Page 1 |
Save page Remove page | Previous | 1 of 5 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
Large
Extra Large
Full Size
Full Resolution
|
This page
All
|
Loading content ...
Black power forum Distributed at Black Power Forum POWER & RACISM Held Elliott Hall N0v. 1-3, 196? One of the tragedies of the struggle against racism is that up to now there has been no national organization which could speak to the growing militancy of young black people in the urban ghetto. There has been only a civil rights movement, whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites. It served as a sort of buffer zone between them and angry young blacks. None of its so-called leaders could go into a rioting community and be listened to. In a sense, I blame ourselves-together with the mass media-for what has happened in Watts, Harlem, Chicago, Cleveland, Omaha. Each time the people in those cities saw Martin Luther King get slapped, they became angry; when they saw four little black girls bombed to death, they were angrier; and when nothing happened, they were steaming. We had nothing to offer that they could see, except to go out and be beaten again. We helped to build their frustration. An organization which claims to speak for the needs of a community-as does the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee- must speak in the tone of that community, not as somebody else's buffer zone. This is the significance of black power as a slogan. For once, black people are going to use the words they want to use- not just the words whites want to hear. And they will do this no matter how often the press tries to stop the use of the slogan by equating it with racism or separatism. An organization which claims to be working for the needs of a community-as SNCC does-must work to provide that community with a position of strength from which to make its voice heard. This is the significance of black power beyond the slogan. Black Power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it. We should begin with the basic fact that black Americans have two problems: they are poor and they are black. All other problems arise from this two-sided reality: lack of education, the so-called apathy of black men. Any program to end racism must address itself to that double reality. Almost from its beginning, SNCC sought to address itself to both conditions with a program aimed at sinning political power for impoverished Southern blacks. We had to begin with politics because black Americans are a propertyless people in a country where property is valued above all. We had to work for power, because this country does not function by morality, love, and nonviolence, but by power. Thus we determined to win political power, with the idea of moving on from there into activity that would have economic effects. With power, the masses could make or participate in making the decisions which govern their destinies, and thus create basic change in their day-to-day lives. But if political power seemed to be the key to self-determination, it was also obvious that the key had been thrown down a
Object Description
Title | Power & Racism |
Date | 1967-11-01 |
Creator | unknown |
Subject headings | Black power;University of North Carolina at Greensboro |
Topics | UNCG Black Power Forum, 1967 |
Place | Greensboro (N.C.) |
Description | This is an unsigned, uncredited pamphlet distributed at the controversial Black Power Forum held November 1-3, 1967 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). The pamphlet calls for a national organization that addresses the growing militancy among young black people, and criticizes the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee as a "buffer zone" that does not speak in the "tone" of the community it purports to represent. There are also criticisms of racism in America and of the reluctance of white liberals to work within their communities. |
Type | text;image |
Original format | clippings |
Original dimensions | 8.5" x 11' |
Original publisher | [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified] |
Language | en |
Contributing institution | Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries |
Source collection | UA108.2 University Archives Subject Files |
Rights statement | http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/ |
Additional rights information | COPYRIGHT NOT EVALUATED. The copyright status of this item has not been fully evaluated and may vary for different parts of the item. The user is responsible for determining actual copyright status for any reuse of the material. |
Object ID | UA108CRG.0336 |
Digital publisher | The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries, PO Box 26170, Greensboro NC 27402-6170, 336.334.5305 -- http://library.uncg.edu/ |
Sponsor | LSTA grant administered by the North Carolina State Library -- http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/ld/grants/lsta.html |
OCLC number | 884368531 |
Page/Item Description
Title | Page 1 |
Full text | Black power forum Distributed at Black Power Forum POWER & RACISM Held Elliott Hall N0v. 1-3, 196? One of the tragedies of the struggle against racism is that up to now there has been no national organization which could speak to the growing militancy of young black people in the urban ghetto. There has been only a civil rights movement, whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites. It served as a sort of buffer zone between them and angry young blacks. None of its so-called leaders could go into a rioting community and be listened to. In a sense, I blame ourselves-together with the mass media-for what has happened in Watts, Harlem, Chicago, Cleveland, Omaha. Each time the people in those cities saw Martin Luther King get slapped, they became angry; when they saw four little black girls bombed to death, they were angrier; and when nothing happened, they were steaming. We had nothing to offer that they could see, except to go out and be beaten again. We helped to build their frustration. An organization which claims to speak for the needs of a community-as does the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee- must speak in the tone of that community, not as somebody else's buffer zone. This is the significance of black power as a slogan. For once, black people are going to use the words they want to use- not just the words whites want to hear. And they will do this no matter how often the press tries to stop the use of the slogan by equating it with racism or separatism. An organization which claims to be working for the needs of a community-as SNCC does-must work to provide that community with a position of strength from which to make its voice heard. This is the significance of black power beyond the slogan. Black Power can be clearly defined for those who do not attach the fears of white America to their questions about it. We should begin with the basic fact that black Americans have two problems: they are poor and they are black. All other problems arise from this two-sided reality: lack of education, the so-called apathy of black men. Any program to end racism must address itself to that double reality. Almost from its beginning, SNCC sought to address itself to both conditions with a program aimed at sinning political power for impoverished Southern blacks. We had to begin with politics because black Americans are a propertyless people in a country where property is valued above all. We had to work for power, because this country does not function by morality, love, and nonviolence, but by power. Thus we determined to win political power, with the idea of moving on from there into activity that would have economic effects. With power, the masses could make or participate in making the decisions which govern their destinies, and thus create basic change in their day-to-day lives. But if political power seemed to be the key to self-determination, it was also obvious that the key had been thrown down a |