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Ladies and gentlemen brothers and sisters. Everywhere we want to take time today and speak at length about a number of things. We want to repeat basically the things that were said across the day on Thursday night and we ran. We want to expand a little. The speech today is not going to be a rough go get him speech. I think that we need something beyond that. We want to try and find. A lot of the party uses and trying to put them in some perspective so that all of us can understand what we're talking about. It is necessary for us to be militant and to fight and to be revolutionary. But it is not sufficient unless our
understanding is going to match our badness. We are and we know that. So we must move beyond being. To begin. Since oh about. When we started the campaign of revenue. We have been free you know it is not free. This is the limit. Not only does the area know this not only the United States of America knows this but the world knows that. We have minister of education and captain from New York in Havana Cuba right now and they have released through the world press through friends of Latina and through Radio speaking the
fact that it rather is not set free. This is since we know there is no need for us to continue to talk about it. Everybody knows it. The party is well organized. The will is not free. And then needs to be no justification for that. We say that Huey P. Newton is a prisoner of war and many people say that's not true or that the party is exaggerating. I think it's clear it's crystal clear. That the United States has declared war on black people. She did that when she took the first black man from Africa. Now course she's never said so in words. And some people
expect her to come out and say I declare war on black people but the United States to this day has not declared war on Vietnam. But they're in Vietnam. They have not declared war in North Korea. But they fought in North Korea and they did not declare war on the Indians. They just wipe them out. So we most of our condition we are at war. Minister of Defense is our leader. He is in jail. He is a prisoner of war. We must get him by any means necessary. If we cannot get him we must. We must retaliate. Now some of the things we want to talk about today are very difficult
for us to grasp. We in the party have been working more and more with the concepts. There are no contradictions within the party. Party work says the minister of information says the principle of unity discussion unity. So we want to make that clear. Now we want to talk about. Black people we have already established the fact that we are as people now when people move to fight again. Well Crestor. There are two levels on which we must move. First we must move psychologically. That is to say we must prepare psychologically to think that our presence is not as bad as he says he is. And that's important
and we have been doing it for the last two years. For example prior to the last two years even though we hated the police department we would be afraid to get out publicly and say the pig ought to be killed. We were afraid to do that. And psychologically we were pretty. But today we're no longer psychologically appraised of our press to not only are we not afraid of him psychologically. We are defining ourselves not only our own beauty but our own state of political economic and cultural appears. So there we have started the psychological battle we are winning on the battle. It is time now to move on to exact and correct thinking correct political ideology and the correct tactics in order to win. And that's where we are today. Now
on those two levels. When you begin to psychologically prepare yourselves. We call that entertainment. What we were doing in the last two years was entertaining. We were telling us that we were bad the humpy couldn't was never there he wasn't worth it. We could take him we could burn baby burn. We were entertaining. Today we must move from entertaining and we must begin to educate our kids. So we're moving on a different level today. We're moving on the level of education now on their level. We have to ask what is our back. Now. Why is two pronged. We are fighting against racism and we're
fighting against capitalism or in theory of Islam which is the highest state capital. It isn't the government of the United States of America is racist and imperialist. Therefore we are fighting the government of the United States of America and we have more on this. But now we must define our terms. We must define the term racism. What is race and what is racism. Racism is when one race. Decides to brutalize Oprah's and subjugate another race of people solely because of their race.
That's not where the dicks in the US. We want to be able to have a working definition rather than a definition from Webster's Dictionary. We can give examples do so for a nation of Jewish people the Jewish people they are superior to Spanish people and they are subject to open press and brutal. Spanish people Hindu Jewish people are acting in a racist manner. If Portuguese people decided because they were Portuguese they had the right to press and the press Arab people then look forward to Greece people are acting with in a racist manner and they raise this. If white people decide because of their
color they have the right to subjugate brutal black people because we're black. They are acting in a racist manner and they are in fact racist. So we must understand that. Now I have people who are not degraded to racism. This guy to own you know the racist. Then they are not acting in a racist manner nor are they reverse racists. They are moving to wipe out racism. And it moving to wipe out. Group that in a racist manner they can never be cause reverse racism so black people and will now defend their position when they
racism. We are anti racist period that we moved against racist people period. Now we want to talk about capitalism and imperialism. I think in the plan in capitalism we run into a lot of problems because it takes so long to. Throw to and. Which is some hundred pages talking about capital. Thankfully we can say that in a capitalist capital which is money is the prime motive and the motive which is the gaining of more money is what runs everything else.
That's not too good a definition but perhaps it's the best we can do right now as we begin to clarify more and more our positions. Now let's give some examples of capitalism because that's perhaps much better to understand than the definition itself. My farmer. Was a carpenter a very good carpenter. Now there was a white man who lived uptown from us. He had a lot of capital. Money. He would come to me and say I want you to build me a house. My father would build in the house. He would pay me the fifty dollars a week. When my father was finished building the house. He would sell the house for $25000 and keep the money himself. Therefore he was a capitalist. He was exploiting the labor of my black people in this
country. Some people from capitalism our labor is exploited. We do the work and the people walk away with the money. That's what capitalism is going out of power. We have to understand that because what they're doing today is they're trying to tell earth that our solution is that we should be calm relaxed capitalist and if we all understand that capitalism is what we're fighting against we will never be home then which we have to fight against. That's what Nixon is talking about black capitalism. All these things we want instead of a white man exploiting me. He wants a black man to do it so that when the fight comes I'm going to have to be fighting the black man
rather than having the land on the way today. So we've got to understand that. Now then we want to define him period. Imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism that is not only the fate of imperialism is reached when our country exploits and no country. Capitalism is when people in country exploit people in their country. Again these definitions are not very aware because we try to work them so they fit our situation. So we have to ask you to forgive us if we are not clear. Perhaps as we move along in the next few months there will be much more clarity. Let me give an example of imperialism when the United States of
America controlled the brave aland of Cuba. The Cubans used to grow sugar cane. Now the Cubans would pick the sugar cane white America would pay them 40 cents a day take the sugar cane bring it into the United States make sure got out of it and then sell it back to the Cubans for a profit. So they were exploiting the entire Cuban people. The United States does this all over the world Asia Africa Latin America and black people in the United States. Now we must begin to understand those and they're very very important if they're not where Then we must do more reading and have more discussion with people. So we begin to understand those terms clearly crystal
clear in our minds things must be calm otherwise we will end up waging the wrong fight and losing the battle. You can fight but if you're fighting the wrong thing you can win. You can't win if I am playing with somebody and a cat on the field and a cat on the bench. I've been playing football against another team and there's some people standing outside the field and the other football team runs them down. They may run over them. They can win the game has been running against me. So we have to understand who we're running against. We just can't run. We just can't right. We've got to understand who we're fighting against. If we say that's what we're fighting against we must then define what our goals are what we want. Well we want two things we want also a society
free of racism and we want a society that is not a capitalistic society. Now in the economy systems of the world there are basically three capitalism. Socialism and Communism. If we can't have capitalism then we must have one of the other two. Socialism or Communism. We should not be afraid of those terms. We must begin to try and understand just what they mean. Now our problem is that we do not think that socialism and communism from the western world will fit black people. That is to say merely because America becomes a socialist communist state does not necessarily mean they do away with racism so that we will continually have to push and
write for a state not only free of capitalism but also free of racism and for us racism will always be primary because we are black because we are black. Now then we want to begin to answer some of the terms that are. Thrown around loosely terms like Revolution terms like struggle. Revolution and counter revolution. The fans the black militants black revolutionaries and black nationalism. Now it's important for us to understand the word revolution because the word is thrown around so loosely that none of us know what it means. We are not now in the midst of a black revolution revolution. The total overthrow of a system.
But revolution never begins. Onto do you think power. You've got to seize power once you see power. The revolution begins because you can change things as you see fit. Let me give you an example. Fidel Castro fought in the Sierra Maestra us for several years. But while the down his boys were fighting they were not engaged in the revolution. When they took the city of Havana when they took the city of Havana they ran Batista and the American lackeys out. Then the revolution began when Fidel Castro said today this country belongs to the masses of Cubans that when the revolution began because then he could do what he wanted with the country.
We have to understand that because if they throw the terms around about black revolution we'll never get anywhere. Now what is the position. The period that comes before our revolution the period coming before a revolution is core. Armed struggle. That's what we are beginning to get engaged in in this country. Armed struggle is when the forces of the masses fighting against the political structure the powers would be their tools the police force the occupying forces to overthrow the government. So we must be clear. We are beginning to become involved in the stage of armed struggle armed struggle. Once we have seized power then the revolution begins. So we have to be clear about those. Now then we also want to talk about black militancy. There's a
difference between black militant and the black revolutionary black militant is someone who is angry at the white society but wants to become part of white society. Black Revolution wants to overthrow do. Troy and Reed struck noon time and we have to be clear there are a lot of black militants running around the country. There are few black revolutionaries running around the country and we have to understand that you see black nationalists all the time. They get up on TV today and it talk about will burn your city down if you don't give us a poverty program. You know they use that cross space you know and the masses of people to benefit them fair that a black militant black revolution. We get to
change the system. People until the system is changed. The struggle will continue. There can be no compromise. What a revolutionary militant. There can always be compromises and we have to understand that. And. Now we want to talk about revolution and counter-revolution. Revolutionary. Is the that is used to destroy the status quo that is acting in preceding and leading to a revolution. Counter-revolutionary is their limbs which is used to maintain this status quo. For example the police department is a counterrevolutionary force because it wants to keep things the way it is. The American forces in the
counter revolutionary force because they want to keep things the way they are. A revolutionary force would be a force fighting to change the status quo for the benefit of the masses of the people. The Black Panther Party is a revolutionary force because it is fighting to change this system for the masses of our people is a revolutionary force because they are fighting to change the structure of the year for the masses of their people and we have to be clear in those terms. Now the final term what is a revolutionary. A revolution is someone who is willing to queue. To bring about the change for the masses of the people. That's the revolution.
Notice that I did not say someone who is willing to down. But rather someone who is willing to kill because just willing to die don't make you a revolutionary. It makes you stupid and a martyr. Being. Laid down in front the tank. Then a revolution and they still they want to do so. The Russians don't lay down and kill the Russians. Take your country and then do with what they want. But now a lot of people get confused with revolution because just because you pick up doesn't make you a revolutionary. Understand that a lot of brothers have guns. Now. They're not revolutionary
So just because you pick up a gun you're not revolutionary. But in order to become revolutionary you pick up the gun once you pick up the gun. Armed with the correct political ideology fighting for the benefit of the people then. A revolution and we have to understand those. Speeches. I think this one is more important. Now the people begin to move in a revolutionary form. There are three levels of attack. Further they attacked the symbols Christian.
Tools of the press and thirdly they attack the press him still. Now our people are moving in a revolutionary fashion. We have demonstrated that. The burning of stores represent the burnings of the symbols of oppression. It is the first person we contact on a day to day that presses a nearby store owner grocery store rotten goods prices the dignity those symbols of oppression. So we burned them. Now we move again. The tools of the press are the tools of the press. Those things which the press employs to keep us or press the police force represents the tool of the press and cancer's our people all around this country are
moving against the police force. They will not tell you about it on television. But just because you don't hear about it on television don't assume it's not happening it's happening all over the country. But because it's more serious they can not put it on television and dare to be the sign of how serious we are. The boys when we were just playing in they put it on TV and they used all their money to becoming serious. They cannot laugh anymore. So they do not put it on television. We've got to understand them. We've got to understand them. Then once we made and got to the tools of oppression then we go to the press for himself these powers and we begin the revolution. Now as we move toward this step of seizing power there are a lot of political movements that we make.
We have to make political movements. And that's what we do what we do. For example the coalition with the peace and freedom to help get the publicity and the freeing of the 30 and we have to understand those political these and work with them within their perspective within their given perspective. Now then if we agree that the police force represents the tool of the oppressor that we're moving again. The question is how can we move against the press. That's very simple. Brother Malcolm X was talking and when he was educating
a lot of us were not playing very close attention to him. We paid attention to Brother Malcolm when he entertained when he said we were all right found the right man. We're going to go down with guns in sooner than everybody. Then when we explained what had to be done nobody was listening. If we were listening we would know where we had to go today. Let me give you a quote from drove them out them. I don't remember it correctly but something like this. Show me Frenchmen. Forth in China and I will show you a white man who's got the shakes. Show me friends human or in Algeria and I will show you the right man who's got the shakes. He continues. As a matter of fact. Show me the right man who is born in a zero home Latin America where there has been guerrilla warfare and I will show you a white man who
has got the shakes. Brother Malcolm thing was clear is when you have got to go he said. We were listening to him and we were listening to him when he was saying he was proud. If you wait no one goes down. And then even. When we were preparing today we could be prepare for the stage to begin. 5:00. A.m. that is period.
Do you. Know who is doing what when. Doing it for black community. We have been listening to. Guerrilla warfare you know. You kill you. You kill. You know. You did. If you live you could kill 50 more tomorrow night. We have to worry about. Where we move.
If we will. Be getting. There. This is ground troops on the ground. It is and is moving to and fro above ground where we are going to be. Sooner or later of course and unless we begin to prepare now we will find our struggle back. Our struggle can never be back. Must be we must always move forward we can never move back nor will we ever feel we must move forward and we have won was there. Now we have the levels we had to remove. We
move on three levels now. Before I do that I want to talk a little about the pig. And why it is in the city. Then we begin to understand the war against them. Because they escalate their war against us. Their job is to keep things the way they are. That's what they call law and order. And anything there are disruptive elements in the community is to destroy those disruptive elements there. Separately the police force is going to increase its harassment is going to increase its intimidation is going to increase its brutalised nation. Again we have to be prepared for that. If we are not prepared the. Leather jacket
to ready to kill ready to kill you. Unless you're ready agitator here is natural and you still have to prepare. And we must move the political the economic and social level. We have to constantly on three levels at the same time. We can and to move.
This community. Now. Many people view that won the battle. That is true. Like the gun. Is necessary but not sufficient. Being is never his but it is not sufficient. Having once begin to recognize which is needed for people we now. Recognize black and beautiful. I record my ancestors in Africa. Now let us begin.
We have to do that to people at that level and want to stop at the cultural level. It is no threat to economic system. And if we can could be against his political and economic system not just his culture system then the program on to America which is good. If we're moving again. Now then we.
Thank God to do this even though we've got. Thanks. And we've got to take to do it now. And we will be having many of them now that we have a chance to begin to talk to each other about the correct political ideology and struggles. Now we want to the Internet implications internationally against the man.
The United States greatest imperialist. Today it means she is an imperialist power. She's got to have people all over the United States got to have bases in Latin America to protect all the resources that she steals from the people of Latin America. The United States do have bases in Asia and Africa because he has to approve the resources there. Tuesday of this year. Now let me give you an example. You know I did think that China is going to be their number one enemy and they must time. The People's Republic of China does not have one base outside of China not one fourth outside of China the United States of America.
Twenty five hundred base outside of the United States of America of whom and who is fighting who. Sometimes I don't have no basis. The United States guy faced is no Vietnamese should have bases in the United States of America. That's right. Right. The United States has a naval base in Cuba. You should have a naval base in the United States of America United said bases in Germany in Africa in Asia and Latin America. All of those countries should have been in the city. And we've got to learn this and we must understand this door.
Communism. The United States is not against communism. The United States wants to expand power and come for her and no one for there is no Republic of China and the Black Panther Party you have. And we must understand that if the United States the United States were against communism Russia is communist Russia has invaded Russia it is President of the united in Jack and the Russians. Why not. She's in Vietnam she's there she's invaded to stop the North Vietnamese from coming into the south.
Now the Russians who do nothing think go to Lyndon Johnson. They will check. Against. Two bases in checkers country. Everybody used to tell those boys against against. Russia tomorrow on the night of the revolution.
And whenever you get it we want you to stop. Prime Minister and I will be predictions in the American system. Then we will begin to educate our stamps. We have to understand Cuba. Cuba. Is one of the premier is in the place they tell America on certain terms no matter what you do America. If you come in here we don't fight you no matter how big you are America. Last year when I was at the celebration Castro said Let it be to America this is then Ireland. When you invade there's only water there can be no retreat.
And we have to say the same thing let it be pigs then we are surrounded. There can be no retreat. We've got to stand and fight. Period. And we should begin to encourage our people to travel to Cuba so that we can learn what the Cuban government is doing how doing it while doing it. And from there to. American government to Vietnam and we need to the Arab countries they take passports as they see fit. One of the people in Mexico and send them back home as they leave. But we have to tell. The United States Lyndon
Johnson we will get out. We will go to China Cuba North Korea North Korea Egypt Syria any way we want to go. You cannot stop men. We want to go you. Have to go get your passport. You can use this. If you black automatically didn't want to. And we've got to go to these because we now what's going on through the United States from going to China Cuba North Korea North. They used to stop us from going to Russia you can go now. It is important to know that the United States from going to South Africa. If you like.
But you can't go to the Korean people. And then she says well the private people and we can't tell the private people how to trade. But they tell the people who trade with Cuba and Korea we must understand the contradictions today. As moving the policy of we're going to have to move beyond it. No no no we're not going to bite me. You know they are fighting against the United States of America again. Nobody in this country.
Has. Been there the better it is the South Vietnamese strikes a blow against the American government and its forces in Vietnam. Better make more because it makes the United States. When we strike a blow in the 30s against the United States forces found when the Vietcong and the people in this group. Again my imperialism really. Understand these things. You must study them. We've got to have
a baby. We better let me explain to you the difference between revolutionaries and. Men again. Then the people are burning down for this to take over this city. I remember losing Mary plans once the burns decided now. Thank you for that and hold it and run the way. Do you want a revolution or revolution. And that's where we have to go. We've got to be able to hold it and give it. And if you talk it over you're talking about 24.
You talk about training getting you know go on down have night together again knowing a 9 millimeter mortar when you put it in your gun at night you can feel. You got to know that it is you know the book reading. And. Think you. Got to do that. And I understand the. Beginning to the coming revolution.
And as we began to move our forces we can begin to get down to those people fighting the United States Cuba. China and the Arabs in the Arab world and begin to stand against the United States of America. The time is coming when we won't have very much to do. Our struggle is not going to be a quick. It is going to be. A struggle. It's not beyond Book Three have been for 20 years. He can expect no less.
Bad news. Twenty years and three generations. We've got. Now revolution is not made by people talking. Revolution. People running in the streets. Revolution is made by people. Our moment in history whether we like you know not our war. This is the precise history right there revolutionary and wherever we want it or not. History has put us in that position and we have got to fight. We cannot fail history. We've got to become revolution. We can do. We cannot run even if we wanted to. There is no brothers and
we have talked right. They're suffering. We like it or not. They are going to move to wipe with. So we just we have to. We have to fight. You see the goon squad they have in San Francisco their tactical police. It is the beginning of no growth for our community. If we do not move Now those forces will be too late. We've got. To move on. There's no place to run. We can run to Africa. They played good. All we can do in Africa is part without brother then you can
be normal. You get there you're just like anybody else and they don't put a gun in your hand and you don't have to Frank. And we can learn from Africa. We can think that the United States uses she demands the people. Have not always been a factor the one thing that it kept Kosovo is that we have always been as a people divided. Yes. Yes and no she not used this tactic all over the word dirty not pit brother against brother. Is she not making North Vietnam right now Vietnam North Korea right now Korea East Germany West Germany now she's got to be Afro fighting Nigeria. It is always the thing move and she is going to use it more and more against us. So we must prepare.
We cannot begin to fight each other in our community you have to understand there and then it's revolution. Whenever you hear the figures in the Vietnamese war you hear Vietnam so many dead American soldiers so many did. You very rarely hear about South Vietnam either than the reason is they can never. Go back to the South Vietnamese soldiers. They do not attack the South Vietnamese soldiers because they know the South is not a major enemy. Their major enemy is the forces of the imperialist America. And when they strike they strike a blow at them. Adam out to back me. If the South Vietnamese attacked them they run. From the South Vietnamese and they only
have their. Mouths. We don't did the same thing when he went down in 1927. Organize the troops whenever the forces of gigantic came after them. They pleaded with their tinies brothers not to fight. They even retreated from several battles and only when it was absolutely right out. Their Chinese brothers did not Castro. Didn't go to Cuba and get their support. And after power he said to the government is the government of the map is of the people of Cuba. Either you wit me or you go against the war. But I'm against the war but he couldn't because he'd be fighting the blues wisely and we can
fight each other. To begin to understand and we can only find. One but it is also a fact the people are. Split and divided and fighting against us are puppets. Of the American government. Now be a puppet of the American government. If the Vietnam destroyed key they would do when they destroyed the Emmen every clan that is Troy not the Vietnamese. There's no not more profit to be poured. But if you destroyed the puppet fold. The puppet is free and then you have the power to make the phenomena in a design. Manner. And that's what we must understand. If we force the local towing community every time we knock them
down. If we don't go down do not speak for the American people then it's obvious they're in power. Was the United States supported then and then we'll have the power and we can move against them one way or the other. Our historic moment is here. We must begin. There were several. People
and three political economic social and Mon. In a revolution. One win. Thank you. Don't you call Michael Nutter.
Program
Stokely Carmichael
Producing Organization
KPFA (Radio station : Berkeley, Calif.)
Contributing Organization
Pacifica Radio Archives (North Hollywood, California)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/28-t14th8c32z
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Description
Description
Stokely Carmichael addresses a meeting of the Black Panthers in Oakland, California, regarding Huey P. Newton's incarceration, United States imperialism, Black revolution, and strategies for revolution.
Broadcast Date
1968-08-25
Genres
Event Coverage
Topics
Social Issues
Race and Ethnicity
Public Affairs
Subjects
Black Panther Party; African Americans--Civil rights--History
Media type
Sound
Duration
01:00:20
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Credits
Producing Organization: KPFA (Radio station : Berkeley, Calif.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
Pacifica Radio Archives
Identifier: 20806_D01 (Pacifica Radio Archives)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Pacifica Radio Archives
Identifier: PRA_AAPP_BB1781_Stokely_Carmichael_Black_Panthers_meeting (Filename)
Format: audio/vnd.wave
Generation: Master
Duration: 1:00:15
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Citations
Chicago: “Stokely Carmichael,” 1968-08-25, Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-28-t14th8c32z.
MLA: “Stokely Carmichael.” 1968-08-25. Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-28-t14th8c32z>.
APA: Stokely Carmichael. Boston, MA: Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-28-t14th8c32z