A Monroe native and an African American leader who gained national fame
for advocating ?armed self-defense,” Robert Franklin Williams inspired
Black Panthers and other groups that criticized what they considered
the ineffective, less-violent techniques of the Civil Rights Movement. 
During the 1960s, Williams went into exile and lived in Cuba and China,
where he published newsletters and produced radio programs for
dissemination in the United States.  Although he denied being a communist, he was involved with the infighting in the global communist movement.