Say Brother; Roy Innis

The next speaker is Roy Innis the national head of the Congress of Racial Equality. Mr Innes. Let me say that I'm going to be working under some terrific restrains tonight. If you think that a Baptist minister has trouble standing within 12 minutes it's even more difficult for black nationalists. In fact I would even try to give you my full name. All right. Let's take two more. I will depart from my remarks briefly to say that we have a very critical situation in the United States at this moment for black people. We are seeing what could be

possibly the foreigns phase of what might become a genocidal campaign against black people. It is at this moment the red TD and this seems to be a national conspiracy against the Black Panther Party. But this is one time that I think an ideology and religion will not keep us apart. I think this is one issue on which we all can unite. I think it would be shortsighted for one moment we fail to heed the handwriting on the wall of the clear handwriting that says in less than two years 28 Penzance kill 40 have their leaders arrested hundred of their members at least in jail. If we do not recognize that

this is a clear pattern that today or yesterday the Panthers tomorrow it will be called for. Oh ACLC the following week the end of the ACP unnervingly. Yesterday or one year ago or two it was mathematics. Medgar Evers movie King next year or the year after. You could very well be anybody else. It is this kind of enlightened self interest that lead me to make a call as we did previously. We sent a telegram to the president of United States calling for an investigation of this conspiracy this national conspiracy. I will go forward tonight.

I will call on my fellow leaders here to join me in a call for a meeting with the president of United States to discuss this emergency. A. I won't try to which is very difficult for me to give a synopsis of the ideology of the Congress of Racial Equality and the kinds of programs that naturally flow from it. We have allies the problem and if you will the various struggles operate in the country at this time and one way in two groups. All of them we call militant groups or militant movements in group 1.

We have the revolutionaries the revolutionaries the reactionaries the reformists and a very dangerous group. One we call the active moderates the middle of the roaders the people who love the status quo. I suppose these are Dick Nixon's silent majority. In group 2 it was a group or a movement because of the liberation this movement. Now I know this must be a strange way of grouping these movements. Let me point out why although there are magical opposing trends in many of the movement movements I mention like the revolutionary and the reactionary although it is intense dialogue between the revolutionary and the reformists. Basically all of them can operate and work for

goals within the homogeneous system. While the liberation this movement is one that operates from the heads of the genius political situation in many words it we're all Americans. The struggle now we're all white. This struggle will and be between revolutionaries reactionaries and reformers and I suppose this these moderates. But since we're not since we're black and white this struggle that we see as the most parliament is one of liberation. Now we define revolution as a political phenomena occur in a homogeneous situation that is all Russians in Russia have different class groupings

and changing their position in society. We're in the middle of class in the bush was easy with the peasantry replace in in power in the ability. The same thing and friends and the same thing could be in the United States if we were to say oh if we were white. But liberation is a political phenomenon that occurs in a heterogeneous mix. We have two people and they can get along together. The press should move to liberate and from that situation. That is why you cannot put a label on the lot of the nationalist movement as being reformers reactionary or revolutionary. It is a movement to liberate black people from white domination outside of the American system. We do not seek to

reform it. We do not seek to have a revolution in it. In fact every revolution should come for us. It will come after we are liberated. America has suffered a serious problem of eyesight and inability to recognize certain movements and certain individuals in them. We as nationalists are for that's nationalists suffer that same fate. It is what I call the American syndrome. It is I don't want to recognize that which I don't like itis. It's a very serious disease. This is either cause the Americans not to recognize those many millions of Russians after 1917 after the revolution. Of course the eye condition improve a lot coming close to

1939 when the war with the Nazis started is the same disease that prevent Americans from recognizing over one quarter of humanity. China. Same disease has caused them not to recognize Cuba just 90 miles off the shores of Florida. That same fate was suffered by the early black nationalist philosophers Ed Leyden and Martin Delaney. Back in the 1850s the same fate was suffered by the great and sad the greatest of all black organizers the great Marcus Garvey the father of black nationalism to a certain extent to this lifetime. The great Malcolm X suffered the same fate. The same thing is true of the Nationalists today. There will always be those

whites who will choose up sides with one or the other of certain kinds of lives they will choose sides as the did back in the 1850s when. The Frederick Douglass's a very bright brave and militant brother but clearly not a black nationalist and here we stand. I'm aware of the contribution to the struggle by the Elaine isn't like this. We will see the same situation with Booker T Washington later on with Dr. William E. B Dube or when there will be those whites we call them liberals today. In those days we call them abolitionists who will again recognize and choose sides and propagate the philosophy of those individuals at the same time refusing to recognize a contemporary of the war.

The great Marcus Garvey who had organized mo black people over four million and all of us put together. I think this has been dangerous for America. It's been in the news for all of us blacks and whites because we have been forced to consider the lesser evils the lesser of policies emanating from all competitors except. The black nationalists. The solution of the nationalists the solution of liberation has never really been considered or test it. That we are two distinct people sharing the same approximate piece of geography. Segregated and on equal. Now mind you I did not say separating because segregation is a condition wherein

two factions of society one dominating the other one controlling the flow of goods and services and controlling the institutions in not only their own area but in the area of the other people. That is the true definition of segregation was separation. It's a situation where in the two factions existing in different geographic area different turf each controlling the flow of goods and services in their own areas each controlling their own vital institutions. The most important of all these assumptions is that all attempts to solve this problem. I fear unless we can admit this failure unless we can admit an earlier tense even when there have been maximized. Oh if maximize cannot deal completely with this problem we will then be open

to seek new solutions. This is what we would like to present. Two very important political death terms that it was good for us to keep in mind and that is if two people or two groups live in close proximity to each other and if they have conflict of interests the comfort of interests increases with greater proximity so they will notice the structure of government measure local state and federal that black folks have most confrontation with. Is that structure of government and we don't know the individual within that structure who are closest to us. The local groups. The other is the concept of majority rule. If

this society is a majority rule of society. And we are in fact the minority then it behooves us to find situations to define ourself away from the majority so that we always cells in our own sphere can be a majority of. Them are you going to have any. Political equality the freedom. The Congress of Racial Equality the program we are pushing. It's in three parts immediate immediate and long range. I've been in the median and the median program. We constructed and pushed a bill for the community some of the determination bill that we would have set up in black communities for the first time a central line is an instrument that had both political and economic

functions that could bring a greater degree of unity to our communities that could force the federal government to deal directly with us instead of true opinion potentially like the cities or the state that could in fact be a very necessary step that was breaking out of the lemma we exist in. That bill has been stymied in the Congress. And I must say shamefully with the aid of many of my own people. Well maybe I should correct that. Many of those who claimed to be the leaders of them. Then in the middle of the program and again they're with me because these are summaries they're summaries is a move to gain and create large political units to convert the rads berries in the Bostons into cities on par with the Bostons the Hollams and possibly New York City's The

Watts and PA or the Los Angeles there's such a cargo as not tunnel most political unit and pop with Chicago so they're within that local unit at least at least one condition of our existence. We operate as a majority. We also move simultaneously to gain control and management of all the institutions operating in our communities. Education police sanitation won fair and most important of all of these massive budgets. All our tax monies are used by somebody else and hardly ever to maximize Olliver maximize to serve our interests. The long range program or part of the long wish program is a call for a new social contract. And you constitution

we say the constitution and we exist on the. One that makes it impossible for black people to gain a pro camera or share of political power with a local state or federal. You cannot. In fact be the contract that we can live with so that we say that we need a new contract or constitution between the two factions blacks and whites that will aid in peaceful coexistence of the two groups one that in one instance will permit us to have. A per capita share of political power and consider for one moment. There is no way possible if every single black person should register and vote for black people to elect a per capita share of the Senate which will be about 12 senators. As it stands now we have one

senator and it's doubtful what he's ours. And this is not meant to be a criticism of the gravity than because the brother is from your state of Massachusetts with a 5 percent black population. Even counting the hundred and forty black students at Boston College and no one the world can we as a people elect get broke to be the senator for us. And if for one moment he's not acting like a black senator he'll be in trouble. Some of that you must have a contract then that could permit us to send to this this new UN within the United States this new joint body call Congress. I will share. I

have the representation over 50 representatives over 12 sentences and there is no way possible. The only state that we can elect to senators will be Mississippi. And you tell me the chances of that. The other part of the country will have to. Make it impossible for any coalition of white Republicans and Democrats to arbitrarily or otherwise exclude any of our representatives. As it is that the Americans cannot exclude the Cuban delegate to the UN. The American should not be able to exclude them taking power from hot. So basically in grief these are the programs of corps we envision. A final step would be total autonomy of a black nation in America. A nation that we hope can live in peaceful coexistence with

your nation. Let me say finally in closing Why will this work. Wow. Let me try to paraphrase a poem by our great poet. Claude McKay and we have condensed it into what we call the kamikaze prayer. It goes like this if we must die let us not die like dogs. And we must die. All of us dying Nobili so that our precious blood may not be shed in vain. Then even the monsters we defied shall be constrained though far outnumbered. Let us show as brave and for the Thompson blows deal one dead blow job before US law in

open grave. Like men we face the murderous cowardly pack pressed to the wall. Dion. But fighting back. I'm I say to black people in particular and I say to America in general come let us reason together today for if we don't tomorrow will be consumed and devoured by the sword. The goal of struggle is survival and happiness. But if we cannot have life with dignity we will have tipped with honor. Thank you. The M. That I can see my country and I given up on

one. We have too much invested in it. We have had too many dead people. We have sacrificed and worked to law for a hundred years for me to walk out and leave it to you folks. No indeed I intend to stay here until I get my dividends. I have here's a suggestion. Is it too old fashioned to suggest that we need more flexibility in our civil rights campaigns. When the Trojans found a frontal assault in effect they used a wooden

horse Hannibal's surprise the Roman's of vibranium elephants in the back way across the Alps. David spurned the traditional sword against Goliath and used the sling shot. The Germans added Stuka dive bombers and the two rockets in World War 2. And the Japanese went them one better with their suicidal pilots. A bulldozer can excavate for a foundation but a block and tackle is required to get a piano into the ninth floor. Let us not become so inflexible in thought and method that we too like our opponents become vulnerable. In the end our ACP for example is being sued by merchants in Port Gibson Mississippi for three and a half million dollars

for damages as a result of a boycott said to have been conducted in violation of some section of a state law. Is a boycott stance a vulnerable one. And under what conditions should store bars boycotts and school boycotts be used. The plain lesson is that we must use every method every technique every tool available. We need to devise new tools. Our attack must be across the board and must be leveled at all forms and degrees of second class citizenship where one weapon is sufficient. Let it be employed where a combination is required or a combination of organizations let that combination the use where variations in timing and methods will be effective. By all means let us employ these but let none of us

in the north or in the south. Activist or not fall into the trap at this crucial stage of attempting to solve all problems everywhere by a single method or a single formula. This is enough to outline the position and I'll now invite questions from the floor are not in writing since the hour is so late if you will rise and let me here is a question I'll repeat it for the benefit of the audience and to whom it is directed and we'll save time by not having you write the questions after all. This is not Mr. Nixon's press conference and he requires written questions. We don't require them who has a first question.

Let's lay right here as well as leaders here. I beg your pardon. I'm sorry but we were asked to describe the activity of our own organizations. That was simply part of it. Now if you didn't want to hear that I wouldn't mention that. I apologize.