Chapter Six

Summary: Chapter Six: Wyatt Walker

In stories once told by African-American slaves, Brer Rabbit is the clever hero who always outwits his enemy, Brer Fox. One of Rabbit’s favorite tricks is to goad Fox into doing something by begging Fox not to do to it. If, for example, Brer Rabbit wants to be thrown into a briar patch (in order to get unstuck from a tar-covered doll), he will plead with Brer Fox not to throw him into the briar patch. Inevitably, Fox does what Rabbit begs him not to.

In 1963, the civil rights campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, sought a headline-grabbing confrontation with white authorities, to draw the attention of the rest of the country to the injustices suffered by Black Americans in the South. In nearby Albany, Georgia, Martin Luther King had been unable to provoke police chief Laurie Pritchett into any kind of violent response. In Birmingham, the movement needed a Brer Rabbit strategy. Wyatt Walker discovered by accident that if a protest march scheduled for mid-afternoon was delayed until people came home from work, the Black spectators lined up to watch the march caused newspapers to inflate their estimates of the size of the protest. Birmingham police chief Eugene “Bull” Connor began to take notice. Next, the movement sent schoolchildren by the hundreds into the streets, to be arrested until the jails were full. At that point, unable to make more arrests, Connor confronted protestors with water cannons and police dogs. Photographs of Black youngsters being battered by water jets and attacked by German shepherds ran in national news stories. This was a turning point in the fight against legalized segregation. 

Some of King’s associates were appalled by his willingness to see children carted off to jail. Gladwell, however, believes that people in privileged positions use our innate sense of what is right and wrong as a barrier to keep people on the outside from achieving power themselves. Like Gary Cohn lying his way into a job in the investment industry, or Brian Grazer bluffing his way into a position of influence in the movie business, King and Wyatt Walker had to work with what they had.

Analysis: Chapter Six

Gladwell argues that his idea of the strength of underdogs applies to the Civil Rights Movement and the Black community in general. He presents two pieces of evidence. First, he introduces the famous photograph of the Civil Rights Movement as physical proof of his argument that horrible acts can lead to positive change. The photograph is important because it served as a turning point when it angered citizens throughout the country, creating a sense of solidarity in the face of aggression and violence. Next, Gladwell introduces the African slave tales of Brer Rabbit to argue that the Black community is capable of thwarting racist efforts because they have nothing to lose. Following the conventional rules of society has not helped the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. By referencing Brer Rabbit, Gladwell indicates that leaders need a new strategy. Gladwell further argues the issue of “desirable difficulty,” which means positive outcomes can result from unfortunate situations. He returns to the notion that disadvantages force some people to think outside the box to achieve success. 

Gladwell introduces Wyatt Walker to illustrate how innovative thinking can help an underdog triumph over a giant. Walker represents Brer Rabbit when he realizes he can trick people into believing the protest is larger than it really is. Gladwell emphasizes Walker and King’s decision to send children to the picket line is an example of thinking outside the box. Desperate for change, the men are willing to try unconventional tactics. The decision to use children also illustrates the men’s ability to predict the white authority’s reaction. They turned the tables on power, so to speak, and support Gladwell’s argument that disadvantages can turn into advantages. Gladwell uses Walker’s story to illustrate that in order for change to occur, it is necessary to use whatever resources are available. The tactics Walker and King used to anger the nation are comparable to those Dr. Freireich used to cure childhood leukemia. All of these men sacrifice the comfort of a few for the greater good of a larger population.