Black Journal; 50; The Young Black Lawyer

it's been it's just one segment of the american judicial process wall is undergoing revolutionary changes to a very great extent from within its own ranks probably the most radical demands are coming from the young black warriors who to a very great extent reflects their generation's attitude of commitment to the struggle of black people in view of the overwhelming interest in law as applied to blacks in the new emerging role of the black or your wedding night three brothers to express that nowhere is with me in the studio are they would burns

director of the national conference of black lawyers who've been involved with angela davis and soledad brothers cases in california bill clifton a third year student of law university of california los angeles and a board member of the national black american law students association get a couple member of a law firm in detroit mr koppell is also a member of the black workers congress are the warriors in the united states only about one percent of black some three thousand five hundred flights live in the most significant thing i think that we recognize young black were looking around our profession day is it that they're almost that many black westerns some very short time majority black voters in this country are going to be very young people people under thirty i think is a very healthy development something that we're looking for to gosar is a new spirit in a black or white male think it would be justified and saying that there is

no tradition of radicalism in the black was caught because as always been black lawyers willing to stand up and do with a good sir the committee to her legal skills just that the american system just as american system period has been such as been very difficult as a black warriors to make our contribution would like to be able to affect one time like scream practiced law in this country basically agree with what he would have said we do have a new crop of black voice coming out of school with myself students in third second first years or i evidence a new kind of desire to make isn't legal system moved to make this system responses to black boys we feel that as black law students we have a responsibility not only to perpetuation of our rights but to the people that we intend to serve we we feel that this system was not been a friendly went to black people certainly is not incapable of they move we

intend to to bring forth the strength an end and the power of new blood into a system do to force the system to open itself up to black people we view ourselves as as interpreters of unlawful for black people we see ourselves as as being in the forefront that odd that people are depending upon us to bank and then new developments in the law and we intend to use without withal strength and vigor that we can muster to use this attempt was a long list allowed to exist in this legal system to blame if forced to bear on that on the very fact is it that continue to oppress political yeah just like to say that that my view of the us system and you have a rare condition under which we live is one which leads me to the following conclusions beyond that the fundamental one to the enemy that has to be attacked and smashed and destroyed rather resolutely by the people is of course the imperialist enemy i think that the fundamental contradiction we confront is imperialism with his domestic variety big apple isn't in this country obviously there is a

core cast contradiction in the society that produces a secondary contradiction of racism my definition of my responsibility as an individual who was a part of a people struggle is to defeat imperialism and to smash the supporting systems of racism and capitalism in that regard the responsibility of persons who have little skills is to me very clear and one they've got to use those skills in such a way as to demonstrate rather rapidly to people that the american legal system is nothing but a functional appendage of an overall state apparatus that exist to do one thing and one thing only and that is to serve the ruling class that owns controls the meat production that exports to people not only this country but of the well so my view of the american legal system there simply is this that is simply a tool that is used by the impurities enemy it's got to be smashed been destroyed in the overall system of which it is a functional part must be smashed been destroyed and a part of that process is and those who have little skills or useful skills to do everything in their power to begin to demystify the american legal system so to convince black another press before that they are not justified and continuing to rely upon the operation of the american legal system as the vehicle through which a liberation will be secured there's no shortcuts there was the one thing that will serve us

in terms of liberation and that is the smashing of imperialism and seizure of state powell placed in the hands of the people gathered by the proletariat that serve you could you know you could find specifically which anyone about imperialism i'm talking about the fact that there is a form of economic organization inside this country and inside of this world the form of economic organization inside his country is one where by the final means of production the factories mines the basic economic infrastructures control by relatively small number of people then on the other side you have labor the person's went to the economy had nothing to do with exchange their labor work for wages the wages are generally very small just a minimum that is necessary to sustain them a minimum level and the rest of that is what we call surplus value a marxist leninist analysis that a surplus values its stride it that characterizes profits a ghost the ruling class when the domestic capitalist the captain america the ruling class enter other countries in two ways one that entered by financial put the nutrition that has to stay invested in other countries you see it everywhere south africa chrysler corporation all of the world you see it with the weight by three

situations taking place right now for example when they penetrate other countries through the use of the exploitation of capital would direct investment in those other countries and when the couple that of course with the use of this elaborate military machine to smash national liberation struggles to take place in other countries which troubles might resolve for example an expropriation of the ruling class over here you are kicking out their taken a company's over this campaign so what about spit and journalism i wanna put it like in terms of connections that i'm simply talking about capitalism leaving the borders of the united states no one through the mechanism of financial penetration and the acquisition of market symbols of the country's and the use of the fest the gun in the club and the force of the armed military apparatus of the state to smash liberation struggles where they might appear in the world because the liberation struggles ahead it fundamentally in the direction of socialism and therefore unalterably opposed to the continued existence of the capitalist rule and domain over the entire world so that's what i mean by imperialism it's the fundamental enemy oh we understand we are black we understand that our operation has a national character but we also understand that if it were not profitable for the

capitalist and the international cat was to be called the imperialist was not profitable for those elements to subject us to exploitation on the base salaries that would do is it would make sense so what i'm suggesting is to whatever extent we are discriminated against the thicket all of us we still got to recognize that fundamentally we dealing with the system that is run on a lie i think that says we must expect as much profit as possible for those who only control the meat production the hell with the rest of the world and saying that that's the fun the lemonade the same price for cooperation in america that can join forces with such things as the urban coalition and talk about redeveloping in the cities and solving those problems are the same price or corporations or four more companies which are exploiting in extracting circles value from black workers under apartheid system in south africa for that not all the entire world so that's what i mean just generally speaking to about imperialism is it the people have the capacity the people have the right people have a duty to rise up to seize power and to run this aside in such a way as to use non profit for the few but it was on the basis of meeting the needs of the living well as a lawyer uses the word this measure destroy them functionally could you do have a lot in terms of

there's a number of based on have the twilight side one example i think of others could probably join in at some point in terms of this i say one example of a case that i was involved in a case called james townsend case in detroit where there was a black worker was born in mississippi you had been subjected to conditions of the colonialist they kind of form of a crazy i was born on a plantation so on his brother finally i made it through a course of his life at about age thirty pounds of working in an automobile plant the chrysler corporation plant in the city of detroit the conditions at the point of production where he was caught up in those contradictions were such that finally one day his brother not fiat he won all gonna cry being returned to the plant shutdown to form and one top seller who defended his brother we're following objectives in mind wanted we at the objective of course of demonstrating as clearly as we could to people the contradictions that exist you know in terms of workers at the point that you expose conditions of the plant weeks post the role of an international interests corporations has been essentially exporters of the surplus value of workers which goes the racial conditions other colonial conditions if you were less alone writes about him

in the wretched of the earth which fills the conditions of his upbringing we've demonstrated to the people that in fact this man was not responsible for those homicides that in fact the chrysler corporation and the existence of a racist during a system which has denied him systematically every possible opportunity for productive participation in life or in fact the two culprits in this case were able to convince the jury to a number of mechanisms that this was in fact the case this man was shot down these three people was acquitted in court in that case was understood not only in detroit not only throughout the country but indeed throughout the week in time magazine hadn't ever played but my point is that that was a classic instance in which are going to court you know what the chord on the defensive you know what the court saying that like this baila criminal prosecution the people of the state of new york to the people as soon as we get to the jury feeling an underwood know that like this either the people of the state apparatus prosecutors and the judges were nothing upfront fees for the imperialist ruling class you know they understood that we demonstrated to the people with those conditions were the people in this gated that they had had their level of political consciousness raised to

such a point they were not prepared to submit blindly ratify a judgment that would kill this man and what he would not allow the system as a criminal imperialists are the criminals and they understood that classic way so when investors say in closing or a lot of people say that you cannot be revolutionary be a lawyer like people say that word working side of the legal system working as a as a reference i don't have that view i don't think they would have that view i don't think the bill has the view you going to record you try to do two things particularly when there are people who were involved in struggle or were there people whose concrete situation is one which can be used to educate you going to demystify the system going to expose the contradictions of the legal system going to exploit every possible option that still exists in this circle like pre revolutionary period and i think that's very positive and you know like incredibly important function that example that possibly we get into italy a time of record really really is what i mean i agree a lot of work and said can i am going to remember the years when we function together and

again that is america comfort level or someone org it was my pleasure there is but one of the things that i did feel a bit concerned that like two to raise unprecedented perspective is that the whole question though of this confluence of a cast and class in this country with comfortable racism in american war and that's why it's america will cause i'm not sure that i can do a hundred percent with the camera now says about the nature of the legal system you it comes to the question of racism because i think in fact it's been demonstrated at some areas that the calm apartheid and just in this country has been something in some cases existed even though was not in the economic interest of the level of person to run out i think for example the situation in the south or not you do expect economic analysis you say that the kumquat hadn't existed there was not economically in the interest of the persians in and out

and it was in that situation that the racism that is one are so pervasive in this country that was the most important so in fact i think that's the kind of thing that i i have to focus on my column to the legal system and i don't want the kind of class bias that mccain is talking about seems to me that them by people most of immigrant commission said just three years ago something when all along that is racism for vases country and the state that many people make is that they think that the law somehow stands outside of that there's no way in the world you can say that about roland transcending the racism in society or reflects an odd i do agree with that we're not going to get on a change the legal system that we need to get the country and social system because we're living in a society that has has allocated resources to priorities our current very values all want and the legal system is reflects that

and then black wearing black people we detected to address that situation and use our skills it extended periods elasticity still open legal system was actually specifically how does law reflects i think i remember what of ways of the most overt way that a reflex the sky races and i'm talking about is in the attitude to the person to run the system over in a system where are constantly would come to contact when when judges with their district attorneys are with hearts with bailiffs could do best are racist and it's clear from what they say what they do that's clear from perhaps ok to use a critic i don't belong to a black person or a fracture the difficulty haven't and for real cooperation cooperation and they're black in the title those kind of things are not over in egypt which has its old fashioned racism but perhaps more subtle and much more germane to our discussions at the cd is a core question of institutional racism where no longer do you have

a once hat lawyers would say blacks can't do this or blacks can't do that or bryce good isn't healthy for a crime and whites get along to have that explicitly started chilly don't have good at making decision that he once did using race as a basis for the only outcome but operationally institution or operates in that fashion to the disadvantage of for the non white people could function of the money bail system for example you see two people and to idolize some ways actually same kind of one director sam kiley continuity which the community was persons have money in the other person doesn't and result of that is the main individual walks of doing any other person goes behind bars and stays there for weeks months and some time in the system the years before ever come to trial yet they're legally presumed innocent institution that has operated as a banjo or nonwhite you look at the procedural rules and sort of the bottom so you can see in there

in the out consumer law for a divisive just gotten from the production of the daughter were biking and we'd still have a discriminatory impact because the waterway set up or should mention a landlord landlord terrible merkel you look at the ministry procedure you see the kind of protections we guarantee for persons whose interests are up interest of poor people and people are on public assistance of people at pub a cow that the coptic and we guarantee that and due process city of rotary much less than what you see another industry or sitting with the icc the fcc and when commercial property interest on vault so i think at every juncture we can see institution endemic in the wall part of the war this built in inequality the structural inequalities and those are the kind of thing that we're trying to address i think we made a mistake when it was a panacea it's not a cure it was just one of a number of useful tools and

process and i think i support a respectable young black boy that he doesn't think that he's got the answer reported and that really i think that basically black law students have serious bombs on an independent i address themselves to the problems that can in a world where we're elaborating on i think it's mainly black law students are many times view themselves as being a move and gone and a new leader are in and in this fight against boston oppression but i think that if we who have to be realistic about the present situation we are only allowed to operate within a system as long as a thousandth the permits us to operate and only wish we must go in there with with this in mind i think that the disbarment should be a reality towards any black gloria winters make any change in the system up not that you know this is a means of a dilemma because i'm i'm certainly not sure that economists an issue of daily arm and the situation that he would mention such as a discrepancy in and

annabel situation there was a case a case of all the mantle of power on the west coast up in the situations she was not even allowed money bail she could not be bought out of jail a case involving a white girl in washington dc who was titled of the him an accessory to police murder she was allowed out on bail on own recognizance old with the condition that she began after ten o'clock and you know situations like this that that that require a great deal of reflection on what's going on but i think his black law students oh we have a responsibility not to become so entrenched in engrossed in and a landlord tenant creditors rights and those kinds of glasses or we lose contact with with the reality of the situation that is that we have a tremendous job in front of us we must become as creative and as innovative as as isabella cameramen and defending our what it was

some creative and innovative things that you can think of the operation forcible serving of the first thing that i i think of that black law students should not wait to be certified by the american bar association that we should be certified by the national bar association was at all the defenses that the national bar association has a black organization of of a legal mind and baby a's is predominately white and it is for the most part exercises control over biden's emanations and in the selection of judges and what have you around the country so i think that our whole system of values has to change but we feel that i feel personally that the nba can certify me can administer was our mission to me and armed with that i look into court and appear in court and represent my people i don't need a va to tell me what i am qualified to practice law not just as another message of racism that that

entrenched in the whole institutional isn't our institution allies pattern of racism that it faith aside and it cleans up and glad to let every every segment along the way so are these are things that we have to seize that opportunity we have to take the initiative and we have to move ahead on one's going to do these things for us and as long as we have certain vehicles and certain mechanisms available to us and we must move ahead to doom ourselves we can't wait and people who are you going to sing with and ultimately a different sound than this okay i mean i have a you know like a kind of a different view it was interesting to a wooden one sense disagree with me but then each of its factual examples indicated really the class cabin economic content of the old question that people are experiencing you know for example he cited landlord tenant which is isis as fundamentally classic an instance of work of economical fashion i don't want is when be like very clear on the fact is crystal clear that we're black is crystal

clear that this is a racist country and that it's axiomatic the point i'm trying to make very simply is this that that we got to proceed beyond an analysis analysis has gone a bit farther than that the mere expression of course a black is beautiful not that i'm saying that that's your position and the black is beautiful and beautiful you do we are beautiful and there was they would do it was to impress got an analysis that understands the operating dynamics in the system my position would be that the fundamental contradiction that is operating in the society when the world is the contradiction that arises from our society organize itself production or so with that are you know you said that in each of the factual instances you talk about black and not quite notably when you talk about jail when you talk about some other instances we know the racist thing exist just as it was laying out an e to take situation like where for example one adult they wasn't a bit more like white said that it was a heartbeat you know ten years felony and all the rest when the little daughters of the earth their chairman so what began a good idea but that the semifinal our discussion about making position say marijuana it almost to me none i need a crack so what we clearly see those manifest a lot of the class and race and we don't disagree on is like be

very good to have his leslie there is some were afraid to disagree about his analysis is listening to you and the concept of political prisoners which is a contemporary term is one that frequently used in anybody's estimation is political prisoner in the most now sense to me someone who is being prosecuted because all wore connection with his or her political views but what actually i think that it will be really much too simple left it that i think that we talk about the legal structure was we had this program you have to look at the way in which the entire social system so such a way so that when a person gets caught up in the legal system quite often so fond of his race in its quest the confluence of going to get it and love the racial bias in this country in the past that just happens in this country and so they're in a wider sense i think that almost any time a poor

person non white person gets caught a legal system is all a definite i never say oh that person is a political prisoner of the presidential vote was mad men smiling candidates who will find in the side of that's the state's parties in california someone who's who are real crime was being a radical black woman and a male chauvinist race aside then on the question of political revolution it seems at this point that it's that it's about ready to grovel to overuse and i am in agreement with look instead about black people in jail and it was certainly isn't as a classical example a political prisoner but there are black people in jail a political prisoners and that the situation there that we are caught up in is a conscious political decision made by this government made by this system and it depends upon the ordering of classes but the classes mozart be order in order for the for the system to continue to function so therefore what the element is interjected that

disturbs is ordering it becomes a political act and act against the state therefore even that false jack black for a political prisoners and that may disturb their work and then they become they become political prisoners and i wish to be very clear i generate cannot be a political prisoner we cannot be one because he'd maintain the status quo you see he's trying to stop this disorder so so we we must be very clear when we talk about political prisoners a fear that that that that the term will die out of overuse and that they will take that would take care of the fire out of the term maybe it's a very explosive term the label one of the political prisoners and one means that that this that these countries been able to remove that allan assistant cooperation uncooperative presence of methane a mickey mouse of the residents will be advantageous to them political prisoners on the same level as it is fantasyland so easily have to be very careful when we when we throw around the term such a political prisoner that we we are well what it actually means and the impact that it had on other decision

investor timetable is the system going to change fast enough i don't know if the system is going to change that is another mammal this i know that the level of consciousness of oppressed people are all of the woman in this country among white people is raising i know that history is on our side i know that it is partly necessary for us to smash imperialism and when i'm confident we were when it takes a thousand years with a texting years of takes very longest journey begins with a single step absolutely confident that we are in fact we went absolutely aware of the flag that that kept the system a system that raises system is decaying everywhere you look and the indexes of that allegiance rocked it like this country brought the world so it's not a question of like when will we be able to plant the flag and sixties they go in the name of the people the task is to be a tremendously in struggle and theyre to expand as much evidence times one can you know on and on behalf of them will comfort women when we know we cannot move and the meaning of it when it comes you know the beautiful thing about like nowadays the nation's drug agreement about the seal it with your level of consciousness a new attitude about being a lawyer if you

want to finish law school to be admitted to a bar i'm certain i'm finished law school this is the second question is whether that will be a lawyer i don't even know what i'm more year is nineteen eighty can from our people if it means being on a soap box for the third part of what i will be admitted to the bar is of course of a serious kind of question because of the barns and just like every other an area of love institutional race racism is not without control is not beyond control and they may control those who i had met in those who are not so i know that and there will be another series of dances and i'll have to have for not been admitted to the bar yeah and on it if it's not admitted to the bottom of what i might do am i just bought a piano and court star representing people in iraq in the defendant is in gaza i'm really not concerned with that question is as much as what i feel that i am equipped to do i don't even need to practice law for that matter how whole church group meetings

and not affect a street corner along not in concert with the very very much this discussion with the young like lawyers undoubtedly has unveiled something new philosophies new attitude it's very clearly pointed out there will be some change now modern system and there's been a definite change in the philosophy an etiology of blacks who were practice law thanks for the poem now

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