"Ain't nobody scared of you"—Black Neighborhood Forms Armed Patrol After Neo-Nazi Rally
Lincoln Heights residents now protect their own streets, but history shows what happens when Black people exercise gun rights
Two months ago, armed neo-Nazis marched through a historic Black community in Ohio, brandishing rifles and waving swastika flags within eyesight of children leaving school. (Read my article on that incident). The police stood back and protected the neo-Nazis' right to "free speech" rather than defending the community. Now, the Black residents have formed their own armed patrol group, and suddenly, politicians are being pushed to pass new gun restrictions.
This represents a disturbing case of déjà vu. We have witnessed this pattern before, and history reveals an undeniable double standard in how America responds to armed Black citizens.
I'm fighting to document these stories of community resistance before they're dismissed as "overreactions" or erased entirely from our history—and I need your help! With no corporate backing or wealthy sponsors, this work depends entirely on readers like you.
If everyone reading this became a paid subscriber, I could investigate these patterns of selective rights enforcement full-time, but right now less than 3% of my followers are paid subscribers!
If you believe in journalism that exposes how America's gun rights have always worked differently for Black communities when others look away, please consider a paid subscription today!
The Recent Neo-Nazi Demonstration and Community Response
On February 7, 2025, members of the neo-Nazi group "Hate Club" gathered on a highway overpass between Evendale and Lincoln Heights, Ohio. They arrived armed with rifles, wearing masks, and waving swastika flags. When Black residents confronted them, law enforcement officers from Evendale prioritized "de-escalation" rather than community protection. This "de-escalation" included providing police escorts for neo-Nazis while instructing Black residents to stand down: protection for hate, restraint for its targets.
In response to this lopsided official response, residents formed the Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch program, an armed community patrol that escorts children to school and monitors neighborhoods.
The critical development following this incident has been the Hamilton County Sheriff's call for new legislation making it illegal to wear a mask "for the purpose of intimidation" while open carrying. While officials frame this as a response to the neo-Nazi demonstration, the timing raises significant concerns. This call for legislation emerges not when white supremacists terrorized a Black community, but after Black residents organized to defend themselves. The proposed restrictions would now potentially criminalize the very tactics adopted by Lincoln Heights' community defenders, who wear face coverings to protect themselves from targeted harassment.
Historical Precedent: The Black Panthers and California's Gun Control Response
This isn't the first time a Black community has armed itself in self-defense against white supremacist threats. In 1966, the Black Panthers for Self-Defense was formed in Oakland, California, by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. Central to their approach was the legal, open carrying of firearms to protect Black communities from police brutality and white supremacist violence.
The Panthers studied California gun laws meticulously. They knew that under state law, they could legally carry loaded weapons in public as long as they were openly displayed and not pointed at anyone. Their "police patrols" involved following police cars and observing arrests while legally armed, providing legal advice to Black citizens being stopped by police.
On May 2, 1967, thirty fully-armed Black Panthers entered the California State Capitol to protest the Mulford Act—a bill specifically designed to disarm them by repealing open carry laws. Bobby Seale read a statement on the Capitol steps: "The American people in general and the Black people in particular must take careful note of the racist California legislature aimed at keeping the Black people disarmed and powerless."
The sight of armed Black men exercising their constitutional rights sent shockwaves through white America. The Mulford Act quickly passed with support from both Democrats and Republicans. Republican Governor Ronald Reagan—who had previously supported gun rights—signed the bill into law, commenting that he saw "no reason why on the street today a citizen should be carrying loaded weapons."
Most telling was the reaction of the National Rifle Association. Despite being America's most vocal defender of gun rights today, the NRA actively helped draft the Mulford Act and supported its passage. The organization that now fights even the most modest gun safety measures worked hand-in-hand with lawmakers to disarm Black citizens who were legally exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Contemporary Parallels: The Continuing Double Standard in Gun Regulation
Fast forward to 2025 in Lincoln Heights, and we're witnessing the same pattern unfold. The Hamilton County Sheriff is now calling on Ohio state lawmakers to pass legislation making it illegal to wear a mask "for the purpose of intimidation" while open carrying—a response to Black residents arming themselves after white supremacists terrorized their community.
This selective approach to gun regulation is nothing new. Throughout American history, gun rights have been applied inconsistently along racial lines. When the Second Amendment was written, many states had laws prohibiting Black people from owning firearms. Following Reconstruction, "Black Codes" and Jim Crow laws included provisions to keep guns out of Black hands. And as we saw with the Black Panthers, when Black communities arm themselves against genuine threats, the legislative response is swift.
It's worth noting that Lincoln Heights is not just any Black community. Founded in 1923 during the Great Migration, it became in 1946 "the first African American self-governing community north of the Mason-Dixon Line." It was established precisely because Black families needed a place of safety and autonomy in a hostile America. When neo-Nazis targeted this historic community, they weren't just attacking random Black citizens, they were attacking a symbol of Black self-determination and resistance.
The Long Tradition of Black Armed Self-Defense in American History
What's happening in Lincoln Heights today connects to a long, necessary tradition of Black armed self-defense (stretching further back than even the Black Panther Party). From Harriet Tubman carrying a pistol as she led enslaved people to freedom, to Ida B. Wells advising that "a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every Black home," to the Deacons for Defense who protected civil rights workers in the 1960s, Black Americans have often had to rely on themselves for protection.
Robert F. Williams, who revitalized the NAACP chapter in Monroe, North Carolina in the 1950s, organized armed resistance against Ku Klux Klan terrorism after police refused to protect the Black community. In his memoir "Negroes with Guns," Williams wrote: "The American people have never grasped the concept that the Negro American's real fight is for recognition of his humanity... Self-defense is an American tradition."
The Lincoln Heights Safety and Watch program stands in this tradition. It arose not from a desire for violence, but from the necessity of self-preservation when official protection failed. As one Lincoln Heights resident put it: "I know my son can walk home and be OK" because of the community patrol.
Confronting America's Racial Double Standards in Constitutional Rights
As we watch events unfold in Lincoln Heights, we're confronted with a choice between two visions of America.
The first vision maintains that the protection of law and constitutional rights applies equally to all Americans regardless of race. Within this framework, armed neo-Nazis threatening a historically Black community would face immediate police intervention, and Black residents exercising their Second Amendment rights would receive the same protections afforded to white gun owners.
The second vision, which appears to be manifesting in current events, demonstrates a persistent double standard in the application of rights. Under this reality, white supremacists can openly intimidate Black communities while law enforcement maintains a hands-off approach. However, when Black citizens arm themselves in response to these threats, lawmakers rapidly identify a pressing need for additional gun control measures.
The residents of Lincoln Heights have made their choice clear. When one volunteer for the Safety and Watch program was asked why they took on this role, they answered: "It's just something that our grandfathers and our great-grandmothers—they started this. So we're going to make sure that history stays intact."
References
Duke Center for Firearms Law. 2020. "The Black Panthers, NRA, Ronald Reagan, Armed Extremists, and the Second Amendment." Duke Law Blog, April 8, 2020.
Franco, Aaron and Morgan Radford. 2025. "A majority-Black town starts armed protection group after neo-Nazi rally." NBC News, March 15, 2025.
Greene, Kahlil. 2025. "Neo-Nazis Rally in Historic Black Neighborhood and receive police protection." History Can't Hide from Kahlil Greene, February 18, 2025.
Morgan, Thaddeus. 2025. "The NRA Supported Gun Control When the Black Panthers Had the Weapons." History.com, March 2, 2025.
Radford, Morgan. 2025. "NBC News Correspondent Report on Lincoln Heights." NBC News, March 2025.
They think we supposed to be scared and run away and hide. We have to stand up to these racist bullies. I have never used a gun in my life. Or never have been to a shooting range before. But I have now. I will protect myself and my family especially in these terrible times. Thank you for all you do and breaking everything down. 💯💪💙💯💪
Protect yourselves at all times ✊🏾