civil rights leaders of the 1950s and 1960s.
Bigger Thomas - Bigger Thomas is the main character in Richard Wright's classic 1940 novel Native Son, a book which served to warn America about the consequences of the terrible state of race relations in the country. Bigger was angry, aggressive, violent, and filled with fear and hatred. In Wright's essay "How Bigger Was Born," he explained that Bigger was created as a composite of real life Biggers whom he came across in his own life--angry, violent men who refused to abide by the degrading Jim Crow laws of the South. Native Son made a very powerful statement that racism was on the verge of destroying America.
Other Stagger Lee figures will be added to this page in the future including Muhammad Ali, Rosa Parks, Bob Marley, Aaron Harris, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., Ida B. Wells, Stokely Carmichael, Tupac Shakur, John Hardy, Sweetback, Nikki Giovanni, and Bill Pickett.