Black Leaders Discussion feat. Angela Davis, Kwame Ture & Fannie Lou Hamer (1973)

[Music] I'm Tony Brown executive producer of black Journal welcome to black leaders 73 this program has been pre-recorded and you will not be able at this time to phone in any questions the questions that you hear were directed in some instances to specific panelists and in other instances they were not some of the panelists had not been advertised and we do not have a number of questions for them however they have been encouraged to answer any questions no matter to whom they're directed for the next 90 minutes we will present an unedited two-way communication system between you and our Congress of black spokesmen we will be using television as an instrument of positive social reform allowing black America to question members of her leadership and make herself heard collectively our guests are Judge William Booth president American Committee on Africa Heywood burns national director National Conference of black lawyers Berkeley Burrell president national business League Stokely Carmichael all African People's Revolutionary Party Angela Davis national United Committee to free all political prisoners fannie lou hamer director mississippi freedom farm cooperation nelson johnson national chairman youth organization for black unity william lucy international secretary-treasurer american federation of federal state county and municipal employees and the chairman of the steering committee of the coalition of black trade unionists the Honorable Percy Sutton president of the borough of Manhattan the Honorable Louis Stokes Democrat of Ohio and chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Cine Jay Williams jr. president national association of black social workers and James D Williams National Urban League one of our panelists was unable to be with us and wired us his regrets the following telegram is from mr. Stanley Scott special assistant to the President of the United States I will now read his telegram deeply regret that I must cancel my appearance on your show because of an assignment recently given me on behalf of the president I would welcome the pleasure of being your guest at a later date with every best wishes for a very successful show Stanley s Scott special assistant to the president indeed there are many other black spokesmen but our physical and technical capabilities have limited us we do want the public to understand that our black leadership does include persons not on this panel to continue to expose more of our leaders we have invited a different group from our 1972 version in selecting tonight's panel we attempted to bring together a diversity of positions and philosophies held together by the common thread of concern for all black people may we now have our first question we are recording your question and we need your permission to record it and to edit it and to put it on the air to do that my name is carl smith of oklahoma a pluralistic society in which all ethnic and racial minority try to contribute to the mainstream and still retain their cultural identity is often advocated a desirable goal for our country my question it's not why if you didn't understand that question i could read it to you again he said a pluralistic society in which all ethnic and racial minorities try to contribute to the mainstream and still retain their cultural identity is often advocated as a desirable goal for our country my question is is it a realistic goal is it possible and if so and if not why that's one of the diversities i guess that we have among black people I hate to say black leaders because I don't think of ourselves as black leaders I don't think any people need leaders we are working in the field and we're doing our job but there is the diverse opinion some folks believe that you can work within the system and you can make the system work for you for you others believe you can't work within the system you gotta have something else I happen to be one of those who believes that although we have not progressed as we should have and the great masses of the people have not at all been able to use their in their talents the talents they've gotten that had not been that have been hidden by reason of cultural bias and examinations and all the rest that's happened to us through the years but although the masses of the people have not tasted the success that is available here in this country still I believe that it is possible if I didn't believe it was possible to work within the system and to retain my own cultural identity in spite of what's happening I I would have to give up my job I'd have to give up my various positions and organizations that I belong to I'd have to say well down with all organizations connected with this government but I look upon this government as being one of men who can be changed if there's enough pressure put upon them and if the numbers that we've got together that black people have and related people have in this country we put on numbers together we can overcome the the forces against us otherwise like I couldn't exist in this country that way I would I would think that what our brother judge booth said is correct the only question would be what kind of change do we want I think everybody would be for that society the question is whether or not it could come about under the present system of this government or whether that system must be changed I for one believe that it cannot come about under the present system a capitalist system that system must be changed I believe that and I think that if we if we have the same objectives then it doesn't make a difference where we work as a matter of fact a man working to change the system with that objective in mind can do very much inside the system once he doesn't lose sight of his objective an example that comes to mind is that a few years ago it was found out that one of the advisors for president view was working for the Vietcong I do think that we make a mistake if we talk about this in terms of absolute doctrines we talk about in terms of black people and integration or black people and separation it seems to me that that's a false dichotomy that it's been set up in terms of the way in which the debates discuss the real issue I feel for black people is one of empowerment and one a redefinition of the way in which black and white people who are in fact in society I feel that's what we must be about well I think that if you consider the fact that this system this capitalist system under which we're living today is designed in such a way that nobody except a privileged few can attempt to express themselves or contribute to anything there's no doubt about the fact that we have to talk about revolutionizing the system before anybody can can live in any kind of human fashion together I would just like to point out the fact that I have seen with my eyes where people of different colours have learned how to live together each maintaining their own cultural identity but each fighting to build and to continue to construct a socialist revolution together I was in Cuba not very long ago and I saw with my own eyes now black people brown people and white people have reached the point where they can work in harmony towards a building of a socialist society any other responses I think the the key question is that certainly is a good idea to work toward a total input by all I suppose ethnic groups in our society blacks and what-have-you but the key thing is whether or not you have a sufficient amount of power within yourself to affect the system when the system is working against your vested interest in school some years ago we were taught to think of America as a melting pot and I think the current administration has proven that they are ethnics who are unmelted because even though they are invisible they are still there to identify with their own vested interest as a people I think it's black people we've got to become concerned first of all with what our vested interest is and either preserve in the system or change in the system and once we to make that determination then the direction that we have to take is just clear for us for instance if you look at the various arms or branches of government they represent different interests yet there is none that represents our interests versus the business interest is represented by a branch you will never find that branch you know going contrary to what the interest of business happens to be yet there's the labor interest and only here lately have we found some differences there but every segment of our society that represents a power you know lever is represented there except people and particularly black people and I think it should be we should be about the business of a coming together not in specifics as to what our interests and goals are but certainly in generality in terms of what we need to exist in the society let me ask the question about your comment would would be correct to infer from your comments that that you would suggest some attachment of a power mechanism for black people to the governmental apparatus as as a solution to the empowerment of black people I think what I'm getting at is the is the acquiring of power within the black people themselves to affect the system in any way it needs to be affected in order to produce on behalf of the interests of black people I'm not saying we should have a black agency that's that's not what I was in front at all I'm saying that every other ethnic group in our society has by some means or other a cry acquired the power to move out of their depressed or press situation with the exception of black and brown I think what I'm saying is that whatever that power has to be to move the government or move the local structures that's what we need to be about and I think that just a vested interest to be the basis of our movie America really is an ethnic society and I live here in New York now though I come from Texas which and New York has there always been talked about as a melting pot it really isn't the melting pot we have Jews we have Italians we have blacks we are Puerto Ricans a variety of other cultures that live side by side with each other not always happy with each other but if we're talking about change whether it's a change of the style of the government or an absolute change in the nature of the government to a socialist society or whatever other society I think the thing that is fundamental to it if we as black people are going to talk about change one of the first things we need to do is develop some unity within ourselves now that doesn't mean that all black people have to speak the same language I have the same philosophy but we have to learn to communicate and I think we are in a large measure learn to communicate with each other and we've got to develop coalitions with others because small minority we have great power however if we can unite our minority with other minorities because there are other groups of people who would wish to move in the same direction as we wish so it doesn't make me in a difference whether we going if I thought tomorrow we could stage the revolution and the revolution will succeed I'll give leadership to it that is a revolution by whatever method but at this structure in our development I believe the kind of revolution that is going to take place there's a social revolution without bloodshed and if this is to be so one of the first things that must be accomplished is that black people poor people must unite themselves and then join forces without it when a Harlem has been a barometer for a number of years of perhaps black feeling across the country in terms of mood what do you see what direction you see the mood in Harlem going in I'm not too sure that Harlem has been the mood of the country Harlem is one of the most volatile places in the country when I travel to other places I'm amazed at the amount of unity we have unity in Harlem unity and one thing that we're different many of us are different we have more nationalist organizations we have all of the organizations you want to perceive of are many of them have their facets in Harlem no I don't think Harlem is the mood Harlem is a very sophisticated place sophisticated in the sense that we all understand the need for others of us to exist so I could not use it as the barometer of America but if it should be the barometer of America I think it would be good but I'm afraid that it is not mrs. Hamer do you see changes in since you're from the right in the middle of the rural South do you see any trend there in terms of black people moving toward unity and moving away from unity just generally what is going on in your area of the country well I do see I do see more unity because the power structures in the South are forcing us the haribol unity you know there have been a class split with the black community that's being moved because we are finding out whether you middle class or no class is no different as long as we black we in the same only and that's forcing us to be together because you know we've seen what it's happening in our schools you know like if a principal was a principal and was moved and become assistant principal his job if he's black automatically if he become assistant principal his job automatically is to care at all at tissue from one school to the other one and load up the bus so he's finding that it's no different in US and is forcing us to get together and I think that the change will come because we have there's nothing handed to us on a silver platter and we have to work together for a change in the south congressman Stokes does did your election as the new chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus indicate a new direction and if it did not is there a new direction fourth Congressional Black Caucus well what we had to do immediately after I assumed the chairmanship was to try and evaluate our role we found ourselves at that time being 13 black legislators out of a body of 435 congressmen and having formed a black caucus for the purpose of trying to alleviate the conditions under which poor and black and disadvantaged people live in this country we had to try and evaluate that role in terms of of 1973 and the United States Congress particularly in light of the present administration in Washington as we evaluated our role we realized that we sort of grew up overnight and we immediately tried to be all things to all people and for a period of 18 months we conducted a series of conferences a series of hearings around points of interests and concern to black and disadvantaged people in country and after we had developed all of the hearings and the conferences we realized we had a great deal of data collected a great deal of proposed legislative solutions and so we realized that we ought to get out of the business of conducting conferences and hearings because we had the data we had the specifics with which to work and proposed legislation which would get it to some of the solutions to some of these problems so consequently we decided that we would try and make the emphasis of the caucus that of a legislative thrust that is to add a black perspective to that legislation coming through the United States Congress particularly in light of our work on committees but we can fashion amendments the legislation before it even comes to the floor that would add a black perspective to that kind of legislation and so it's with this kind of a emphasis or thrust that the black caucus attempted to change its direction I'd like to ask either mr. Williams and/or mr. Williams since the National Association of black social workers is definitely interested in services for black people poor people and the Urban League is definitely in the business of institutionalizing services how do you see the recent budget proposals all the appropriations for these service programs affecting black America specifically during the summer months and on into the to the years Nixon administration policy it's creating a will create a critical condition in the black community they're cutting back on key services in the area they care welfare scholarships for students to attend school many students would not be able to attend the open school enrollment program in etcetera but even more importantly and the currently in the black community despite the statistics that been projected by the Nixon administration see we made a survey in both Harlem and ones and we came up with these statistics that something like ordered the 50% a black that are unemployed at this particular time right now now with the current cutbacks this is gonna create even more unemployment in fact some statistic has already been thrown out by some of the black group there's something like 200-300 thousand black people black people working in the poverty program would be affected that are currently employed that would be affected by the job cuts but this is only compounding the current unemployment situation that currently exists now in the black communities I think that we are now passed to repression state but in a critical part not only does this exist in Harlem what is it throughout the major urban areas in the city and I think that black people we're going to have to begin to speak out against this current trend because it's having a drastic effect on the black community well tell me to respond as I same question that we do regard the budget cuts as disastrous but not only in terms of the actual dollars but the type of philosophy that these cuts have been veiled that we're talking well let's just deal a for a moment with the housing programs we have to admit that some of those programs did not work but some of those programs did not work because there was fraud involving government agencies involving the private sector of the country so what happens the programs are cut out and the poor people are penalized in other words that we are being victimized because someone else has victimized us and the whole question of the cuts deals with the type of philosophy that says the country has done enough for poor people now we move on to something else that we can abolish poverty with the stroke of a pen and so therefore these programs are no longer needed and anyone that needs these programs are really freeloaders whom we can do without so we deal not only with the question of a dollar amounts but the question of the type of philosophy that's trying to well that is is being exemplified and this type of approach to the budget so I think that that's the main thing about the whole budget cutback thing as we see and I think again we see a rather magnificent PR game being done by the Nixon administration because the nation as a whole assumes that the the cuts that have taken place are one to eliminate black people from the rules from the welfare rules to make life easier for the taxpayers out in the hinterland but if you really track to statistics and see exactly who is benefiting from the program that goes down you will find that generally two-thirds of the people who receive benefits are white and the other one-third being black in terms of those who are receiving direct public aid of public assistance you will find that the number increases or something like one out of four and I'm not a social worker but I just the pure and simple numbers indicate that what has happened is that out in the Midwest where it's becoming you know acceptable now to assume the discrimination in the way of life the the administration has convinced people that what we are doing is keeping your taxes down and keeping those programs we're taking those programs out rather that have contributed to the inflation and all this other foolishness I think what we have to do and I think there's a treasure that some of the so-called liberals we have participated in these discussions before I'm not speaking out on the issue now but it's been left to black leadership to deal with the whole question of budget cutbacks and I think that there's a real need to raise the level of awareness across the country because we even got some black folks to talk about yeah well we should be phasing down these things phase and now got nothing to do with it if you cut back on the social program at the same time in Chris increase the defense budget when we're supposed to be wined and now involvement in Southeast Asia there's something out of balance there and then Tony I don't think let me just piggyback what Bill Lucy said no there cannot we should not have a discussion there should never be a discussion of welfare without some explanation to the public of what welfare really is Lockheed is getting welfare people who live in the suburbs Penn Central is getting welfare Jesus pardon me we exactly we pay taxes they're not only getting welfare but not paying any taxes but when they get it it is called a subsidy and of course we could go along and and give a really description to all of the things that being done by our federal government both here in America and abroad that are in fact welfare but mr. Nixon and his crew are not talking about eliminating any of that they're talking about expanding that well let me ask this in his explanation as far as he's gone to date President Nixon when he appeared on television and explaining the Watergate situation as he saw it did you sense that he was implying a reordering a restructuring of priorities and when he when he didn't he say something to the effect that he was going to be a little more sensitive you know you want to know what I sense I sensed that there was a desperate man trying to cop a plea and then he even said a prayer for us at the end of it no I didn't sense he was talking about reordering priorities I sense that he was trying to get through a very bad night but he never really got to the substance of what they're dealing with like what we got was a lot of rhetoric a lot of waving of the flag and then you're supposed to go away feeling that Watergate Watergate is just gonna disappear and I think that it was unfair trick to play on the American public it's one thing I'm sorry it's one thing that is the only president in the history of of my time and I'm 56 that can talk an hour and never say anything again affair is I think it's important especially for those of us who were here this afternoon to recognize that if if the Republican Party will go that far to sabotage the Democratic Party to sabotage that kind of opposition what have we already been experiencing insofar as repression is concerned and what will we as black people have to face in the future because there many of us who feel that not only the Republican Party but the Democratic Party as well as committed to upholding a system of exploitation and racism if you look at the McGovern campaign McGovern didn't even raise the question of racism and he was supposed to be the far left wing of the Democratic Party so I think it's it's important to see this Watergate scandal as being an indication of the real threat of fascism I think I think what it is is an indication of the lawlessness of law officials and the abuses of state power at the highest level you have to take it beyond a particular example is Davis said of war gate to understand what's going on at all levels in our society as far as uses of power while the government is concerned particularly in political areas if they're doing this against the established opposition what they're doing against black people what are they doing against political activists what is happening with the statutes are being passed and the people were being a point to the courts decisions the courts are rendering what's happening at the street level it comes to the administration of justice then you get the full impact of how Lola's these people are who are supposedly in charge of administering the law when you look at the statute the Congress that you can passing preventive detention Stephen no knock you seen stop and frisk you see the interstate riot act and look at the Supreme Court of the United States consistently cutting back a form that we've regardless traditional rights in this country doing away with the nine unanimous jury you look at the street level the level of violence officially sanctioned violence that's going on in this country the political implications of that look at it what happened at Kent State in Orangeburg Jackson State Southern University at Attica where 43 people were killed you look at the way in which the grand jury is being used you look at the way in which agent provocateurs are being used and if you just trace it all the way through what we see in the war games do you guys know of the iceberg look at what's happening in Wounded Knee right this moment I think we could talk for an hour and a half if we were to really expand this plan I would like to show the responsibility for what is going on now you see because the Democrats are just along of the buggin because it affected them you see the Democrats that they were in power they were bugging the black movement and no one made any kind of out sorry about that you want to say now doctor chicken had come home to roost so now that they have been infected they're now beginning to do the up crime we've been crying about that for years about the veining of our privacy privacy the bugging during the civil rights movement that both Martin Luther King this is well known and no one spoke out against it so what is happening now see it had been a revelation of what had been going on for years and I think that the American people now are becoming more aware of what is going on now the fact is what they're going to do is began to deal with it but I think that I want to go back to another point also it's very important who the President had around him you see what I mean if he have let's say crooks around him then who only have their vested interest at heart and not going to commit the time and the energy that is necessary to design programs the deal Black's that we are never going to get the kind of response from the federal government that we need and I think this is very important because these fellows up there are more concerned about statute suitcase full of money in fact there's two million and four million dollars that they're stashing away now that money can be going into the black community helping to deal with some of the problem and I think that until we begin to focus on these kind of situation that we were going to be missing in the face of one of the things that I keep hearing here I think you have to agree with me that the capitalist is a capitalistic system in America is the system that we that we have to deal with and the problem with it is that we don't have any blacks operating in it I wonder if we would have the same kind of feeling about capitalistic the capitalistic system we the capitalists and somebody else was sitting outside I think we would begin then I think it's difficult to say that that that people haven't been damaged by the by the free enterprise system in this country they the failure of our cities is probably a direct result of the failure of the free enterprise system to do something about it when a big business begins to move out and leave poor people to solve the problems of poor people then you've got enterprise because there's no such thing as free enterprise capitalism and this day and age is monopoly capitalism it is controlled by multi billion-dollar firms multinational firms you know used to control by the people like Rockefeller and Hughes and DuPont now there's a real difference between those folks and and the black man a woman who decides to open up a grocery store on the corner that is not capitalism but Richard Nixon has been trying to convince us but all we have to do is to get a little grocery store on the corner and then all of a sudden we're black capitalist well that's what Richard Nixon says and I disagree with him I'm not interested in small business as in that count and those constructs because it's amazing when somebody says business and the person black is talking about it immediately it conjures up they'll call it best or grocery store doesn't I guess I'll quit working if you convince that that's true but if I look at all the people around here and we've got some organizational partitions that kind of keep us from from operating together to change the system that we're all so convinced ought to be changed when I ride in an airplane and look down and I see everybody protecting the turf the national this is protecting their turf these are all black group anything national is black National Association real estate brokers and National Association fuel directors the National Insurance Association may all black white American I don't know because we know the point I make is when I when I look down from an airplane and I see each one of us as organizational here it's particularly I said what the heck we aren't protecting our turf it's their turf we don't have any turf so if we don't finally come together to get a piece of B turf then we are gonna have any chance to protect and I think it is possible and if we begin to talk about ways of changing that Stokely and then Nelson well I think that the real question is that people are not clear on capitalism because capitalism is a very vicious system but what it does is it it embroideries its viciousness with all sorts of elusive terms for example many of us would support capitalism because we actually believe that in a capitalist system there's a chance for us to get the same amount of money as Rockefeller gets because we're told it on the capitalism there's equality of opportunity so that we feel that if this year we didn't make as much as a Rockefeller made then we got to work a little bit harder next year we gonna make it but if we carefully examine a capitalist system you will see that it's based on exploitation because the viciousness of capitalism and the reason why once black people examined we can never be for it is that honor capitalist system the fruits of those who labor are enjoyed by somebody else that is those who do the laboring the fruits of their labor they don't enjoy it as a matter of fact we could say on the capitalism that the fruits of the labor of the toiling masses are enjoyed by those who do not labor and again as black people we have Clair examples of it if we were to get the fruits of our labor from slavery just from slavery all we gotta do is go to Nixon and say hey look you give us the fruits of our labor from from slavery and we forget the score we would be the richest people in the country again because under capitalism the individual exploits the labor of the people now people get confused because this is a capitalist system and it's a developed system it's a technological system so they combine capitalism with technology and development and they think that there is no other possible way to develop this rapid terms of development without going through the capitalist route but certainly we have examples that should be the opposite of that China is a clear example of that Cuba is North Korea North Vietnam these countries certainly in in Africa where countries have chosen the socialist path such as Tanzania Guinea Congo Brazzaville Algeria we see that there is another way to develop and get the same type of things that we have under the capitalist system but in a system that does not exploit does not exploit each other where all of us work in the fruits of our labor are divided evenly let me show you how backward capitalism is it's a backward system we could make two statements about capitalism to show how backward it is we about America America is a capitalist country it's thoroughly capless imperialist country but we could save number one America is the most technologically advanced country in the world that's an undeniable fact it's a truism it's a truism America is the most scientifically developed country in the world and right under that we could say a second fact which would show you how backward America is we could say that America in 1945 made for her people better cause than she does in 1973 and if you analyze this you'll see how vicious the system is because here's America with its great technological skills its great scientific stability and rather than making a safe car for people that will last 20 years which they can do which they can do with the scientific knowledge that's at their fingertips they'd rather take this knowledge and build a car which will break down every two years so you're forced to buy another car does you see on the capitalism what they do is they take they take their scientific skills and rather than using it for the benefit of the people they use it to further exploit the people and certainly this type of system is too backward I think Nelson was young I concur with the position that brother Carmike is type taken with regards to the system of capitalism but really I think there are two fundamental questions that we need to get into the first one was suggested when when we started like what is possible within the context of this system and the coming together people in that type of thing which I think as we begin to hear the things that people are saying about capitalism it tends to start to answer that question I mean as we see the very construction of this thing but see to me that the most important question well let me put it this way I think that we have to talk one about the merits of capitalism which is what a lot of the conversation has been expended on so far but secondly and very importantly is once we've you know began to see that picture we have to raise the question of how it is that we work within the framework of our existence in a capitalist system that we I think can agree that we oppose at least some of us can and then we get down to the nitty-gritty of the question that mrs. Hamer spoke to about whether we're moving toward unity the question of coalition's I mean the question of the dynamics of day-to-day work on real problems that affect us as a people see because we could we could human how all day about capitalism and talk about how bad it is obviously it's bad and if you could tell me the 10 worst things in the world I could tell you that they have been increasing in this country in the last five or six years I mean to give you some idea of the direction that this system that people are talking about is taken I mean the priorities are insane there's no there's no sane way of saying that people you know should take care of people that people should take care of six people I mean things just happen based again on the way the system is set up and so I think that that's you know like you know pretty clear a second thing is the idea of how we work in unity see it's my notion that we have to take a second look at this question of unity because I'm not convinced that that is all that much unity taking place in the black community today in fact what you see on the one hand is the uniting of certain people who are beginning to agree on a direction to take and at the same time you're seeing the uniting of black people who are taking another direction I mean within the context of this system and within the context of our own communities and in fact you see you see you talk about the people being confused well a lot of time that people wouldn't be quite so confused unless they heard a lot of the things that we're saying to them those of us who are supposed to be leaders or at least those who put themselves in the position to say things to a lot of people and you get more and more in the movement kind of a decay of a real quality of honest and honest Ness I mean you get generalism you get you know you get all kinds of performances I mean and these kind of things are put out against the background of the deteriorating situation that we're in and that doesn't really offer me any explanation to people I mean but then on the other hand you have a group of people beginning to address the question differently and to begin to see things like I mean you could just list the problems the problem of jobs the problem of education and begin to draw some concrete analysis of that and outline some specific kinds of ways that people begin the function so I just want to point out that you really talk about two one capitalism but two an importantly we haven't done anything to denounce capitalism unless we're able to devise some sensible way for us to organize ourselves to do actual we have we have the largest ethnic group to to condemn Nixon were black people we've always been in the vanguard we have done we do that all but there's a second dimension to what I was raising that's the one you didn't address you know but I think we must see it positive because I think it's undeniable that the desire that the desire for unity is more intense in the black community today than it was yesterday would be more intense tomorrow we must always see our movement as a aggression we understand their negative factors in it but we must look at the positive we are more united dress the negative in order to rectify them understood but I think that we can sit here and say that you know unity you know is growing without ourselves addressing some of the factors that explain the disunity but it is wrong may I use it the the prerogative of the microphone just one second please okay we have a number of questions and we certainly want to have free exchange but if we could limit our responses to responses and not speeches then we can all have more time and if we could do that but I don't want to stifle anyone but I do want to if we can move and I think the Mayor was next and then the congressman and then may we proceed that way let me just say this I really do not see it as being a question of capitalism versus communism or socialism or any other form of government I think we have to be pragmatic about what we're talking about you're talking about living under a system that is committed to capitalism it's not going to change to communism or socialism or any other form of government so what do you say what do you do when you're you're the oppressed and the repressed under the capitalistic form of government you examine a system and you see how can you make changes in that system now the one thing that everyone seems to have forgotten here tonight is that what you're talking about under capitalistic form of government is power it's the only thing that that this country responds to is power economic power and political power and the only time that the system reacts is when you've got some of that power and as black people we're not going to be able to overcome in a capitalistic form a system unless you do acquire both economic and political power as every other ethnic group in this country has done obviously I think the thrust in the 70s is in that direction I think that black communities are demonstrating greater sophistication towards the fact that they're going to change the system they have to do it and work within the system they have to do it by acquiring power in both of those realms there's no question about about the necessity of power to do anything I mean it's an it's axiomatic I mean if we're talking about doing anything I think the question is that the interests in which the power is address has to be a little bit more precisely define you know even within the the context of our our own community and the use of that power by various groups within the community I mean and I think there again we raised the essential question because there is a degree of power that we have and there's a good deal of disagreement over the way that power is being we'll what we generally do is we get caught up in an awful lot of theoretical discussion about how you change things when we're really based with a very fundamental problem whatever change is gonna come about it's gonna take some time and rather than getting involved in dealing with the hereafter I think we got to deal with the here and now and that is the fact that most situations if not all that we're dealing with our economic situation in terms of black and poor people going back to the 60s which is so many participated in and bring about social change which sort of made us legitimate people in the eyes of the law what we're going through that now we've got probably on the books as many rights as anybody else except that we can't enjoy them by virtue of the fact that there is no economics in that pockets to allow us to do that we can now go to the Waldorf but we may not combine now which is out of a 90 plus kind of thing what has to happen I think is if people got to pull themselves into a group to function back to what Lucis as an economic bloc first secondarily is a political bloc and that calls for making all kinds of coalition's that I think is the chairman of the caucus state at one time which is a coalition of convenience because there are other groups in this society who may not be as oppressed as blacks but are certainly as without as blacks and I think around economic interests around the of political power you can develop a philosophy that is neither communist xclusive capitalist but the question of pragmatic politics to acquire change did you only take 20 I've watched a number times even such as this number blacks getting together to who either our leaders are purport to be leaders and their discussions and we get off to the philosophical discussions of where we're going and we began today by saying that we are not necessarily the black leaders not just not necessarily if we are not the black leaders of America we are persons were sitting here but I talked about unity a number of us have talked about unity it is a hope for thing but let me just tell you that one of the things I really hope for and I come from a background of family who moving towards socialism who would like to see a socialist economy but do live in a capitalist society would like to see changes take place but one of the things I want most of all which I should like to see moving towards black unity sometimes I think it is happening and that is that black people who have different philosophies can discuss those philosophies each of us do that which we think it's necessary to meet the common need those of us who wish to move towards socialism talk about socialism and not find the necessity and the course of propagating our philosophy whether it be capitalism socialism nationalism whatever it is not find the necessity to destroy other persons who are given leadership in their arena this is a much needed thing I've not seen any attacks here today but it is something that I think trouble - number of persons who are looking for leadership one response from mr. Williams and then we have to move to the next question on the point first he was dealing with the question of unity that I am firmly convinced that we run the danger of falling into a trick bag when we concentrate on when we devote so much attention to what the white man has defined as unity that it seems to me that we've got to define unity among ourselves that you know that Berkeley can deal with one thing that will deal with another thing but I don't think that we have to get into the bag that we have one spokesman speaking for black people to spokesman you know that the each of us has to do our own thing and the white community has has yet not been able to deal with this and they keep on asking what a black folks one well I really don't know what all black folks want I know what I want but I think that we that we've got to realize that unity can exist at times but it isn't necessary for all of us to be talking the same the same words the same tone of voice all the time but that just won't worry you know that but they will we deal with that ourselves you know that we can get it together but if we fall in the bag that I've gotta follow somebody because they're the leader you know that that's not gonna work Jimmy you're not suggesting that I'm implying no we all ought to follow one lead no I let Chris because I'm really annoyed by the suggestion that we ought to have one least right I would do it now would be opposed to it I wouldn't have be opposed to it all America is Nixon and all China is Mao I wouldn't be opposed to it at all if all Africa and all the people will want I could vote for who my leader would be there's no problem laws he's representing the interests of the people I may know but I can vote for him also but what we have seen we've seen for example in the electoral politics how jive it is because we've just seen that Nixon has been elected because of maneuvering and tricks and a lot of nonsense you've just seen that so what I'm really talking about in the boat is a philosophical aspect I understand they're really saying that I'll have some actual choice but I'm not contracting that with any other system I know you will because the reason is America always makes it look that if you have another system you won't have these freedoms that America has freedom to vote you know freedom to do this freedom to do that freedom to starve and to show exactly I was coming to the rest of those details thank you may we have the next question please di al elbow manhood temp they H M o UT and I'm calling from Dartmouth College in Hanover direction and my question is to - okay I want to telephone industry they had an interview with black journal about three weeks ago and an attractive theory of drugs impurity of white people rather would you just give me your question please okay my question is the houses still come out Angela David and President Nixon advisor feel about this curie and they agree or disagree with it and why let me attempt to paraphrase that first of all for the caller as I stated President Nixon's advisor was unable to be here however mr. Carmichael and miss Davis might want to respond he's referring to dr. Francis wellzyn who is a black psychiatrist who says that white racism is due to the fact that whites do not hate blacks because blacks are black white say blacks because whites are not black and that racism is a reaction formation to something that you can't be and can't have and that the state of lightness is in essence a state of genetic deficiency in a state of albinism and it developed in conjunction with the development of capitalism if you look at this country in particular you see that the ideological whole ideological network of racism arose in order to justify the use of black slaves the kidnapping of black people from Africa and the use of black slaves in order to lay the basis for an agricultural capitalism in the south and then eventually in in order to provide for the capitalist system in this country a group of people who could be super exploited who could be used as a reserve labor force and I think it's important to recognize the fact that the reason why the those who presumed to be the leaders of this country have resorted so consistently to racism is because of the fact that it assists the ruling class to reap more profits let me just give you an example if you look at the wage differential of black workers and white workers you have something like 21 billion dollars if you add Chicanos and Indians and foto Ricans and other people of color you get about 28 billion dollars now that 28 billion dollars means a lot to the capitals of this country but racism also serves another purpose and I think it's important to understand this racism is used by the rulers of this country in order to convince white people who are also the masses of white people who are also exploited they are exploited as we are and they not there was a qualitative difference in the sense that we are racially and nationally oppressed were white people not white people the masses of white people are working people and and the fruits of their labor are are robbed by the capitalist but you see when that when the worker is focusing all of his attention the white worker on black people and when he thinks that the reason why he is now unemployed is because of the fact that you know there's a system which gives black people in certain industries job priorities and when Nixon is able to Nixon and all of the others are able to SiC white workers on black workers then they have created a situation where the white worker is not even going to think about the fact that he's being exploited by the capitalists and I think that the whole question of dividing and ruling has been one of the ways in which the oppressors historically have most efficiently dominated racism serves the ruling class and precisely that way and I think that right now in this country today racism is perhaps the fundamental question we're facing and white people have to understand is white people have to understand that they have to wage on their own initiative a struggle against the racism which is also used in order to make it too much in order to facilitate their own exploitation by those who dominate this country totally he like his father well I would I would say that I imagined it my sister Francis had a lot of examples and certainly documentary facts to back up a theory and I wouldn't get into disagreeing or agreeing with her what I would ask is how do we destroy it while that may be the major problem I've granted that let's say that is the major problem why people are able to enforce racism through capitalism that's how they amass their power and racism is really a question of power that's all this is whether or not one race has has more power to inflict punishment on another for example if a white boy wants to lynch me that's his problem if he lynches me it's my problem thus it behooves me to build as much power as I can to protect myself against racism and also to destroy the base that gives the racists the reality power the power reality to lynch me or to inflict power upon me he amasses there through capitalism thus is my job to thoroughly dismantle that system which will render him powerless and once he's rendered powerless then perhaps we can begin to deal with the question I would not I witness again the question of there's no doubt that the the major problem that the black man faces all over the world is a problem of economic exploitation there's no that's core question the answer is how do you get to it I know that the only way you can get to it is through politics you must first politically organized before you can amass the economic may we take two quick responses from Judge booth much of the attack here today this evening has been on Nixon and I think everybody should know that we're not just on Nixon we're on with the entire society the entire system as it operates and I have had a chance to go to South Africa and to Namibia on a couple of occasions and I've seen how our government not just the president but the Congress the courts and everything else our government is sponsoring the racist regime in South Africa and in Namibia I don't know I think the media is responsible to a great degree because of the media of this country the the press television radio magazines all of it have kept from the American public the link between South Africa and the United States I have found in my dealings in the American video in Africa and otherwise that for example our Defense Department myths of the South African post office to use our tracking station in Pretoria South Africa for communication purposes and for communication purposes in order to deal with the black people of South Africa who are now rising up there is a war on oil of southern Africa and the United States is helping the racist regimes there to win the war against black folks by permitting free free of charge the silent composed I was attacked attack in to our tracing tracking station in Pretoria we are using the American government and all the American people in their own American tax dollars to help racism there we likewise are selling ships sending ships airplanes to Portugal so they can use them against black people in Angola and Mozambique we're doing a great deal of these kinds of things we're selling herbicides and we're covering it up by selling these things to private companies which in turn turn it over to the government and use them against black people in South Africa and I think that maybe we ought to try to get these facts across for the American people and to particularly to the black American people so that they can use them to dismantle we want it looks ugly you go your way and I think we can go different ways we want to but we've got to recognize we've got the same go and however way we each was one ago we ought to recognize we do have similar goals that we can work for the same end so I've always been for unity in the black community we'll always before it our party the all African People's Revolutionary Party has been calling for a black United Front the meetings of all black people irrespective of ideology wants we want our people free thus it's not for example I think this is very beautiful it's unfortunate we can't get this unless someone calls us to be on TV but I'm always been for that I learned that from dr. King and from Malcolm X the newest Black Power Conference of course 67 and all the rest since then have indicated the same kind of thing may we have the response from mr. Knightley in was whether or not one agreed with the philosophy that the racism white racism is an anger on the part of whites because they're not like I don't think that at all I quite agree with my sister Angela Davis that racism is really a matter of exploitation it's an economic thing and whether it's in South Africa South United States or northern United States it is a method of exploitation and the exploitation does not really benefit the whites that is not the white working-class maybe I did disservice in and I'm sure I did now in recalling the theory because what dr. wells Inge said was that race was the dynamic around which the political and the social system was organized to oppress blacks can we have a short remark and then it takes a next question Nelson yeah my comment was on on the same question and I think is it's important in terms of the solution or the approach to solving the problem you know created by racism that we come to some clarification again on what it is and where it come from and I'm referring to again to stokeley's comments about you know that perhaps was was not central and I'm saying that you can't really devise a strategy to begin to deal with the problem of racism in the society without a comprehension of its source because and why it's there where it come from the motive forces that created it and again I think that leads us back to what Angela said as a point of departure you know in our efforts to go to dismantle racism all right next question please [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] our difficulty hearing I will restate his question is it possible to persuade existing black organizations to assign appropriate staffs from each of these organizations to convene and develop for presentation a cogent list of priorities would it be possible once this list of priorities has been developed to utilize the network of organizational units such as in a double ACP urban league SCLC core so forth and the black colleges in this country to verify this list of priorities and being relevant to our cause and then to rally the blacks in this country to begin promoting the activities at the local state and national levels to culminate as a national agenda by 1976 the 200th anniversary of the birth of our country congressman Stokes would you stab down I think the gentleman's suggestion has merit what he is in effect talking about is coalition's within the black community itself when we talk politically of being able to acquire a real political power we talk in terms of coalition's where you put white people black people Puerto Ricans Chicanos white liberals for whites all together and you through this process you acquire political power and it seems to me that when you talk in terms of being able to form coalition's between the races obviously you ought to be able to form a coalition within the race in terms of of unity for the race so I think the gentleman has has merit and that it could well be explored although it's kind of failed it seems recently used also in the black political assembly and there are other attempts at have been made I think what he's saying is that we've got to make it work and that's our function as I said he's asking for something I think a little more sophisticated than what has presently been attempted and that is to come up with the priorities and then put it in the hands of people who are professional thinkers and then establish the priorities and then come back to the leadership organizational leadership and have a goals and objects for 1976 I think the basic kinds of issues of the black and poor community is faced with everybody accepts as priorities so if we're talking about make that a national goal for 1976 they have been the national goal at least since Ivan why are you satisfied with the with the implementation of these goals ah no absolutely not satisfied with the implementation I even satisfied with the approach to what I think we should avoid doing however there was getting ourselves in another steady bag where we'd go back and come back with data in what happened and we sit down and all agreed that those other but he gives a cut-off date he says 1976 I'd like to view tonight there are very few holes of his question well in terms of realism in terms of realism we have not solved our problem so it's Dave and he's asking for black leaders and black organizations to give him some plan and give him some date for completion of this very important points though the Gehry convention came out with a set of listed priorities whether we agree to disagree those conditions existed in certain places the Congressional Black Caucus who after a number of exhausted hearings involving all parts of community thinking came down also the list of priorities which was addressed to the National Congress in their state of the nation message I believe in the earlier part of the Congress now anybody who takes a look at what was said that recognizes these to be problems I don't see the need to have some sort of convenient again of black leaders but let me my problem Tony is that we traditionally convene leadership and forget to convene people I let me let me be the devil's advocate here we are sitting and perhaps some of you feel a little nervous about being called leaders but you are because the term has been stigmatized and I can understand it but let's be practical here is mrs. Hamer who is in the the middle of Mississippi they have a farm cooperation their farmland their cotton is under water they're starving now what actually do organizations do specifically one two three four do you sin 4 loaves of bread and and and and two two ham hocks do you go down and I mean in terms of saying well yes it's there are brothers and sisters in the rural South of starving that's an abstract now what do we do how do we move from nothing to one this is I think the substance of what this brother is asking I I just don't see it not being a legitimate concern let's talk about a disaster situation and we talk about the federal government as the institution to relieve that disaster our local government when I'm saying that is there is a clear procedure to follow it in that situation for instance our illustrious leader has declared certain parts of it a disaster area so fine the machinery of the Red Cross or whoever cranks up and does but it Jews the the National Jewish community would have fed them Israel would have aided them this is we say on one hand that we can't prove you can't depend on the federal government then when it what a black person's in trouble we say the federal government should another experience with disaster areas and I think perhaps we can advance the discussion a little further using this example is that in the past when we have had disaster areas in the south Mississippi in particular the federal government has acted in discriminatory fashion and administering disaster aid and one of the things that was needed then was coast monitoring by a concerned black community by skilled black people to go in and at first addressed the immediate problems that the people had but as well to make the federal government live up to the standards that it had enunciated for itself not only that I think many times we don't understand that unity is a struggle because when the black man tries to unify it is obvious and expected and understood that the white power structure of this country does not want that to happen thus they move in many different ways not avert but rather cover to keep the black people divided because we have a responsibility if we try and last year and we didn't do it we tried the year before we try we will keep trying because we got to do it we got to do what is the alternative and the other question is that on the question of leaders versus people it is just a simple systematic way of organizing you represent the state county federal municipal employees that's a large number of black people in this country and and other people okay but large number of black people undeniably so you represent that sector brother Nelson represents yobu which is an organizing group that's all over the country that's it that's the sector that he represents the Honorable Percy Sutton our brother here represents Harlem that's a fact brother Stokes represents a constituency in Ohio that's a fact if these people sit down and come together they will create an atmosphere in which your constituency his constituency his constituency will now be inspired to come together thus we have to understand what it's about just bringing the leaders together is to set an atmosphere of unity because when when your constituency when brother Sutton's constituency but brother Stokes constituency look up to those who they see as national leaders they see them divided thus it D mobilizes them but if they saw us in constant contact they would be inspired and as we would speed up the process of organizing the very come together my concern is to not become bogged down in four or five years of trying to determine priorities for instance when the administration came in with their wage price guidelines more waste control that was an instant kind of thing that poor people were confronted with not rich people not doctors not bankers where interest rates profits but wages I'm saying we've got to be prepared to deal with that for instance the the power of Honk's in the country immediately moved Steel Workers Auto Workers whoever was necessary to relieve the pressure from their people they could move to get themselves exempted or excluded we must be unified it's not necessary to be unified we must be powerful all right you're gonna get power from unity Tony you pointed out just then with regard to the Jewish community that had there happened within the realm of the interests of the Jewish community that which happens and you're mentioning in Mississippi to Fannie Lou Hamer there would have been a different response we're talking about monitoring the federal government in what it gives and the Jewish community would have been talking about monitoring the federal government in what it gives but also and themselves doing something we have not reached that point in our development it goes back to what Angela Davis has said it is all economic because until we're able to organize ourselves in whatever movement we have whatever philosophies we have to move economically to structure the brother or sister the brother or sisters not going to listen to you or to any of us unless we can change the condition of his life either create a socialist system for him or make his life better in the capitalist with you would you accept the Nation of Islam as an example of that that's an example of well as an example of blacks developing the the second statement in your and now yes I think let me just say this I think the Nation of Islam moves towards what I should like to see it moves towards doing something for the economic side of black people unfortunately it has not had the impact many of us would wish it would have and I guess the reason it has not had that impact is because they're not yet it's sufficient number believers I think Charles and Mary beard said many years ago the problem with regard to the white work in America is that it was not sufficiently class-conscious I think the problem with black people in America is that we're not sufficiently class conscious we still keep believing that we're going to make it in the system brother we've the problem of setting priorities or developing national black agenda I don't think it's a difficult one for black people black groups I think that the difficult difficulty lies whenever we again attempt to implement these agendas and priorities and here when our ideological differences began to interfere with our ability to function as a collective group now the question also of unity I think that we must understand that we are law as group of people something like 40 to 50 million in this country and they're going to always the differences of opinion I think our primary concern should be developing some kind of mechanism for operational unity other words when we come up with that national black agenda with those priorities then we despite our different ideologies should have that kind of mechanism that would embrace all these are the hours so that we can implement the the national black agenda and I think that here where we break down as a collective group and that if that can be clearly seen right now in terms of our different political ideology now for instance we are constantly lawyer to the Democratic Party we are constantly dampering with the Republican Party we are constantly via maintaining a permanent coalition with the white race it unions that is one of our greatest enemies and country terms of keeping black people out of the union subsequently keeping them unemployed and I think black people you see if we were to come together would be a big argument and to where I Lawrence is chill I will not be with our black goal was an objective V because of these various attachment that we have and I think that until we develop to the point well our larger will be with black people leave in terms of our affiliation any other group we see that of the tactic and a strategy and do not let this deter us I think we'd be more effective and implementing we must move on where we are running short of time and I will plead one more time for us to please make our remarks very cogent and not get into it because I know all of you have a very gifted in this respect congressman Stokes would you care to comment no I just wanted to add one additional point to what my brother here has said someone a few moments ago mentioned the Jewish people now they may differ ideologically or philosophically about many things the one thing they all agree upon is Israel it seems to me there's a lesson in that for black people okay may we not okay this huge like may we have a comment from him and then I think they do disagree that's right I think we do owe it to those who have phoned in questions to try to handle those those questions out of courtesy so could we very expediency move toward that and mr. Williams you've been trying to make a point I hope your viewers don't get the impression from what's been said so far that there is no cooperation in the black community you know because I think you know that they might feel that way that all of us are doing our own thing and we you know we never relate to one another and I've got and says you know that we do cooperative we do form coalition's so you know so you know it isn't it splendid as it might appear so if we don't form qualities and what has been formed for us well yeah by worries I mean I felt many times we think we've got something going and the buck that has caused us to get into those hotels and and those meetings and caucuses and a seminar Eze has come from the white community without our knowledge sometimes without the knowledge some of us and so therefore the conference takes the takes attack that is totally different and and also splits us up to because of our ideologies makes us think about ourselves with being different we're not got a great deal to work with we gonna have one short remark from miss Burrell name we go next question I think I think one of the things that needs to be said Tony is the fact that political power and the ownership of capital seem somehow to be handmaidens I think we agreed I think I've heard that about four times here well if that's true then you decide which one of those comes first I'm sure that you'd better have some money before before the political power comes I think that's what congressman talked about a little bit earlier little old ladies and tennis shoes that get 20,000 votes for candidate don't first don't have access to it but some guy to give $20,000 does and that's the difference and it comes as a result of the ownership of business if if if we're talking about the ownership of capital then then that gets to be important and all capitalists don't have to own a little grocery store I mean there's a broad middle class in this next question please and my question was with the word ending in Vietnam and unemployment the rate of unemployment climbing as it has anyone on the panel is a possibility of race riots occurring across the question was with war in Vietnam ending and unemployment I assumed rising clack you have the rate of unemployment climbing as it has does anyone see the possibility of race riots occurring across the country certainly the potential is here we've put all this money for so many years into Vietnam fighting a war in a place that we shouldn't be fighting intervening in a civil distance I'm sorry a syphilis civil disagreement is really what it is there yet doing nothing to structure people as they come back here grant unemployment with the Nixon administration leading in an attitude to continue to do nothing cutbacks all along the line right here in the city of New York just recently I think we might have had a riot where a policeman shot a ten-year-old boy in the back there was great disorder in the vicinity of the house and with the youngster lived now if the Nixon administration continues its cutback and had this been summertime when that youngster was shot in the back I think you might have found a right let me let me clarify the fine language of this question and the question says race riots it doesn't we this question doesn't say the rebellions of the 60s in which blacks were burning up their own houses and you know robbing liquor stores let me respond to that I don't think if we have riots again I think blacks are much more sophisticated than we were in the early 60s and much more bold than we were in the early 60s and I don't think the disorders are going to be confined to black communities a lot of brothers and sisters who are much more bold than before who will carry the disorders if we want to turn them that into the white community to the downtown banks to the where the power structure is yes I think there's a grand possibility of disorder and race riots I would hope not I think that we have a responsibility because no doubt the atmospheres that we have a responsibility to construct that that that that consciousness that will now rise and to guide it in whatever channels we see irrespective of whether we say with van violent I think we do have a responsibility to try and channel that because while we can agree on an increase in racism I think think would be an appropriate to draw the conclusion that that will manifest itself in race riots and in fact there may be the problem our responsibility to work to make sure it does not let's see if I understood the question whether there was a possibility yes my answer yes was a possibility well as relators unemployment obligation of course we have responsibility and the responsibility to challenge it now I can take different forms I generally don't understand about that wall because i've never seen the wall in and people's do your shoe you know when they make that clear to me then I really want somehow to clarify that because and number two I couldn't understand why I so been a black man well sent over there to fight and everybody I seen chocolate got offering plans is whitening there's just a lot of things that I don't understand about that you know and well you know this is enough to make people upset because that upset me that upset other people because I do know that it was more than white people went to Vietnam and I know that you know somebody else should have been you know it was to there was two things a lot of people in the south and I can't understand if the wall is over and the prisoner at home while it's the issue I think the point is clear the war in Southeast Asia is still going on and but as well there is now an increased war here at home in terms of the conditions that people are having to live under the conditions that returning veterans are having to face as part of the National Conference of black lawyers I traveled in Asia are very recently and talk to many of the black servicemen and women in the Briggs and the stockades and in the courts and talk to them in their barracks and checked out as well the situation here the United States people who are about to be released under administrative discharges in the whole range of less than honorable discharges that the system has put up on these people and I think that not only do we have to take sister hammers point about the war going on in Southeast Asia there's a war going on right here in the United States in terms of the conditions that these people are gonna have to face when they come out and kind of apply that they're going to be forced to live and I think that has implications not only for the black community but for the entire American can we got there they were shooting we got there we've left there comes in between African feeling I think mr. Carmichael we're all waiting on you to answer yes Africa is our mother undeniably it is our home I think that we get confused and that's why our struggle becomes so confused because a nationalist pre awakening is a necessity for anti imperialist struggle all countries go through their nationalist stage before they go into that serious the Vietnamese Chinese the Cubans and our problem is that we don't really understand nationalism when you say nation you talk about land our land is Africa that's undeniable this land is not our land it's not it's not our land this plant is not the white man's land he's just a European settler on this land this land is a red man's land and the red man will raise contradictions to get his land back and when it does black people have to be crystal clear what our position is the red man fighting in in in Wounded Knee right now opposition could only be but one we support him to Greek claim his land while we also wage our struggle to take back our land now the way people now ask the questions well brother stole clear what am I supposed to do am I supposed to leave America and go to Africa I think that's an incorrect way of phrasing the question once we understand that Africa is our home then the way we raise the question is rather Stokely I'm in America what can I do to help home once the question is raised that way then we see it more clearly but it's undeniable that when you fight revolution you fight for land thank you very much don't try to get to another question next question please Cleveland Ohio and my question is on census taking and the fact that from 1900 to 1970 according to the World Almanac the middle Almanac and census why we have still remained in prison to examine percent of the total population and exactly who she was asking in essence are we the minority all a majority on an international scale we are we're in the minority but we may be as a part of black people and brown people in jority worldwide people were the majority I think we have time for one more question we have a birthday and one of the questions is directed to Stokey Carmichael yeah which is how can you be an Africa and America at the same time could you answer that very succinctly plum sure is a very very short end to that very simply when I was in Africa for the last four years my mother was in America and she was in Trinidad but she's my mother I have a responsibility to take care of her I took care of my mother wherever she was for my brother I would tell him that he should read the works of the Honorable Marcus Garvey and he will see that the Honorable Marcus Garvey never saw Africa never saw it yet it is undeniable that the Honorable Marcus Garvey worked harder for Africa than any man in his lifetime during that period and he never saw we have a few seconds that Angela let me ask you what is your involvement now in in the political prisoner movements specifically we have about a half a minute we are trying to build a movement in racing all of those thousands and tens of the tens of thousands who supported me as well as anybody else who can see the need to free more political prisoners and victims of political repression we're talking about fighting around the case of Michelle McGee the San Quentin six Carlos Feliciano that brown right here in New York I was visiting days ago Russo McGee in San Quentin I hate dinner okay I feel like the bad guy on his program but it's been very interesting and I'm sure the audience has gotten some tremendous insights like drunk would like to thank you for coming and giving us your ability and your wisdom on this level will now inspire us to work harder to unite amongst ourselves a Mian rather [Music]

Channel: AfroMarxist

Views: 562,052

Rating: 4.9408016 out of 5

Keywords: Angela Davis, Kwame Ture, Fannie Lou Hamer, Black History, Civil Rights, Socialism, Marxism Leninism, Black Communists, Black Panther Party, CPUSA, All African Revolutionary Party, Stokley Carmichael

Id: MojDoeloUTc

Length: 87min 2sec (5222 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 21 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/amfeagin]

Nice