Sunday Forum; National Welfare Rights Organization Fifth Annual Convention

It's too free for all. This is track a track. Hello. Testing one two three four a trackday and Providence trackday and Providence Transkei at Providence. This is. Organization for and W R O as we show more frequently refer to it. Throughout the 50 United States will be gathered in Rhode Island to discuss situations strategies and plans of consolidated action for the 400 local Welfare Rights Organization chapters across the country in Hawaii and Alaska. Observers are here as well from welfare organizations in the Dominion of Canada. This convention has settled in Rhode Island in support of the local Welfare Rights Organization here of which is currently engaged in a

concerted effort to reverse legislative actions to place limits on welfare eligibility and allotments and they have come in force. Many nationally known speakers will be heard in these sessions between now and Saturday evening beginning this evening a session featuring representative Ronald V Dellums. Democratic representative from California. Representative Bella Abzug from New York. Joining them will be Mrs. Joni Tillman the chairman of the National Executive Committee of the nwr Roe. Tomorrow morning the topic of attention shift to the movement here from Fred Camaguey field organizer. The National Coordinating Committee for trade union action. Democracy. Tony Henry executive director of the National tenants organization will participate. Josephine Gulick field officer of the national committee on household and point. Laurence Kennedy Attorney and women's rights activist. On that panel. With Danny's shoulder. From senior citizen power that. Will be moderated by Vincent cerebellar. To serve as the president of the Greater New Haven Labor Council of ravels CIO Joseph Guzman's

manager of the Federation of university employees of local 35 of the bill. Presidential candidate George McGovern will address the national convention of the nwr out tomorrow morning at approximately. 11:30. All of these activities will be brought to you live. Over most police stations at National Public Radio. Tomorrow evening. The topic will be the future of the welfare rights movement. The Rev. Dr. Ralph Abernathy will be the first speaker. He is the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Joining him will be Rodney Davis prominent anti-war spokesman David Dellinger representing the people's coalition for peace and justice. Hobart Jackson from the National Caucus of the Black Aged again Flo Kennedy Gloria Steinem journalist and women's rights activist she is now affiliated with the National Women's Political Caucus. Folk singer Pete Seeger and the president of the National Welfare Rights Organization Dr. George whilom. On Friday morning again the topic will be the movement at that general session we will hear from them. Amaury barranca formerly known as Lloyd Jones right now with the Committee for a

unified Newark New Jersey Liebreich men from United native americans Corky Gonzales from the crusade for justice Chicago organization in Denver Colorado. Jim Wright from the Center for Urban ethnic affairs and the moderator of that session will be Stonie cook the executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The final formal activity which we will be broadcasting from this fifth national convention will be a banquet which will be held at Rocky Point in Warwick Rhode Island up the rocky point Palladium on Saturday evening. This will be after the Tanglewood concert broadcasts were slightly delayed and at that banquet we will hear from Coretta Scott King. The widow of late Dr. Martin Luther King. Georgia Representative Julian Bond tentatively scheduled to speak at that banquet right now is Bertsch by. Prior to the opening of this convention this afternoon. This is Johnny Tillman and Dr. George Wiley are prominent executors in the National Welfare Rights Organization held a press conference. George Bauer was there.

During the briefing this afternoon before members of the press. Dr. Wiley and Mrs. Tillman said that the emphasis on this year's convention would be somewhat different from those in the past. They're going to center on three areas of discussion and one of the most important they feel and one of the ones I haven't tried before is a new political awareness among welfare rights recipients as to their role in the 1972 elections. Dr. Wylie said during the press conference today that if you would notice the schedule and the number of political candidates and politicians who will be speaking here for the next few days you will understand better the. The awareness that the convention delegates hope that they will attain during this year they will be. Discussing what role they will take on the local and national level for the elections the primaries the conventions and right up until November of 1972. So that'll be one of the principal topics of discussion during this National Welfare Rights Organization convention here in Providence. A second area which will be discussed. They call the new areas of concern. They feel that

for too long the Welfare Rights Organization has been concerned primarily with welfare itself and has not really branched out or let itself think of other areas and problems are indigenous to those on welfare. And so some of the workshops during this week will be concerned with other areas including. Health care. This is a large problem for those on AFDC aid for families with dependent children for elderly for those disabled. They will also be discussing tenancy rights the problems of housing faced by those on public welfare. They will get into a new topic. The women's movement tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock there will be an informal women's wrap scheduled. Several several members of the women's liberation movement. Several women political figures will be here to discuss that particular aspect. They will also get into ethnic. Questions. The Chicano American problem of black power issue the plight of the American Indian and the Spanish speaking residents problems and of course that will be discussed at a workshop with General Session on Friday morning.

The final area to be discussed is how the National Welfare Rights Organization will plan its full offensive against the Family Assistance Program which was sponsored in 1969 as part of President Nixon's new American Revolution. The family assistance program more commonly known as fact. Is an attempt to ease the bureaucratic and financial burden on the states who provide about 55 percent of the welfare benefits to those on public assistance. What it would do basically is through stiffer work requirements and through other incentives it would attempt to bring people off welfare by giving them jobs. Now the plan would be a person would be given a job after job training. His job would be of a variety of things mostly unskilled and he would be paid anywhere from a dollar to a dollar 60 an hour or the minimum wage. And the attempt to be to get as many people working as possible. If a person had a job and did not meet the. Minimum cut off. Welfare would be given so that he would be able to support himself and his family. The

federal. Program would give sixteen hundred dollars per year for a family of four. And this is a bone of contention among members of the National Welfare Rights Organization who claim that sixteen hundred dollars in the year 1971 is utterly. Unfair. They say now that it takes sixty five hundred dollars a year for a family of four for it to exist. In 1969 and WRVO first devised what it called its adequate income plan and at that time they calculated that a family of four could exist on fifty five hundred dollars. Now they say with cost of living the economy and inflation that it has to go up to 60 $500 a year. Another part of the program as we mentioned before would be work training. There would be 150000 job openings which would be opened up by the federal government as of yet. Mr. Nixon and his administration have not been able to determine where the jobs would be found. They would set up a network of job training centers and also would set up a nationwide daycare center facility whereby mothers who did not have.

Children under five years of age would be able to work and therefore supplement their income. Now National Welfare Rights Organization is very dissatisfied with this program and they are going all out to fight fat. That is one of a key phrases during this week's convention. They feel that 60 percent of all welfare families would not get any more money under fat and in event. In fact 27 percent would get less than they are getting now. And they'd say even with the supplement a state like Massachusetts which has a fairly high percentage would get $100 less per year than it does now. During the course of Thursday and Friday the legislative policy committee will be holding public hearings here at the Brown University campus at this convention and they will be taking suggestion from convention delegates as to how National Welfare Rights might go about lobbying to change the fat program and to implement its own alternative to the Nixon program. After hearing the ideas of those here at the convention they will meet in private session on

Saturday and then on Sunday afternoon the policy committee will make its formal recommendations to the convention as a whole. Those are the three main issues that will be discussed during the next four days here at the National Welfare Rights Organization convention. The National Welfare Rights Organization is a membership organization according to the literature put out by the group. And now claims 75000 dues paying members and 400 local groups in 48 states. That number we imagine has been broaden to 50 states by the time the delegates have gathered here this afternoon. Primarily the W R O is composed of poor people they are black white Chicano Puerto Rican and Indian a cross-section of poor people across this country. Their job their goals. Are Simply stated in a pamphlet jobs or income. Now. They claim that decent jobs with adequate pay should be made available for those who can work. And for those who cannot they have phrased a demand or sixty five hundred dollars a year for a family of

four to come either from welfare or wages throughout the organization of the National Welfare Rights Organization. They stress autonomy of the local organizations. Each local Welfare Rights Organization is fully independent under the structure. Therefore to citing their own programs organizing themselves and raising their own funds. The nwr or National Welfare Rights Organization is all of these local groups brought together on a nationwide basis attempting to form a chain of support for each other. The national programs and goals are decided by votes of the delegates at conventions like these affiliated groups yearly meetings every two years. There is an nwr convention. This is the 1971 version. There all the years between conventions there are national conferences. Officers are elected only at the national convention and that will be happening here in closed session on Saturday morning and be an auditorium on the brown campus in Providence Rhode Island. Sales Hall where we speak to you tonight is crowded almost to its 500 seat

capacity right now and there are many people standing in the aisles as we wait for the appearance of tonight's speakers. A. Very. Wide and colorful mixture of blacks whites Puerto Ricans old people young people men and women. Cast a very wide grouping here now milling around as they looked toward the speakers platform at the head of this room awaiting the appearance of Mrs. Johnny Tillman. Representative Abzug of New York and Representative Dellums of California. The official representatives here are determined according to the size of the local Welfare Rights Organization chapters those chapters who go between 25 and 49 members are entitled to send one delegate and one alternate as official representatives to the convention. Those numbering the chapters numbering 50 to ninety nine members are entitled to two delegates and two alternates and from 100 to 200 members. They received three delegates and three alternates. Each additional one hundred members earns another delegate and another all an. Executive Committee is elected at the national convention and carries out the work of the

ARO on the national level. Also there is the National Coordinating Committee which is composed of the national officers and one elected representative from each state where Ralph Woolco rights groups are organized as states with over 2000 members may apply to the National Coordinating Committee for an additional representative. These representatives served for two years and coordinate and encourage welfare rights activities in their states while going forward with the national program. They are very careful about representation and credentials in this group to be seated on the National Coordinating Committee. The state representative and the alternate must bring them evidence that they were elected by a majority affiliated groups within the state at a state meeting. And the representatives and alternates may be recalled by their state meetings at any time. It is among the recommendations of the nwr all the local groups in the same city or state formed citywide and statewide. Welfare Rights organizations since they claim the welfare rights system is now controlled by city and state wide governments. The nwr all

recommends that state w Rosemead as often as possible to coordinate action in the state and to. Facilitate the transfer of information so that all of the local chapters are in fact informed about what's happening. George it might be helpful at this point if we could run down what is certain to sound in a way like alphabet soup through these four days. The Major. Names and programs that will be abbreviated beginning with nwr all we will say many times were National Welfare Rights Organization and fap. Fap of course is the Family Assistance Program which was initially proposed by President Nixon. Back in 1969 when he was discussing welfare reform and he brought it up again in a new form earlier this year in late 1970. Daniel Patrick Moynihan who was President Nixon's adviser on Urban Affairs is generally considered to have authored most of the fat program. Tonight's program was to have begun at 7:30 as we brought you the convention proceedings. But we might point out that it will be delayed a few

moments. Two of the main speakers representative Bella Abzug of New York City is now meeting with the press in another room Faunce house here on the Brown University campus. She is meeting with local and national network reporters. She will be coming over and she will speak. Immediately following Mrs. Johnny Tillman who is chairman of the Executive Committee of the National Welfare Rights Organization. She was to meet with the press at 7:30 and so she will be delayed. Representative Dellums of Berkeley California was to meet following Mrs. Abzug at 7:50 and so he will be coming over at about quarter after 8:00. And so this is why our proceedings have been slowed down somewhat and have not been getting off the ground. One of the buttons worn by several of the convention delegates is. Around the fair that says welfare and not warfare. The nwr own convention of 1971. And during today's press conference it was discussed briefly that the American priorities are a bit out of whack according to Dr. Wiley and Mrs Tillman. They point out that we're spending too much money for military affairs and not enough for the poor people of this country. And it's very interesting they

point out that the fiscal 1971 federal budget of 200 $1 billion shows that public welfare payments account for only 1.9 percent of the federal budget or about 4.2 billion dollars. Of course that is about 45 percent of the state by state. Welfare breakdown. They point out that the military programs account for thirty six point seven percent of the federal budget. Forty six point two percent for domestic programs. Foreign Affairs 1.8 percent space 1.7 farm subsidies 2.7 percent and the interest on the public debt. Eight point nine percent. But they say that the people in this country the welfare recipients are down at the bottom and only 1.9 percent. And so they are going to continue an active lobbying campaign which they have begun in Washington in the halls of Congress to try to get changes in the present welfare system through. They clearly do not support the Nixon program. They do support a version which was brought up by the National Democratic Party and sponsored by Senator Hubert Humphrey the chairman of that committee which would give more money but they say is still inadequate but they think much better than the present fat

program proposed by the administration. Another problem which has developed in the past year of course is President Nixon's revenue sharing plan. That plan would develop a $6 billion budget by which the federal government would return monies directly to the states and cities. Of course the Knicks Nixon revenue sharing plan has run into stiff opposition in Congress chiefly from Congressman Wilbur Mills who was chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. He has come up with an alternative plan one which would have the federal government take over the entire welfare burden for the cities and towns and thus the money that the president would have go in the form of revenue sharing would remain in the cities and towns for their own use. Congressman Mills figures that the cost of welfare to the federal government would be about seven point five billion dollars which is a billion and a half more than President Nixon's revenue sharing allotment. But the members of the National Welfare Rights Organization think that even the mills bill is not sufficient. Some of the provisions of it are a cash floor of twenty four hundred dollars per year for a family of four. It would eliminate the present food stamp program. It would call for a

federal ceiling of twenty four hundred dollars and would not require states to pay any benefits over that unless they choose to. In many states currently benefits could be cut back to the level of $2400 per year or two hundred dollars per month whichever the state feels it can afford. It is interesting to note. Governor Francis Sargent of Massachusetts said last week that probably the most important issue to be discussed in all of the 50 states this year and next year will be the welfare issue. It is interesting to note that of the 50 states. Every one of them. Finds that welfare is the largest share of their budget reaching about 50 percent of the expenditure. The state pays about 55 percent of its individual welfare budget for the year. The federal share is about 45 percent. On most welfare programs the state and the federal agencies divide payments 50/50. There are about. Six or eight different categories of welfare payments and the federal government divide them very evenly. Administration is one of the largest categories. The

state and the federal government divide that evenly child guardianship is picked up entirely by the state taxpayers. The Medicaid costs to those over 65 and on disability is divided equally. AFDC aid to families with dependent children is divided equally. Old age assistance. Similarly disability assurance and assistance is also divided equally. General relief however must be picked up entirely by the state or the local taxpayers. And this is becoming an increasingly difficult burden for many areas with the economic picture as it is with several people out of work. People are going on general relief and if they qualify for general relief they must be given benefits and of course the price for general relief has been rising at about 15 percent per year which is about 7 percent higher than the cost of living has gone up. And finally the Department of Mental Health which is the final area of welfare payments the federal and the state and pay for half of that particular budget.

BOB. The program for tonight is being refined somewhat and we have a couple of late additions in just a few minutes. This audience will quiet as Mrs. Bertha Cavanaugh takes the stage her first test will be one that we will not hear she will be taking care of administrative announcements about the logistics of this convention quartered here on the campus of Brown University in Providence Rhode Island. And then Bruce Thomas will lead the audience in a short burst of singing the official greeting of the Rhode Island planning committee and the Rhode Island Welfare Rights Organization will then be given by Bertha Cavanaugh. Franki Jetter nwr planning committee. He's the chairman of that committee. Will bring the greetings of the convention to Rhode Island and we'll introduce Mrs. Johnny Tillman. This is Joni Tillman as the chairman of the executive committee. Dr. George Wiley who was not scheduled to be here in the. Speeches tonight we'll be here to introduce Congresswoman Abzug and Congressman Dellums. And then once again we will hear. A formal presentation from

Mrs. Tillman. As we look from our position in a choir loft. And sales hall down onto the floor. The seats are just about all taken now five hundred seat capacity and about 100 other people circulating in the aisles. Greeting friends and acquaintances. Looking down on the floor. I notice that many people are reading through a document put forward by the nwr So it is a pamphlet and it bears the headline on the front in red letters on a blue background Sixty five hundred dollars. Now. I will read for a moment directly from this pamphlet since it certainly is the major issue under consideration here. It says nwr says there is a welfare crisis in the United States today. Their position despite the growing number of people on welfare. Over one fourth of the country's population cannot afford to provide themselves with the basic necessities of life food clothing and shelter. The country is not yet willing to find a solution to assure their welfare and R-OH says. But that solution does exist and it

is up to the government to make it a reality in their document. They challenge the government to change its priorities from what they call death and destruction to life and peace. The nwr calls upon the government to say stop subsidizing the rich and the corporations who need it least and start assuring an adequate income for all Americans through wages for welfare for both the state the richest 20 percent of the population today has 43 percent of the income while the poorest 20 percent has about 6 percent. They demand that the government move now to assure that everyone has an adequate income in their terms. Sixty five hundred dollars. In 1969 they first devised their adequate income plan and then calculated that a family of four made it fifty five hundred dollars to survive at a minimum but adequate level of help and decency. Now in the year 1971 they say it takes sixty five hundred dollars. The plan basically says that all Americans would be assured a basic standard of income. Twenty two hundred fifty dollars for a single individual and sixty five hundred dollars for a family of

four. They say the payments will vary according to family size and on one of the pages they say that the WRVO plan payment will show different levels of payment for different places. They say that urban United States areas will center around the sixty five hundred dollar mark and that non-metropolitan areas will be closer to the $6000 level they state. Six thousand one hundred ten. They've broken down some cities determined by the cost of living in those cities. In Atlanta Georgia they say an adequate income for a family of four is five thousand nine hundred eighty dollars. In Boston Massachusetts six thousand eight hundred ninety dollars. In places like Chicago six thousand seven hundred sixty dollars. Cincinnati Ohio this figure is six thousand one hundred seventy five dollars in Los Angeles. A high figure on this sheet. Seven thousand and twenty dollars per year. Adequate income for a family of four. This plan will also provide emergency grants for clothing and furniture to bring participants households up to minimum

standards of health and decency. At the time when they first enter into this plan and replacement costs would be provided in cases of floods fire or other substantial change in the family circumstances. Welfare seems to be an issue that is causing quite a bit of controversy on both sides of the fence. Those who are on public assistance is enough money. Those who pay the bills say that they are giving too much. There are many mistaken notions held by several people and one of the most common mistake the notion notions that the. Conduct of the study is going to be Drewes to reduce those number of eligible re-assign simply Interstate 270. Eighty thousand public welfare a tsunami here was studied and it was found to be going off there.

Hopefully it is believed by now that 12 year old tokenization that some new ideas have to be imparted to the American people to make them feel Senator McCarthy the recipients are not in fact cheaters. One of the ways which several state legislatures have attempted to implore employ to try to get rid of what they call hangers on and the cheaters is the residency requirement. About 10 states have recently discussed and some have passed residency requirements of one year under the plan anyone who does not live in the state in which he claims welfare for at least a year would be eligible. This would be basically in general relief AFDC categories. However this is running into stiff opposition only help towards adding federal judges. The most recent Welker's ruling came in Buffalo New York was when a federal court judge ruled that the state of New York which had recently passed two years of residency requirement was not in fact carried out. So what the court says done that it was illegal and they just issued a restraining order until such time as the Supreme Court ruled on whether the residency

requirement is legal. The United States Supreme Court did rule in 1969 on residency requirements and in the case of shims here overseas Thompson the Supreme Court said that employing a residency requirement merely to save money is illegal. Many people have said many state legislatures have said that the reason they would employ a residency requirement would be merely to save money at the cost of welfare is continually rising and that unless something is done the costs will get out of hand. The cost is rising at a phenomenal rate pay say and this is one of the few ways of stemming the tide. But the court says that under the present set up you cannot employ a residency requirement merely to save money. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is another state the state of Connecticut has also discussed residency requirements as requirements and several liberals in the state legislatures are very hesitant about employing this thing because they say that federal courts in their areas would only strike down the residency requirement and would set up an injunction for fitting that privilege. And so this is one of the problems that is being faced now by

state legislatures. And apparently it is not constitutional down on the podium now as an organizer for the National Welfare Rights Organization. He is going over some of the ground rules. He is telling the convention delegates where they may pick up messages where they may phone if they have to. Most of the delegates around eight hundred or a thousand of them are staying in the dormitory and other facilities here at Brown University in nearby Pembroke College. And so we can see Jerry Shea who is the director of the. Welfare Rights Organization convention. He is from Boston and previously worked with the Massachusetts Welfare Rights Organization and came down to Providence to set the wheels in motion so to speak for this four day convention. And Bob you can see the crowd a bit better than I can. What does it look like down on the floor. Well right now the floor is just about at capacity. All of the seats are filled. There are about 500 seats here in Sales Hall in Providence. And

as Georgia said they're expecting 800 to 1000 people to come before the final voting session which will be held on Saturday morning. That session will be closed. It will be held only around me an auditorium a large sports indoor sports arena but a few blocks from here at that time because there is the official election of officers and the voting on platforms and plans of action that the full 800 to 1000 people will be in attendance. This National Public Radio live coverage of the annual convention of the National Welfare Rights Organization will continue following a 15 second pause station identification. This is National Public Radio. This is National Public Radio in Boston WGBH FM at eighty nine point seven mega cyclists. From the sales hall at Brown University in Providence Rhode Island this is National Public Radio

live coverage of the fifth national convention of the National Welfare Rights Organization. Throughout the next four days 1000 delegates some friends from chapters of nwr all throughout the 50 United States will be gathered here in Rhode Island to discuss situations strategies and plans of consolidated action for the 400 local welfare rights organizations across this country and in Hawaii and Alaska. Observers are here as well this evening from the Dominion of Canada. Looking at the organization and the activities and the plans of the National Welfare Rights Organization with hopes of going back to Canada and organizing poor people in the same way we speak to you from an auditorium on the campus of Brown University which is now crowded to capacity awaiting the parents. Dr. George Wylie the director of the National Welfare Rights Organization. This is Johnny Tillman the chairman of the executive committee and Representative Bella Abzug of New York. And Representative Ronald Dellums of California on the stage right now they're still going over some of the logistics.

We're waiting here in sales for our speakers at the opening session or 1971 to arrive. And so there are information on the local geography where meals will be served where quarters are first day at the city's telephones for communication and now there's a question. Going back and forth from the stands to the floor. Or they've given the announcements on the person on the speaker and anybody here from Brown University. Has asked if anyone here is from Brown University. And but two hands went up. I gave this up and it just said is that some of the falls lot of the polls are out of water and there is that a lot of from our campus or that and a lot of very good news that people from around getting out. I mean where are those. But it doesn't do what we need. There are very few people here all morning bromate actually own a very small community about that. And again since this is now that site as well today I can tell you now George Bauer. As we have pointed out there will be several areas of discussion and the most important way members of the

nwr organizing committee will to get the problems out into the open. I didn't know there was a series of word of anybody being carried out for the next four days. One of the more interesting ones will be a community center which will be held Friday evening. But basically it will be a separate a series of several negotiation sessions had various holes located throughout the Brown University campus. We'd like to run down some of the issues that will be discussed by these workshops. There are just about every conceivable issue relating to public assistance that will be covered. In the area of the federal assistance program. One of the workshops will be what is the welfare reform and how do we go about it. Dr. George Wiley Mrs. Johnny Tillman of the Welfare Rights Organization. We'll discuss the situation mayors and delegates the history of the struggle to obtain an adequate income in America. Another workshop will be health legislation under FAP and the ramifications of same. It will be conducted by Larry silvers and Elizabeth Perry with Jill hatch. Basically they will discuss what

fap would mean in the health care field and it would discuss the present Medicaid programs lack of services and how it would change under various systems program. A third area of discussion will be Fab's strategy by all actions and this as we've told you before is one or two areas that Dr. Wiley is very concerned about how the National Welfare Rights Organization organized its lobbying activities against the program. What Dave Dellinger and Davis and Al Hubbard built will be the participants and that divers is. You also in the Peoples coalition for peace and justice will ex-boy joint strategies against the Family Assistance Program and the war in Vietnam. Another workshop will discuss welfare since the 1930s. That will be chaired by Dr. Francis Fox Piven and Dr. Richard Klauer two of welfare rights earliest support that will give their analyses of the welfare system since the 1930s and their project is future. Then there will be several meeting to map it to make a decision about that strategy towards Syria. On

a Sunday. Please be prepared. I will go before them and tell them what wrong we ought to do it and Miles family is just fine with me men where to get you to tell your senator about it. The organizers of nwr want all of these delegates to go back to their home areas right and phone their congressmen and senators and let them know that they are not in support of the president Brucey on welfare reform. Then there will be a community rap on fap which is more serious than it may sound. How to build support in your community for adequate income and against the FAP program through public hearings. This would be a national program with public hearings scheduled in several communities. Members will receive a quote how to do it Kit and instructions about how to organize discussions on faith in local areas. Of course not every welfare recipient not all the delegates to this convention were able to get here to this convention and those that were will be going back and imparting the knowledge gained from this four day session to other public assistance people. Those delegates from national welfare ladies and gentlemen Mrs. benthic have

no idea what an Irishman Cavenaugh head of I am. Do you think that everybody has come to this convention. Well I feel proud to be having this convention but I don't it's a great honor for all of us. We've had a lot of people that's been working pretty hard to keep this thing going. We hope we're all going to have a grand stay here. The governor of Rhode Island sent a letter say in that the General Assembly has just ended after a long session. He's sorry that he can't be here. He wishes everyone that is here has a grand a good stay in Rhode Island. And that used to be memba something of little Rhode Island when you go back home. Forget it. But even if the man in the government half the people who had a great is

happy you were tickled pink. I'd like to introduce some of the members that have been working really hard at this convention. As Mrs. Bertha Gillean. Ms. Please. Mrs. Beverly Gilmore the state vice chairman. Mrs. Hazle ripped off Mrs. Emma Teyla. Mrs. Rita. Mrs. Ruth cannon. Mrs. Harriet Lois she's the clown of the group Mrs. Pilbara Mrs. Johnny Hock's. We also have a couple sitting out in the audience who didn't come up front.

Miss the James Karey. Mrs. Betty Martin and Bob Annie and I don't know if they were in the audience or not. I want to thank all the committee that worked so hard with me. And if any of us local people can be of any help where untagged says what on planning committee please come up to us at any time. Thank you. That is Bertha Kavanagh's she is the head of the Rhode Island planning committee of the Rhode Island fair welfare association. Next on the program is Bruce Thomas who should lead us in some songs. Mrs. Cavanaugh now is consulting with other officials on the stage as to what takes place next the local welfare recipient from the National Welfare Rights Organization Rhode Island Bradgate was one of those states and are now going to be ordered from Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.

Has the National Planning Committee chairman. Good evening everyone I'm glad to see so many places from all states in the United States because money is tough this year and I'm surprised to see so many people here. And I like to welcome everyone to world Allen. At this time I'd like to thank the roll out on the planning committee that did a great job and a great bunch of people to work with. And I'd also like to give thanks to the national staff. I didn't always work well with him but I did this year because I learned some of the problems. And I'd also like to give thanks to three people that I worked very close with. Debbie if she's him will you please stand up. Debbie Vajda here Tony bá when. Jerry Shea. I'd like to thank those three people especially for making my job not too difficult. I know. OK.

As for security reason they have security guys said Would you please keep your doors locked at all times. If you have cameras or tape recorders or anything with a serial number on take that number down keep a copy of it in your pocketbook. If you go to the restroom anything take your key and lock your door. That's for your protection. And in order to get more out of the workshops Why are you here to take back to your state which a lot of the states don't get stuff back when they send in the sea so we've been told if you have a number of people here you can switch you people up into sections you know for different workshops so they can take all that information. Well we are all here for back in the states and cities. Because it's a need for it. Now they're cutting off people in all different states. And another thing I'd like to ask that the people at a caucus and in the caucus room off from the cafeteria Brown is aren't they issued a meal tickets. And they also collect them. So when you're

in that caucus and you have to leave out of the room you know and come out and get you down. But you have to clear that area to know that everybody in there have given their meal tickets up. So we know it might be difficult some people. We asked you to do this for us without any problem without hassling them. And I want to thank you very much for listening to me and I'd like to introduce Bruce Thomas the staff the songwriter for NWR. Somebody asked me what are we doing here tonight. I want to hear from you what are you doing here tonight. What. Oh. Oh

oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. My maybe will. Be with. You all black people you know white people you want you to. You. Mix. Them. Against. You. But.

The rich did not come to this country and built it. They first went to England. And Europe and France. And brought. Indentured servants and slaves. They went. To my father's homeland. For go and stole my great grandfather and my great grandmother to build this nation. They went to. College. And. Stole. And. Hung up. The. Gang. Made. You. You. And you all the people. You must understand that. You must wake up to who you are all. And you must wake up to

what you're about. You came here. I hope. And I truly hope. That you came here. Because some folk have to go hungry at night and die in a little room. Yeah. Cause some children. Don't. Choose. To go to school in the wintertime. Because. This. Because. What's. A. Song. Light. Rain. That. Made me angry. You make me. Angry. Because. Is. With. You. Some you. Got.

So me that I got lazy. Somebody's got to think. And now it's sick. I can take you on any street in the neighborhood you come home and show your old woman who ain't got a. And nobody came to see you in a month. Do you me. I could. You know with to try and sell you some kids go to school. Yes. Great God damn it. You could sit. Down. And you could rule the. World. And talk about how many rigs you got how many did you go out. How many. God didn't want you. To suffer. Oh. So. I'm. Because you have day. The value system of America off get

at me. You accept that. And I'm angry with you. Last hour remember us when we were scared when that social worker came to our house. I know I remember when we use the welfare department. Work to be done. I. Remember. When they had stolen dignity and self-respect. And they stole our children's dignity and self-respect and I can't forget that. So you get. That and you be nice. I'm. Angry at America. Because we have such things as a god deal welfare. Program. Rather. Than. Rather.

Than a supplement type should program. For poor. See we got we got we supplement the rich. But when we come to us we can good the young babies and your daughters baby. They talk about God. They will fail. I'm angry and I don't give a damn if you ain't make making. You. Got. You. Got fat. And got lazy. Somebody put you on a dam. And you think do you suck all that. Some. People in this country. There are some close people in this country. There are some folks who have. Worked my way in this country who are hungry. And you and I. Have this. Had the power to change that course. I'm going to be so I don't change it now. God damn it I'm

gonna be livin in that. With that in adequate income. Same situation. We do not. We do not fall so follow. Those who come back to us. And some of your mothers need to look behind you just looked in your crib lately. You looked at your daughter's life like. We must lay off all day. So that nobody is hungry in America. So that nobody goes to school. Just in America. We must change or you. What are you doing here fool. What are you here for. What are you all about. Sometimes I sing. And I sing because. Because I can't grab a hold of your hand.

And sometimes I have to get by my side. And begin to sing because I need some chlorides. To. Start. Man. I need some kind words. To stay away from the temptations that he sets up for me. I have to sing of course the man will tell you. I'll give you a ten thousand dollar jaw. Just. See will. Put you on this board and that board I'll take you to dinner and. Dinner. I'll get your name in the newspaper. He. Said. I need some cover. I need some covers to stay with my people. I need some cover. To stay with my father. It's very easy to get without looking glass. But you've got to have some try. To stay with Paul. You've

got to stay. Absent. To stay hungry people. Got up and try. To stay with some health people. And when I get angry I'll sing the song and when. I would like you to help me and it goes like this. No no no no no no. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. I can hear. What. It. Takes. To. Take. Out. Some. So will somehow. Make some joe. Thing. No. No. No. No. No. Say.

You're going to take one. When a good song. Get. A. Good. One. It. Takes. Us. To. The. Tape. Oh. So sing now. Bruce Thomas introduces a song writer for The National world. All right so. Let the audience and what can be called a sermon I. Thought. That this convention. Is. A place for real action most of the delegates are on their feet now.

Fists in the air and the shouts right all. This has come out. Word that Bruce stated to you is going to happen. All right. What does that mean. Give me shit together when you get back at the podium. Stop bickering. Talk about power get out and help your fellow man. At this time I'd like to introduce up chairman from California Mr. Johnny Tillman. Tillman is from Los Angeles and was elected at the last nwr old convention in 1970 69. He will now address the convention here in sales hall at Brown University. Thank you very much Mrs. details. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Whatever. It. Might sound Frank is not and I am so she had pushed him up. OK. Thank you very much. Good eating. Animals is a pleasure being here. I'm kind of tired. I've

been walking. I say enjoy. Where's Bruce. He shouldn't laugh so soon. Oh ok fat. I'm supposed to say greetings to you and I seem to be on in this fall and it's not on our side listen to the loud speakers. And I think I said you two years ago that. Organization is going big and bigger and bigger every year. And we've come a long way since 1967 with one hundred and eight delegates. And I don't know how many we got here tonight. They have not given me a count but I see a lot of people I know that you've been organizing in your states and that you showed them you got in here and asked them will you tonight with one of the most beautiful ladies and you know where I come from. That means that we got to delegations all the way from Honolulu Hawaii. We also have the attention from Alaska and the coal country.

To. My understanding we got representation coming from Puerto Rico and Sir Thomas in the Virgin Islands. Now I. Thank Paul false. I'm not getting the sales to get the we have gotten ourselves together to be your man and. Do a lot of rapping tonight because we got a lot of work to do and I think I'm to introduce a candidate. Going. To do. Well if John does not need introductions. So I take the liberty to introduce somebody else. George doesn't need introductions. And I said Ladies first. But I can't do it like that. Because I want you to do me now.

I haven't been following the news this man says I'm the chairman I get first preference so I'm going to do the lady. We have some distinguished guests some I would legislate us and I'm on to introduce one to I think one of the youngest men in the United States Congress one of the best the handsomest man in the United States Congress. And I had a lady that day. And I'm not going to say. About this man except for the fact. They come from the state of California. To my knowledge his training in social welfare and I'm told that in Northern California he was one of the best social workers. And the fact that he does have knowledge about social welfare and the knowledge of how to help people and want to help people they saw fit to send him to the Congress. And I like to introduce to you now later the gentleman's one of the most the congressman's in the

U.S. Congress. Now. Congressman Rangel I'm. 35 years the. Congressman from. California. A member of the. House of Representatives. What. Is. I don't know what to say. She shook me up so much I have to think now about what I was going to say. Here at this conference to evaluate the victories and the defeats of the past year to look at the issue of the strategies of National Welfare Rights Organization to look at the whole question of the defeat that we suffered

on the repressive racist expedient liberal piece of legislation called H.R. 1. Euphemistically known as a welfare reform bill. But it seems to me that if we're going to develop a strategy for dealing with the human misery in this country then we've got to get out of the bag of dealing in the fantasies of America's not dealing in the realities of the politics of this country. And so before we start talking about the issue of strategy let's look at some of the reasons why we lost that battle. On the floor of Congress. And first let me give you some of my views as a black from. Bay Area. My view of Washington D.C. because my home is 2500 miles from Washington in Washington has always had an extraordinary aura of magic and power. Back in California

the six o'clock news comes on and you listen to everything that's happening locally. And then the 6:30 news comes on. And you watch the big people in Washington D.C. who make all the important decisions. But now I'm in Washington and I stand next to the people who made the 6:30 news and the level of their mediocracy frightens the hell out of me. I'll give you my view of Washington D.C. Very simply it's a well ordered. Plastic community with a hell of a lot of plastic people with plastic values and plastic ideas. Doing a lot of plastic. A lot of self-centered egotistical arrogant human beings who send out computerized letters with computerized politics. Of computerized brain.

I walk the halls of Congress from the lowliest paid mail handler to the highest paid administrative assistant. The job is to make 436 people feel an inflated sense of self worth. Most of them mediocre primadonnas and the major tragedy of Washington D.C. is that the four hundred and thirty six people on one side. And the hundred people on the other. I would imagine that we're lucky if a handful of them have any politics in this country at all. And what I mean by having some politics is having some. Some framework within which you view the power in the dynamics of this country and you've got some strategy to deal with it. But most of the congressmen are so preoccupied. With whether. Their district will re-elect them if they take this position or that position. That's what's wrong with this country.

What's wrong with that simply is my view of Washington. Perhaps the most radical act that we could accomplish in this country is to bring the majority of the 200 million people in America. To the gallery of Congress to watch the absurdity the insanity and the mediocracy of those people. Play games with our I like and what I'm talking to you about tonight. I'm not suggesting to you is truth with a capital T. But if I was either crazy enough or courageous enough to try to come to Congress then every time I stand on a podium to open my mouth I better be saying the best thinking that I have at the moment and that's what I'm trying to give you exactly how I feel exactly what I think. Only for you to use to question to challenge. That just happened to be the views of one person. No messiah

no great national leader just plain ordinary Ron Dellums from West Oakland Blackwood and naturalist's and bell bottom pants tried to help save. But. I didn't come to Congress because I thought it was going to fall over and play dead because suddenly the Vice President Agnew attacked radical extremists et cetera et cetera. Came to Washington. But I'd like to think that I had my head screwed on very clearly about the limitations of that recalcitrant rapidly powerless organization called the United States Congress. I don't think that the majority of Congress presently can remotely even understand the human misery of black brown red yellow and poor white people in this country. They're more preoccupied with seeing you as a

vote not as a human being. For all those reasons. I think we lost one. But let's go to several others. Let's look at the politics of militarism in this country. We're fighting a war that I consider illegal immoral and insane and Indochina were bombing killing and maiming human beings under the guise of freedom and justice and self-determination when racism sexism discrimination and all the other crippling problems exist in this country. How hypocritical can we be. It seems to me that if my eight year old son. Can be told to not fight. On an elementary school playground come into the building sit down and talk it over. Why in the hell are we sending him 10 years later to kill.

Him. People have asked me why do you have a black man come to Congress and say that ending the war in Indochina is the number one priority. Before the 90 second Congress I tell you my experience as a black man living in poverty hunger disease racism discrimination and all those problems has allowed black people third world people poor people to survive. On the one quality that allows us to be different. Our humanity. We have the ability to say we have the ability to still love and still feel and still understand the human condition in this country. And out of our humanity we have a right to stand up and say in the insanity of war and end it now not just in Vietnam but all over the world.

We've got to not only take on the politics of Vietnam. We've got to deal with the assumptions that underlie America's foreign policy that allow us to see Vietnamese as Bewkes black people as niggers and all the other evil in this society. We've got to find a mechanism that allows us to solve our international disputes. Short of the absurdity and the insanity of war. Because when you reduce war to its final thing when you strip war of all its glamour its death destruction spits pain and sorrow. Nothing more nothing less or less in that insanity. The second reason why we have to fight the issue of militarism the issue of war is because as long as we live in a society that sees its power to us as continuing to be a Murf systems ABM bombs and napalmed

sending Marine tanks and bounce all over the world as the most powerful counterrevolutionary nation in the world the most powerful number one Gunrunner in the world then is going to continue to throw crumbs to you and I who are living in human misery in this country. Lets look at the politics of elitists. Let me give you a little example. Health is a major problem in America of all human beings. And let's say that we were fortunate enough to get a comprehensive health bill on the floor of Congress which would be a major miracle. But for the moment let's go on a little fantasy trip and let's assume that that bill got on the floor. Some gentleman from one of those funny States. Would leap to his feet and the chairman would say for what

purpose does the gentleman rise. I rise in opposition to the bill. You're recognized for five minutes. He didn't walk down in the well and good was brilliant speech Gates comprehensive health for all people in this country and he ended his last 15 seconds by saying I oppose it and I urge the House to oppose it because it is creeping socialism. And then I will leap to my feet and I will say will the gentleman yield because we're very polite to each other. I yield to the gentleman from California. Question number one. Have you ever used the services of the house physician. Because we have a whole set of physicians and nurses that take care of the congressman. He'll say yes then I'll say. Have you ever received free medicine from the house physician. Yes. Have you ever been hospitalized in Walter Reed Bethesda when you needed to be. He'll say

yes then I'll say if that a creeping socialism what the hell is. He what do you see my point. Is for the least. Ron Dellums is the United States congressman so I have a little identification card that says U.S. representative 7th Congressional District I call it my super nigger card. And when I pull out that card. When I pull out that card I can get all the free medical care I want. I can get all the socialism I want big on that. But for the elite not for the average person living in this country

if I walk off the floor of Congress to up my identification card and say I resign and then come back to fight for every thing for you and. That I had as a congressman they called me some revolutionary extremist. But as long as I'm a United States congressman Well these are benefits that accrue to your station in life sir. Why in the hell do you have to be a congressman to live a decent life in this country. We've got congressmen who haven't done a thing in 20 years and they're drawn to it $2500 a welfare check and they want a rap on you. So we've got to talk about the contradictions in the politics of the leaders in this country

because everything that you and that's are desperately struggling for somebody in this country has because they have enough money and enough power enough prestige and enough influence. If that's the name of the game and we gonna achieve some power some prestige some influence. Let's now go to another reason why we lost the politics of hypocrisy. I was culturally deprived when I came to Washington D.C. I am no longer. I now know the difference between a subsidy check and a welfare check. What is bigger than the other and it goes to fewer people. Politicians in this country have mounted podiums all over America. Governors

senators congressmen mayors councilman all attempting to get themselves in office by rapping on welfare. But why the hell don't they rap on SSDI. Contract farm subsidy. Special provisions in the loophole that tax structure. You know why don't they talk about those cost plus war contracts where they sign a contract with a corporation to do a job for a quarter of a billion dollars. Three months later they come in and say with inflation an unanticipated costs we're going to have to rewrite the contract for another half a billion dollars and then we give it to them. But when a black brown red yellow or poor person comes in for a loan to get into the middle of this country they say well he is an economic risk. That's the politics of hypocrisy because we never talk about the real welfare in this country. We've got a white silent majority thinking that everybody on welfare is black and brown.

Thinking that the only people who work for a living are the hard hats. But you see we've got to confront the hard hats and I to talk about that a little further down the road. What I'm trying to say to you now is we lost because of the politics of hypocrisy congressmen talking out of one side of their mouth because they're not about to talk about the real welfare in the country. They're not about to talk about the fact that socialism does exist for the corporate elite. The only people required to be competitive is the working class in America. That's too dangerous. That means that they won't get the money to get reelected. Because the real power in the Congress is not the congressmen who run around like Cockey primadonnas on the floor of Congress but the lobbyists who pay their checks are a real power in the Congress. Let's move on to the politics of poverty. We've developed the notion in this

country that the poor have always. Therefore shall always be among us. I reject that fundamentally we live in a nation with a gross national product of almost one trillion dollars. We live in a nation where 5 percent of the people control the substantial majority of the wealth. The only reason why the poor are with us is because we've tolerated it because we've exploited the poor in this country. There's nothing inherently wrong with a human being who was poor but there is something inherently evil in a society that perpetuates poverty. The politics of expediency expedient liberalism perhaps even more dangerous than the politics of reactionary ism because the politics of. Expedient liberalism gives you the illusion that something is taking place

that something is happening good. But the politics of expediency has pitted black against black. Brown against Brown. Fight against white poor against poor. All over this country and so the liberals in the Congress think it's a big thing to appropriate 2.5 billion dollars to wage a skirmish on poverty. Who's getting old. I've worked as a consultant in 35 states in the United States with virtually every single federal program in the last 10 years to deal with the problems of the poor. The problems of racial minorities and I don't have to make a demagogue statement. They did not work. I've gone around to some of the poverty boards throughout the country with brothers and sisters came to the poverty meet with raises and guns and things. All fighting over who gets the lion's share of the crumbs in this country. I've gone to meetings where people are fighting each other

black against black over who gets a $25000 contract to serve 5000 people. You can't even divide that money up and do anything about poverty for an hour of the man's life or a woman's life. But that kind of expediency continues to pit us against ourselves giving the illusion because of the lack of their courage to lead in this country. They're continuing to talk about the politics of consensus the politics of consensus means that the politicians on the right and those on the left who call themselves liberals constantly keep taking their cues from the middle of America who are the most manipulated. Do program group in this country and the politics of consensus is strangling this country it's strangling the Congress because the politics of the consensus did not allow people to come forward and assume the first responsibility and the risk of leadership. The politics of consensus allows you to sit back wait till it's formed and then jump out in front of the folks and say

if this were you going and then I'll lead you. But I was standing I was standing in Sproul Hall on the campus of the University of California when a great brilliant black man stood up being attacked all over the country because he had courage to say I opposed the war in Indochina. His main was a man called King and he said I'm being attacked because I went out there. But I'm not a politician. I'm not a leader of consensus. If you're going to lead you mold the consensus is out of that spirit that we came to Congress is out of that spirit that we have to change this country. The politics of consensus would never do that. We only come forward with expedient pieces of legislation where some of my liberal friends in the Congress said but Ron it's a start. And my response was damn it we've been starved for 100. Years. Let's move on to the politics of fear and divisiveness. And let me tell you a little

story. I made it up so I can't vouch for its credibility. Once upon a time there was a poor white sharecropper eking out an existence on four acres of land so bad he couldn't even go grass. Either. Twelve children. No money. No education. Desperately trying to teach the soil to get enough food for his family to survive. One day of high noon sweat pouring from his brow. He looked up. Put down his plow and said across the way is the landowner's home. He lives in such splendor and luxury. I'm gonna put down my plow and walk over and ask him. What about the difference in how I live and how he lives. So he put the plow down in the walk from my house. He suddenly came upon this beautiful white building. He went up the stairs knocked on the door and the door was opened. He was met by a distinguished

tall Caucasian gentleman with white sideburns white suit white shoes and a mint julep. He said. I am the sharecropped down the road. I am living a miserable life. My kids are starving my wife is starving. I have nothing. Give me some hope. Man tell me why you live in such splendor and I live in such misery. The landowner took a drink and said that's a very good question. Let me say this about that. We. Are going to achieve a society that allows you to live the way I do. I pledge you that. But in the meantime. We've got a problem.

Them niggas is revolting. They want jobs and housing and education all the other things in this society. So we've got to worry about them. The sharecropper's said Oh. I'm sure glad you told me why I'm so poor as to niggas fold. Thank you very much. Walk down the stairs with the Sears and Roebuck. His last few dollars bought him a shotgun and he's probably still planned with a shotgun on his back. Lookin for niggas cause he's cool. Now. What is the moral of that little story. When the sharecropper put his plow down.

And said I'm walking to the door of the landowner he became an activist when he knocked on the door and asked the question he was right on target. He was the investigator but when he went for the program of the landowner he became the child because the landowner realized. That if he honestly answered that question he was going to have to give up some of his action so he created the scapegoat. He said look is the symbol. He's a divisive symbol. These are the people you got to attack. So it took his mind objectively off the misery he lived in and he became a racist and a reactionary. Going through life looking for niggers steal poor. Now let's bring my. Analogy to 1971. The sharecropper's still exists but we now euphemistically call him the

silent majority. The landowner still exists but we call him now in sophisticated terms. The military industrial complex asked what that. Third group. You absolutely right. We steal niggers. But there's a difference in the society today in 1971 because you don't have to be black anymore to be a nigger. Ask Lieutenant Calley. You can be Chicano. You can be made in America. You can be oriental. You can be polite you can be young with a beard you can be young with long hair. You can be a woman. You can be oh you can be an advocate of

change and you a nigga in this society. And when that savage majority stands up and screams help at the top of their lungs because they suddenly realized that the overworked underpaid overtaxed and their kids are fighting and dying in a miserable war in Indochina then the system says Angela Davis Black Panthers cap misandrists says the job is. Welfare right. Here. Every time that Sakyapa gets up to stop dealing with this misery the system gives him a free assemble gives him a divisive tactic redirect his energies away from his misery onto the scapegoat. But you and I've got to develop a strategy to counteract that. And if you don't do

anything else in this conference you got to deal with that issue you Anat. because that's where the Bible is. The blacks on the moon. The third world is on the moon. The women on the moon the young the old the poor are on the move. One boob that continues to prop up the status quo in this country is the Goodo silent majority because they brought the. They bought the program in the 1930s about patriotism and Americanism. So they never question whatever the politicians say. This is in the best interest. So you see but with strippers I fight poverty. I have a job. If you don't like it leave it. You see but they've been so thoroughly brainwashed but I'm saying Spiro Agnew can program him to the right. You and I sure got enough cabinet to program back to the lib. The point I'm trying to make is we've got to help people understand the politics of fear

and the politics of divisiveness when they talk about the Panthers and Angela Davis and welfare rights and sestet Chavez and the women's liberation and all campus unrest and all these issues that we've got to come back and say we never had a black. Third World President. We don't control the Congress we don't control the Senate we don't control the corporations we don't control the Pentagon. How absurd can you be continue to say we are your problem. Lastly because I'm sharing the podium with my distinguished colleague and my friend the gentlewoman from New York Congresswoman. Well absolutely I'm sure. I'm sure we're going to talk to you. A hell of a lot. In Hell a lot more detail than I do

about the politics of sexism. But let me just wrap my thing. The struggle for women's rights in this country is potentially the most powerful movement in America. Because when you start dealing with the problems that confront the lives of women whether they're black brown red yellow white rural suburban rich middle class or poor they understand in an instant what you mean by the stubble of women's rights in America. And I don't know if it was because I was raised by two beautiful sensitive black women. So I really didn't know my father that powerfully as an entity to help me understand the strength and leadership ability of women. But one thing I clearly realize the mother who gave birth to me has been victimized because she is black. She had been a secretary for 25 years because she's a woman

because of some weak frightened ineffectual male ability to perceive women as human beings in this country. It let me tell those people. Who feel that the struggle for women's rights is antithetical to the freedom of black people. Saffire was not a liberated woman. Sapphire was made hot in Dallas because white male dominated society was so busy castrating us that she had to help that family survive. We so busy ducking in blow that the system had to take over the leadership. So we became callous. Her body became hot. Hey motion became stilted.

But that was another form of slavery not freedom. And so it's not antithetical to talk about the struggle of women's rights in this country as not being antithetical to the struggle and the freedom of blacks and racial minorities and poor in America because how can I stand and talk about freedom when 53 to 55 percent of this country is women and the black and brown red and young women have been most victimized in this society. Most Screwed in this society. Most exploited in this society. We've got to talk about women's rights because our freedom is no freedom unless everybody has it. Hey and old brothers who are continuing to operate as chauvinist and sexist. You better hurry up and wake up and find that the. Woman is dead alongside you you didn't stand up three feet behind. You.

OK. We could go on all night about what's wrong. Why we lost each. One. But let's talk about what does all this mean. We've gotta. Deal with the question of whether. The strategy you've employed to date is realistic given the politics of this country. Perhaps welfare rights have to expand its focus. Perhaps the ban that you must now charge forward with. Is not. Help the welfare. But an adequate income for all the poor in this country 40 percent of the labor force in America.

Are blue collar employees earning between five and ten thousand dollars a year. They pay all the taxes. They are the ones who. Madison Avenue TV newspaper. And. Advertising magazine advertising tell UK be a man without a blessed day. You can't be a woman without an electric can opener. So that group that group earning five to ten thousand dollars a year of the working poor. Now when you mouth the podium and say we want sixty five hundred dollars a year to replace the recalcitrance of the present welfare system there are a whole lot of better. Just as we now go mount the podium but in a cloud of the living room. They go to a child. How can I support sixty in London when I've got seven kids. They make them with 52. And so we have been neglect in our ability to kind of cross the class issue in this country. Seventy five percent of the black people in America. Live in families earning between five and ten thousand dollars a year.

They're eligible for nothing except the misery of working every day to be poor. So the strategy that we must evolve is to counteract the if the nature of the politics of the Democrats and the Republicans who keep playing games between the classes keeping the poor and the working class fighting the blacks and whites fighting. We've got to develop a strategy that speaks to the human question in this country. The human right of people to live outside of misery outside of hunger to live in a society where. Money is an issue should produce a quality of life worthy of all of us as well. Let welfare rights now discussed the strategy of broadening its attack and talk about a redistribution of wealth in America. Martin Luther King was jailed one day and after I got all the most holism of his death I asked myself intellectually and politically why was he killed. Why was he not killed when he

left a quarter of a million people walking marching for civil rights in Washington D.C.. That's because that much didn't shake up the society. But when he put a black man from Mississippi a brown man from Georgia. Other people from other states all colors sexes and shapes. Suddenly they said he got to go because he finally beat a big old car. The question in this country is not one of civil rights. I'm not a civil being. I'm a human being. It's got to be human rights and we talk about when King said I have gone to the mountaintop. He suddenly realized that economics cuts across race economics cuts across class across sects across generations across religions he said if we deal with the economic issue in this country the economic exploitation of people in this country we can build a people's movement capable of turning America around.

And then he became a threat because that movement does threaten the foundation of this society because it's expressed function is fundamental institutional change. There's one thing that I will give you in dealing with the strategy of how you build the coalition at this moment is not important to affect the coalition. But what is important is that we create an educational climate in this country that allows people to understand. That we are in the same bag in all the various revolutions that are taking place are one and the same. How can you talk about the freedom of black people and women are not free. How can you talk about the freedom of women and you haven't dealt with the environment. So we got everybody free in the world and suddenly pollution kills us all. And that's a major question. Someone asked me in a press conference how do you get this point over

to middle class. America. I said hey there are a handful of scientists all over this world trying to tell the world that we're destroying the entire planet for human beings. If that's true and the curtain is falling on. Three. Of the last big show namely life on the planet. You better hurry up and deal with racism and hunger that's a detail baby. You see what I'm saying. It is in the best interest and the self interest of the middle class to solve the domestic issues stop war. Because we're going to have to deal with polluting the air polluting the environment destroying the ocean and all the other things that are potentially killing our people. And how insane would it be if the last person on earth as regards pollution were white and he's still on the highest mountain top and said hey I told you I was superior and then fell dead. So if we. Were talking about a human question here

we're talking about human misery here. Just as breathing bad air cuts across racial lines living bad lives without food without housing without funds without education is bad. But though this has got to be dealt with. That's something we all learned at some point. Whether it's struggling in the ghetto. Dealing and so Villanueva. We learned that people move for their own reasons not ours. So let us build our strategy on that notion. The blacks don't have to be moving for the same reason the Chicanos move the third will not be move in exactly the same motivation that the women move. The young people don't have to be moved for the same reason the old move. That's not what brings us together our self self-interest. The objective that speaks to all of our self interest is what brings us together. Look at the war. Pacifists are opposed to the war and there are some brothers out there who are so pacifist who also opposed to the war. But to be able to come

together because the objective is to end the insanity of war. That's what will produce the coalition. The objective not the individual motivations of the different individuals or groups I've been talking a long time. Let me try to close in case people don't understand what's happening in the world. I advise you to take 30 minutes to an hour. To put. An album on by Marvin Gaye. Call what's going on and just trip on it. Marvin Gaye has seen some powerful things in music. You don't always need politicians or community leaders or national organization people speaking to you. There are some beautiful young people in this country who are singing some songs trying to get our brains opened up. And Marvin Gaye sings a song that ought to be the banner. Welfare rights ought to be the banner for every movement on the left for progress and change in this country. Let's save all the children and save all the babies.

There have been a lot of people. Walk the face of this country trying to save all the children and save all the babies trying to save a world that's destined to die. One of them was king. He walked this earth in a short period of time but he walked a very long journey from Man Who are two of them from Montgomery to Memphis and from the depths of misery to the top of the mountain. If he can walk that long time in that short period you and I. Black brown red yellow and white man woman young old rich and poor can come together to take this country on a trip from madness to humanity from exploitation to equality from racism to freedom and from war to peace. Hey I. Think. At this point we. Can all live coverage of this convention.

If we can