John Hulett

John Hulett. John Hulett was an influential African-American civil rights activist and politician from Lowndes County, Alabama. A key local leader during the Civil Rights Movement, he is best known for co-founding the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO), an independent political party that inspired the national Black Power movement. His work in organizing rural Black voters and his pragmatic advocacy for armed self-defense were pivotal in challenging the white supremacist power structure in one of Alabama's most notoriously oppressive counties.

Early life and education

John Hulett was born on April 12, 1927, in rural Lowndes County, a region characterized by plantation agriculture and entrenched racial segregation. Growing up in the Jim Crow South, he experienced firsthand the economic exploitation and violent intimidation used to maintain white supremacy. As a young man, Hulett moved to Birmingham where he worked in the steel industry and became involved with the local chapter of the NAACP. This experience exposed him to organized activism. He returned to Lowndes County in the late 1950s, determined to challenge the systemic disenfranchisement of its Black majority, who comprised about 80% of the population but were entirely excluded from the political process.

Founding of the Lowndes County Christian Movement for Human Rights

In 1965, following the events of the Selma to Montgomery marches, Hulett co-founded the Lowndes County Christian Movement for Human Rights (LCCMHR). This organization became the primary vehicle for civil rights activity in the county, focusing initially on basic demands like the hiring of Black clerks at the local courthouse in Hayneville. The LCCMHR worked in concert with larger organizations, notably the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which sent field secretaries like Stokely Carmichael and Bob Mants to assist. The group's formation marked a critical shift from pleading for rights to demanding them, establishing a base for the more radical political organizing that would follow.

Role in the Lowndes County Freedom Organization

Hulett's most significant contribution was as a principal founder and chairman of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO), formed in 1965. Created after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the LCFO aimed to achieve independent Black political power. Because Alabama law required political parties to have an emblem, the group chose a snarling black panther as its symbol, leading to the nickname the "Black Panther Party". Hulett provided crucial local knowledge and leadership, helping to navigate the extreme dangers of organizing in "Bloody Lowndes", a county notorious for Klan violence. The LCFO's platform, advocating for economic justice and community control, served as a model for later Black Power organizations.

Voter registration and armed self-defense advocacy

Central to Hulett's activism was a relentless campaign for voter registration. He and other organizers conducted door-to-door canvassing under constant threat of violence from white landowners and law enforcement. In this perilous environment, Hulett was a pragmatic advocate for armed self-defense. He famously stated that nonviolence "would get you killed" in Lowndes County. While not promoting offensive violence, he supported the constitutional right to bear arms for protection, a stance shared by many rural Black families and activists like Robert F. Williams. This philosophy was a practical response to the failure of local and state authorities, such as Alabama State Troopers, to protect civil rights workers from groups like the White Citizens' Council.

Political career and later life

The political mobilization led by Hulett bore fruit. In 1970, he was elected sheriff of Lowndes County, becoming one of the first Black sheriffs in the state since Reconstruction. His election was a monumental victory for the LCFO's vision. As sheriff, he dismissed the all-white posse that had traditionally assisted the sheriff and hired Black deputies, fundamentally reforming law enforcement in the county. Hulett served as sheriff for over two decades, later serving as a county probate judge. He remained a respected figure in Alabama politics until his death on August 21, 2006, in Hayneville.

Legacy and impact on the Civil Rights Movement

John Hulett's legacy is that of a transformative local leader who demonstrated the potential for Black political power in the rural South. The Lowndes County Freedom Organization provided a crucial blueprint for independent political action, directly inspiring the founding of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. His successful tenure as sheriff proved that grassroots organizing could lead to substantive changes in governance. Historians recognize Hulett's work as a vital to expanding the Civil Rights Movement's focus of the Civil Rights Movement, moving beyond the Civil Rights Movement, demonstrating the Civil Rights Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement.