Deacons for Defense R

Years before the Black Panthers, a black militia group known as the Deacons for Defense and Justice rose to protect the civil rights of African Americans by any means necessary. This made-for-cable movie tells the little-known story of the Deacons' creation, with the always impressive Forest Whitaker starring as the group's founder, Marcus (a composite character of real-life members). A mill worker in a racist Louisiana town, Marcus forms the Deacons as a defense against the mounting brutality of the Ku Klux Klan at the dawn of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. As the Klan's racist violence increases, and a team of nonviolent activists comes to town to organize, Marcus' armed military group becomes more and more resigned to fighting force with force, setting the stage for a fatal confrontation between the Deacons and the KKK. Director Bill Duke infuses this hidden chapter of American history with an affecting documentary style and strong supporting turns from Jonathan Silverman and the great Ossie Davis.