Transcripts For CSPAN2 Feminists In The Black Power Movement 20160229

And they also declared that they are not from those which get that the criminal code the criminal code they are basically putting detainees in limbo where they make up the rules as they go along. Live on on book tv in depth. From noon to 3 p. M. Eastern. Its great to see all of you think you for coming. As most of you know this is the fourth year doing conversations about the freedom studies. We started this four years ago to bring new work into black history and the scholars and writers and conversation with us and to create a space to put that in the struggles of today and so tonight we will be talking about black power into political repression. Its very timely in the moment we are in and most of you whove been here before also know that every few months i like to talk about rosa parks and many of you know i wrote a biography of rosa parks and today would have been her 103rd birthday. In honor of that, me and some colleagues have built a new website called rosa parks biography to kind of challenge the way that in much of our public conversation today theres a kind of dangerous distinction being made between what is being treated as the Civil Rights Movement and the movements for Racial Justice and black lives better today into these were distinctions that were looking at the history of rosa parks through criminal justice challenge the distinctions commentators are making today so i think a real look will remind us from the justice for black women who were raped to the criminalization that we see with the montgomery bus boycotts that she served on from the wilmington ten to all of tend to all of the antiPolice Brutality work she did sitting on the tribunal after 67 and and the trite uprising and on and on. I think seeing that scope gives us a different movements movement to draw upon today and reveal and challenge the way that this comes into the present so tonight we are very lucky to have three scholars to have flown here to be with us. The first speaker is talking about his important book on the wilmington tend. Hes come from chapel hill. The second speaker is from cleveland at case western to talk about her incredible book kind of looking at black power across the 20th century into thin air it has come from the university of illinois and he will be signing after the program tonight his first book sojourning for freedom that he will be talking from the new book project which is on par via some in the u. S. But specifically he will be talking about his new work on malcolm x. Mother movies little and is precious for that from all sorts of Research Across the world so we are very, very lucky and please join me in welcoming Kenneth Cheney can come around the williams and eric mcduffie. [applause] good evening. Ive used the Schaumburg Center for all of my work at one time or another i found myself here in its always been a dream of mine to come here and talk so i can cross that off my list tonight. Thank you for inviting me. Im thrilled to be here and thanks to all of you for coming out this evening. Im going to talk about the wilmington ten tonight and ive generally found that it is something that is dimly remembered in my state North Carolina but it frequently gets confused with the 1898 race riot in wilmington which was against a black elected government in 1898. So its not that well remembered that the wilmington ten in its time and for our time was a monumental case of political repression very similar to other examples of egregious injustices such as the murder of Chicago Black panther leader by the Chicago Police with the assistance of the federal bureau of investigation and the legal frame up of angela davis and the prison rebellion. With just a bit more thought i think that i can offer several other examples but that would take up more of my time and not allow me to give to the big points i want to do. In the case of the wilmington ten, the legal system hammered black men in their teens or early 20s and a white woman in her 30s for their part in protests over desegregation of Public Schools in wilmington North Carolina. The actions of elected officials, Police Prosecutors and prosecutors and judges throughout the wilmington ten or deal was callous and corrupt even by todays standards of prosecutorial misconduct. Part of what i would like to do this evening is rehearsed the events of the wilmington ten but its also important to remember and understand that what happened also helped to define a new phase in africanamerican politics in which an increasing movement coordinated its efforts under the leadership of a vital radical left and i will spend some time outlining that as well. As it will become evident in a moment, the name is in many ways a misnomer not only did they not comes tired to do anything they also did not know one another or hang out together or share common friendships or networks together they were in the machinery operated by the authorities to suppress the expansive movement and in particular to place one person on the sidelines so while i will be talking about the wilmington ten as a corporate entity as it were because that is how the events are remembered in history, its important that we understand they were also ten individuals and i want you to know their names, theres been shapes, james mccoy, wayne moore, Martin Patrick and shepherd and joe wright, ten individuals whose lives were ruined to further the aims of the state. Now, the ned is a band that led to the wilmington ten was the boycotts of the recently desegregated schools in the first week of february, 1971 by black students subjected to mistreatment by School Officials and police that came onto the campuses and by adults that came to the school to harass black students. They also protested their exclusion from a variety of Extracurricular Activities such as cheerleading, the sports teams, student council, the Honor Society society and so on. The High School Students issued a list of demands and established a boycott headquarters at the Congregational Church that is affiliated with the United Church of christ. A local paramilitary White Supremacist Organization called the rights of white people which had broken away from the clan in New Hanover County because it believed that it was moderate heard about the boycott and boycotts and began to harass the students including driveby shootings at the church. In response, students and their supporters appealed for City Protection including a curfew but neither the mayor or the police chief was willing to oblige. They said things were under control the way that they were. When no protection was forthcoming, students and supporters defend themselves and established a perimeter and set up an armed century. Also in response to the attacks, unknown supporters of the boycotts committed arson and other Property Damage prostrate owned businesses and against the nearly previously allwhite New Hanover High School gym. It should be noted, however, thats not all was in retaliation for the attacks at least one business was burned down by its owner who tried to take advantage of the town to profit from his Fire Insurance and another at a business also have suspicious origins, the Furniture Store and several residents thought it was peculiar but while the store burned down at all the merchandise burned down the owner had conveniently taken all of his records books home with him tonight before the fire and continued to bill all of the teacher and for all the customers for their installment payments. Among the businesses that burned was mikes grocery located a couple of blocks from the Congregational Church and mikes grocery plays an Important Role in the events. When it was burning on the saturday night at the end of the first week in february, 1971, the police shot and killed an unarmed student protest leader by the name of steve mitchell. Hed gone out when he heard the fire alarms going he had gone out to check and see what was happening and help rescue people from the adjacent buildings to help people move their furniture and get out of the fire. When he poked his head out the police shot him. They picked him up and put him in a police car in should have been a 15 minute drive to the hospital took more than two hours and he arrived dead on arrival. The next morning a white supremacist named harvey drove through police lines, got out of his vehicle and as he prepared to shoot at the church he was shot and killed by somebody who is still unknown. It was with this mans death thats been that the mayor and the police chief took action. A curfew was now established and the citys authorities were urging the governor called in the National Guard in this state highway patrol. The guard raided the boycott headquarters and its superior firepower that was imposed on the city. The boycott was suppressed but the students demands were not met. One year later in march of 1972, state and local officials still smarting from the rebellion and continuing to make someone pay for it arrested 17 persons on charges related to the burning of mikes into the murder of harvey. Ten of them were put on trial in september 1972 for conspiracy, arson and shooting at the firefighters and police responded. The prosecutor based his case on testimony that he himself had solicited and on and on a Legal Process of jury selection which he excluded practically all blacks from the jury pool based on their racing stripes to pack the jury with whites who openly expressed racist views were plainly stated that he had made up their minds that at least some of the ten were guilty or who said that in order to find him not guilty, they would need to hear the testimony of those people rather than assuming they were not guilty they would assume they were guilty until proven otherwise. In this ilLegal Process, the prosecution was ably assisted by a tribal judge Robert Martin who also hamstrung the defense attorneys. After a week of testimony the jury took only hours to convict and the judge sentenced the wilmington ten to a total of 282 years in prison and i can talk more about this process into question and answers come of this ilLegal Process the prosecutors used. So, in october of 1972, the wilmington 10 off to prison to serve earns sometimes up to 34 years, with 282 years in total and that might have been the end of the story because we know throughout the 60s and 70s there were people who were arrested, who were framed and convicted and sent to jail and nobody ever hears from them again. This was true for a group of High School Students and North Carolina for example. There was also a struggle over School Segregation and there were also students who pushed and shoved in the hallways and at one point in time there was a fire set in the boys laboratory in the trash can come it did a minimal amount of damage, but of smoke and fire nothing particularly big and this morphed into a fire bomb in the press and in the courts and the authorities arrested he was in High School Students and put them on trial told them if they pled guilty and just served their time they would get sentences of 11 years and not being able to afford attorneys and being young and scared, they gave in and they did their time and i only found out about them going through the archives at the center so this might have been the end of the story for the wilmington ten but almost immediately upon their conviction i think while they were still on trial but occurred thursday multilevel Multidimensional Movement to free them. It was built statewide at first principally through the network of the United Church of christ congregations that the private commission for Racial Justice. It means strength through the efforts of the organization for black unity. A rather prophylactic rationalization in the world which had a National Circulation of more than 10,000. Many members of the organization were headed in the direction of marxism and a good part of the leadership would end up in the communist Workers Party whose members were murdered in greensboro in november of 1979. It gained National Attention through the efforts of the National Alliance against racist and political oppression which was closely aligned with the communist party and have ties with labor unions and Public Officials across the United States and finally, there was the National Wilmington ten Defense Committee headquartered in washington, d. C. Was able to draw a variety of congressional staffers and ultimately interested Amnesty International could take up the issue and legal prisoners of conscience. Now what i want to emphasize here is that this was a Massive Movement that was international in scope. The organization for unity, the commission for Racial Justice, the National Alliance against political oppression all have welldeveloped critiques of American Society and capitalist society and the damage they did to other National Minorities they looked upon the case of the wilmington ten dot as a miscarriage of justice but as a typical way the system worked and was designed to work they worked hard to link the issue with pacing the communities of North Carolina and around the nation showing the connections between this particular instance of injustice and an educational system that failed africanamericans, Police Forces that treated the criminal Justice System built on the mass incarceration and employer class on exploiting workers were intensely by denying them the protection of the labor union and the u. S. Foreign policy that supports apartheid and colonialism in Southern Africa and they were effective trolling and thousands of people to demonstrations engaging in political edition and what used to be called consciousness in the community centers, workplaces and houses of worship around the country and bringing into the fold all manners of people including politicians and prominent Public Opinion makers they finally come for the president to become involved and the pressure eventually forced the circuit of the u. S. Court of appeals to overturn their convictions not on technicalities as many people claim that the times and continued to claim today that because of substantial prosecutorial misconduct that resulted. This was a moment in history when the politics were Strong Enough to lead a united front. Inside politicians like joy johnson, two state representatives in North Carolina they flocked to the movement as they recognized its power and because they might have been swept aside had they not. This new type of politics was ascendant until the early 1980s when for a variety of reasons it was supposed to be replaced by the Political Class that was more in tuned with the rules and regulations of the twoparty system. Thank you. [applause] today i will talk about black power, roots and expression. In 1969 the author and novelist James Baldwin talks about freedom and the United States allegedly waging war in the name of freedom and she sat in a slow clip for sure a war is being waged that but he said no matter what the profession in my country may be we are not burning people at the existence of the name of freedom. If it were freedom they were concerned about that long ago we would have done something about china spurred south africa and if we were concerned with freedom, boys and girls come as i stand here wouldnt be pitching in the streets. We are concerned with power. Nothing more than that and it has consult with either the power on the backs of people who are now willing to die rather than to use any longer. Then in the question and answer portion, he was passed a question and i will play you the cliff because a lady in the audience that future employer after someone but anyway thats just so you know whats going on. And audible conversations. [inaudible conversations] i dont see it a division between them. I dont know why everyone gets upset about black power but everyone gets upset about white power over the world, no one even questions at its not destroying women and children. But the black power because of this cover is sacred. No one has the power of the holy ghost. The term black power was mine [inaudible] and it does actually mean that. They have in their hands the control of their own destiny. They are proud of the phrase it as the selfdetermination of people. Thats all it means. [applause] integration is not our goal at all. So in 1968 just a year before they are talking, hed written by had never known a negro in all my life. That same year 1968, Marcus Garvey who was deported from the United States published black power in america the united printers unlimited is located on Marcus Garvey drive in kingston jamaica. Marcus garvey was and internally within roots and expression. The cofounder of the universal Negro Improvement Association was a black nationalist nationalist to be the race, pride, selfdetermination. The largest blast black Mass Organization conrad black and green flag and hubert who parted ways because Marcus Garvey behaved in black capitalism and harrison known as black socrates believed in socialism. Marcus garvey influenced and became malcolm x. Who would once be influenced by the nation of islam and the black nationalism and malcolm x. Would be influenced who after world war ii meant toward who was John Friedman from cleveland in the revolutionary movement in the early 1960s. Both were influenced by Richard Wright and the concept would cross paths with Gloria Richardson of the Cambridge Movement and malcolm x. In the 1963 grassroots conference in detroit where malcolm delivers the famous message to the grassroots. And both now who in 2014 cofounded the committee for social justice to protest at the cleveland atrocity in which police after a highspeed chase killed two people and with 137 bullets in 2012 both were also influenced by the robert f. William leader of the naacp expression who was dismissed as a leader because of his defense and who by the time of the conference in 1963 was an exile in exile in cuba and bob friedman and stanford like others with travel south in 1964 but they wanted to meet with activists and test their ideas about building a black revolutionary activist effort. In 1955, malcolm x. Would be hoping people organize the black panthers of total party and after a number of twists and turns and shifts and influences in the proliferation of organizations, by 1966, carmichael as the chair, ruby Smith Robinson as its executive director and james forman, the former executive was leading the effort around black liberation and international affairs. I talk about either the wells and we can get to that in the question and answer organized a 1963. And before the iconic moment of the black power cry in 1966. I begged from farm to farm. They went on thinking kill me after my car went on to the pitch. In 1963. After the years of slave labor and the most inhumane sinister and barbaric atrocities that passed the magnitude perpetuated against human beings and their history of the planet earth and an additional 100 years of freedom accompanied by terror, the committees seeking the reparations, the payment of reparations is an absolute necessity for the government of the United States is ever to wipe the slate clean, reading herself and pay for the damages she has inflicted upon more than 25 million american citizens. More vigorous calls for the establishment of the conscience of political power shared the stage for the interracial Rights Campaign and the voice of the question and freedom that put the moral suasion in the and the federal government has moved slowly to dismantle the racial and economic inequalities even did so at all. The black intellectuals and artists ramped up the freedom of rhetoric and demanded that they convey the urgency of their concrete demands in addition to the neighborhoods, affordable rent, better schools and the Police Brutalitys and socially just treatment by white band boards and banks and workers and teachers and government officials. Good evening. It is good to be here i will definitely try to incorporate some of the ideas and comments that were raised from the previous presentations and i will have to think of my feet. Just say the talk this evening is drawn from a new book project from the midwest and i will be speaking this evening about a brilliant african and grassroots organizer who was best known that i will try to emphasize this evening to understand the brilliance of her own life the photo behind me those of the two photos that are combined that total of them was not taken together. On july 3rd 1926 the official newspaper universal negro improvement published 65 report about the groups recent activities from omaha nebraska. And writing the official newspaper feature about the movement of black people globally. At its peak in the early twenties from u. S. And canada and the Central America and Africa Europe and australia to set up a provisional government with those reliant institutions from the global black empire with the african descendants everywhere. The reliance of african redemption formation the electrified black people and last but not least she was born one of the caribbean island and left her homeland in 1917 in which to omaha with her africanamerican has been to. A brilliant and resourceful intellectual leases battle better net best known today as the preeminent mother of malcolm x. Of that division in the neck and you get liberty Hall Atlantic street. She did not mention that the opposition was her husband and. But from those icy mountains that we sing at the start of all the meetings. Louise would close the report that rather omaha launched a membership drive the there had information about her and her husband or the size of the local membership. But this is the only known documented Historical Archive written by and louise little although she disappeared from the official record of the unia little remained for that organization at the Grassroots Level of the supremacy for years to come it in 1926 when her husband moved from obama eventually settling outside of lansing michigan by 1929. She raised and instilled hurt children in the urban air rural midwest. With a violent murder of her husband in 1931 under suspicious circumstances in with the struggle of officials to put children in foster care to initiate a breakdown that resulted into the kalamazoo State Hospital and psychiatric institution. Sherry been there until a 1963 due to the efforts of her children she was released but over 30 years she resided with daily in michigan. Although she never returned to grenada her spirit remains strong to the passing of page. Despite her achievements with black womens activism until recently looking at the intellectual and the importance of that black radical sensibilities and hear some of the books that in some cases discuss her life. Abettors of not the macs have never portrayed her the remarkable woman that she was. She is depicted as a distraught tragic figure after her husbands murder was committed to a hospital. Seven she disappears from the pages of history. Into portrays to portray louise to be passive and political with the a political figure of the physical abuse and abusive marriage and struggles with Mental Illness with that gruesome murder at the hands of a lynch mob which resulted in your institution was asian institutionalized. And malcolm x minimizes her active role to cultivate an active and malcolm x consciousness. People around the world know that she was another of the black man of the 60s and time is of the essence with this very short time i will emphasize the importance the extraordinary wife of louise little. In bringing upon the concrete demands of black people demand for selfdetermination and calls the African Diaspora to call attention of that distinct site of the unia Trans National movements. Movies little play key role of women of what the historians have called the grass roots that organizational at the local level to achieve local black freedom and into rethinking the dominant males with that a merchant field with the significance of black women to sustaining those across the aisle. And follow me. And into that engendered confluence of freedom namely the movement the art rallies around of black lives matter. So many activist that is hyper visible and hyper invisible that we can see with louise little. Was some sorts of the making at the same time she has remained invisible. But time is of the f time is of the essence but talking about her indeed it she was organic. In grenada she grew up in a small village in she was raised in a family the you should note as well of black pride. Her baptismal certificate says she was born in 1894 sometimes it is listed as the key 97 it is not clear but her baptism certificate says 8094. But louise little was born deeply entrenched entrenched in racism and her mother edith was raped at the age of 11 by an elderly white man. Yes. Yes. And faults may knowhow she always identified as black through no small part per grandson was born in nigeria. Elaborated african who made his way to grenada for gore to picture last year and they owned their own land and began drawing from that idea of selfreliance of the premise here is where she learned all those skills to emphasize the importance of how to serve she spoke french and english and creole. How cosmopolitan. To be on the eastern side of grenada. With that african sensibility. This is from the church there has been some work with those renovations since then but that indeed is the church where she were shipped. She left the island in 1917 like so many young black people although she was educated shed new opportunities on the island. She joined the unia who was based in montreal. And she never returned when she left the island she never came home. But she never forgot what she had learned in after receiving correspondence from her uncle back home. Movies since her regards to you and all of the home folks. To said that she is well. She did not forget who she was a rare she came. Ultimately hurt her husband came down to philadelphia or they continue to work and then they decide to go to omaha to build it there black folks fought back in belittles were intrigued and they went west. Here is the marker of where the littles lived in omaha nebraska. Here is what i want to emphasize with that community feminism that was caught by the historian feminism of the black women saw themselves this passage it is the opening passage of malcolm x. The opening passage but is still a provides important insight where she was confronted by clan members prepare she was pregnant. She could have tried to hide but she intentionally let them see that she was expecting but more importantimportant ly she is trying to claim the need of the defense for the needed protection of the next generation of black people. But what is important it doesnt talk about movies little issue was the secretary of the omaha unia. Louise little. Keep going. Her family in children and grandchildren how she instils ideas with reliance she recited the alphabet in french she had the children read from those colonial activist who was the colonial politics, malcolm x idea came from deep within the family. In and louise little. I will start to wrap up here. Because of her selfreliance and refusal to step back her husband would die under mysterious circumstances. But she held down seven more years in to care of eight children but eventually the state targeted the we is little because she owns her own land. This is file from the county in which it is located and it says that she was insane but then it says she claims she is of royal blood. She certainly believe that she was a black person to indeed for deserved pride and respect. Because of perth defiance she was put away into a Mental Hospital that hospital is still open. But in closing what is important. She spent nearly 30 years or 25 years in a Psychiatric Hospital where spirit remained strong in the idea of the selfdetermination that she cultivated in her children grew to help build not only now the max, but others as well as top left corner her oldest daughter for her second daughter to purchase land in the black resort town where she opened vaguer she store and to build a small independent black community. And the grandchildren have continued to share the story of food they called gran much to nurture the of black politics of malcolm x and of her entire family. To conclude, to trace herstory to uncover the history of the transnational midwest this is the import side of black protest but the significance of women with the scholars of women in gender demonstrates the challenges uncovering the histories of black women in the intellectuals who have no written records of the legacies have been denigrated. There are many questions remain unanswered. Her life serves as a powerful model for those of us who are committed to creating a more just world issued a stood the importance of grassroots origin organizing. To cultivate the next generation of fighters and believes in the dignity of black womanhood people or remaining second class citizens in the eyes of the state every day by people she offers a model for black liberation for us all. Thank you. [applause] we will start the question and answer. To each of you need to read three minutes to raise a point . Can i have a moment . I want to show that last slide real quick. But i left it up there for you to see. I ended right before i was going to close. I have the Unfinished Business but they left this open also that one of the things i want to close by saying is to be connected to black power all the things i am talking about are the familiar or the not familiar much as to include them but to transform the narrative. But surely chisholms Campaign Said i will be a butler but that is a sciencefiction writer. And she campaigned in in the documentary she says power that is really just a tool and it is what you do with it that matters. But where wanted to end it seems the need for struggles to achieve is the individual worthy of the black middleclass that sometimes we are caught in to succeed and we have to move beyond what i imagine to be incorporated although white goodwill. And requires discussions of class and gender required discussions of state bias and requires discussions not just personal inequality but systematic inequality of the poor people. So this slide is emblematic in symptomatic to give us marching orders the way to struggle in the way that this didnt come out of nowhere. With gender in sensuality politics that resulted in domestic than state violence against black women. [applause] im good. Although briefly in terms of the crowd with that cleveland connection i am not sure if everyone is concluding or familiar . The atrocity is a an understatement. The reason i looked up the phrase is you were mentioning in 2015 in her soul mate but friedman coined that term because he was calling it a police chase. So by saying it was an atrocity, he lifted up the idea. Many grassroots people on the ground of cleveland talking about 137 shots of true of an armed people in the middle School Parking lot. With no convictions. None. At least for now of misdemeanor charges but no convictions. We just had word there was an administrator that is under review 13 officers were silent some received disciplinary action one retired before they made the decision to fire him. So that may be the word of the entire dynamic but again with Police Violence or state violence one of the things that if they were high on cocaine and marijuana made they wouldnt be dead. But with some of that bombastic statements that dont even says it gives us the full picture of these people from their own victimhood and if they were high or not any way. But it ties all of this together. Ceramic executing people for being high. It is the discourse around a black lives. The ways that narrative can perpetuate that state violence but in the repression of mass incarceration who gets incarcerated in 282 years . Actually would be think the was listening to when kim was talking . And then the right to a hospital that took two hours . State following the message of malcolm x with the doctors to diagnose the history but hopefully he can help us work and a prescription to solve the problem. Any questions or comments from the audience . Mississippi is the lower mississippi. No longer mississippi. But they are very proud Everybody Knows it is black power in order to have black power so my question how was black power to be obtained . That is a good question were all saying that is a good question. [laughter] it and i can speak for much of a perspective of a building that movement in the 1970s, in the 60s, i thought what was remarkable was the ability of the left to simultaneously offer a thoroughgoing critique of American Society and american capitalism of World Affairs in to offer that critique in a way thats not dogmatic is posed in such a way he didnt have to earn agree with the underlying principles before you were understood what they were saying and combine that with a remarkable ability to listen to people to figure out what their demands were in to join those to it was remarkable to me. And to do that in such a way that the people who were there, there is a commission for Racial Justice and disorganizations and these are people who are first to their family to go to college there upwardly mobile but they have no desire at this point to become incorporated into the system. They critique the system there are people who were very similar to than in backgrounds but a much different trajectory. They have built up some credibility as Movement Organizers he was trained like add up black prep academy and went on to college and met in organized with Martin Luther king. But he had determined he could be most effective as a democratic politician in worked his way that way and there are any number of other people who were beneficiaries of the struggle for Voting Rights who took that route. One fellow whose name escapes me who would have called in sulfate Community Organizer in the 60s in he worked his way up to be chairman of the board of governors in there are a lot of people like that. And the conditions of the 60s and 70s the success of the left to frame the issue of inequality of those connections between race and class in able to bring people did mobilize and by the commission for Racial Justice could mobilize black churches in virginia in eastern North Carolina and these were congregations that had been oppressed for generations with no experience an organizing themselves politically. They could get the tools to do that. In these conditions it was the center who was following the lead of the left. Via understood that to maintain any sense of relevance that they would have to unite with the left. So what i took away from this episode was the importance of having a strong left not the importance but if you have a strong left that can animate people then the other people will come along but if you pander to the center and try to be as acceptable as you can, you lose. Civic that is one thing i took away. Our is black power to be obtained . Our recess specific example of today we have a phone detroit has been devastated with the takeover of the Public Schools where theyre trying to do . Detroit leads the country with urban farming. But what they emphasize growing food and growing people. They have the Food Security network to provide nutritious food to black people the city that is 80 percent black but the cofounder rosinante of malcolm x. All of these folks regardless the other think about selfreliance selfreliance, understanding race and class and gender i could operate with the global context than do something about that. In owning her only and is sharing with her children. During the food growing season. It actually coming to speak a couple of times so you can google that or hear that issue of selfdetermination with the struggles with his son transformation issues he openly talks about supremacy and that is what it means to supply your people. One of which is food and nutrition. My question back wouldbe because of what the book is about for me, what do you mean by black power . There is so many forms in to attack that oppressive regime some of that can work alongside to have selfreliance and Self Determination some work toward the of black radical left with radical politics so that is patriarchy and oppression within the race as they tried to meet the goals of society with assault determined community per talk about what a black power means in order to understand what we are searching for it and trying to achieve to be a radical progressive sense of liberation. For. Mainly for dr. Williams but obviously there to be input but kin you touch on the significance of the 68 riots in cleveland on the of black Power Movement at the time . We are talking about one who is engaged and there is a struggle with the police with a gun. 68 is a moment where we see that language around black power. But as early as 61 with those Freedom Fighters we talk about black power. You have John Freeman John freeman talk about black power the in the uprising in rebellion is the explosion of these types of issues ended is where you see the interaction between the police into the black community. That also happened in 66 so it is that moment of interception with people saying we have had enough but they said that but they were saying that already. But it is a moment where it connected from the rebellion from that moment. Does that help . I think everything extremely deeply. I dont know how to make this a question. The system is so indebted with racism, sometimes i feel like when we speak out were asking for permission to do things even with the dont shoot campaign there were a lot of black students at black colleges with their hands up in photos were taken a lot of powerful photos were put out on to social media of black people with their hands up. So because i looked at things so deeply i feel that were asking for permission there is a black author talking about the white race and was questioned about some of her working was interviewed and was called a racist by a lot of different people because she focused about blackness or black culture but ge think it is necessary to do things like this . I feel like as black people we have a lot of money in the ability to put things together in a lot of times we are still asking for permission. There was a piece like a cartoon drawn and a cartoon talking about how they kept asking for permission and understand why were asking for permission i do think because we live in this world the matter what color radar black or white or in between so it is important for people to see the damage that has been caused by ignorance so it is necessary to do more this. We have a few more questions. Who i think i am moving to what you are saying. Absolutely. We need to be in the streets more. From what the demand at the same time is not the either or moment you do this or create your own business or you challenge capitalism. All this needs to be a notion that the same time. To show all the stuff that was happening at the same time. But we need to be in the streets. We needed to lift up the name of crawford. Know whether we going to do . We have to make some noise. But after that . But with those individual cases because they are human beings. But the fact of the matter is the system will keep probing and we will have more individuals to figure out this is something to be a struggle. And we can just think about that simply to show up in it is done. It was a successful business. The reason is that was a successful business. So the things part of something says we are protecting our property, so if you have a successful business and police think they can kill your children, the minimum you will have is a conversation about it. And you can talk to yourself about it so you have to talk to white people about it. You have to recognize the power of power has. We have to figure out what we youre going to do about that. The great kenyan novelist says theres a great language we have to talk. We have to keep our own vernacular but we have to know the language of power and the country we are in. Those are not mutually exclusive. Who has the next question . Can you tell us a little bit more about the role of black muslims and that radical tradition and how they make sense of their faith and religion, share their politics nationally against racism in america, but also on the global stage. Im thinking of malcolm x. And also oneill known as hr brown. I can start. As i often say, the history of africanamerican in islam go back to the start of the makings of our people and certainly talking to the 20th century tying it to garvey or the roots of garveyism, the nation of islam and the formation temple was very much in admirer of garvey. So in the 20s and 30s, we can see the importance of the dissent and embracing islam and that the great work pointed out its always been a kind of organic component and not something new that occurred in the 50s or 60s as a result. So what i would argue again is in terms of politically and culturally we cannot talk about africanamericans without talking about a long history of islam. In the fight for freedom of religion that is what malcolm x. Is finding in prison for the freedom to develop your own faith, and thats been a consistent asset. A. A lot of people miss missed that talking about the work they are doing for religious freedom. This is a twopart question open for the panel but in particular for kenneth jensen. You mentioned how successful they were having the wrong for convictions overturned in part because of the help of the far left come and buy the far left im assuming you mean by peoples participation in this. I question is how do you feel about the far left participation in the current climate, and do you feel like they can do more . Thats interesting to me. I didnt have in mind when i was talking about the far left as being the white left. There were people involved in it, but the left that was involved in developing the campaign to free up the wilmington ten was largely black. The commission for Racial Justice was a religious organization but it was clearly on the left and they were in all sorts of struggles of Police Brutality and prisoners rights and reforming the criminal Justice System. The Youth Organization for black unity with a black organization. The National Alliance against racist and political oppression was affiliated with the communist party in the United States, which was largely left but it was the National Alliance was black lab and was the vehicle i guess you could say the communists attempted to create alliances and the black liberation movement. So i dont know that i i dont think that i fully accept the framing of it. As to the other question, what do i think about the far left fighting the state sanctioned today im in favor of it. Of the left getting involved and getting involved in it in a way that respects the existing struggle so i guess im more familiar with the way that its developed in North Carolina. And there is a rather broad based movement, the Forward Together movement, but it is multiracial. It is black lad i think, but it is that it is multiracial. There are white leftists, there is latino organizations, and they are working on multiple levels and i think among the most valuable things, they are having a very open discussion about the nature of the problem and they are not shortcircuiting things by saying we need to be quiet because its not going to fly. Its a very wide range of the discussion about power. To me that is all for the good. And a closing if i can jump in. Thanks for the question. Assume that there are graduate students here. In the new communist movement in the 60s, from the mid50s through the 70s and into the 80s, there isnt a whole lot of scholarship about the Workers Party. As you point out [inaudible] and again in terms of thinking about cleveland or the midwest, detroit, black workers out of detroit, its wide open in terms of the work that needs to be done to complicate the way that we think about the left, both to understand the trace genealogies of understanding these responses that we see black lives matter isnt new and certainly happening in different historical positions but its happened before and folks have and indeed asked for permission and then demanded these things in the 20s and 30s and when they did condi found themselves targeted. Ditto. [laughter] we have four people left, and i write . If you could ask your questions then we can try to answer all four of those. At evening. Thank you for coming in. I know we all appreciate that. This question is geared towards doctor mcduffie, but its open to the entire panel. My passion is my people of course and the struggle of all of that. My profession as a speech language pathologist to mind in me is saying what was the assessment endquotes shed really mentally insane and we can get into that but what women are seeing with the emotion and this and that and we are so marginalized in demise in history anyway so i just thought i would throw that out. Was she charlie a clean same . Okay. My name is tori and putting tonight in perspective here in an encounter i had with a mixed group we are in Interesting Times because as malcolm would say, the chickens have come home to roost. Why america is now feeling they have an e. Version of power base. So i would like to tear something about what can we do in light of this election held do we advance the cause of black power where everything is up for review and now now the election election he joined the black lives Matter Movement . And here he is what your thoughts are and what we can take today moving forward in light of the election be a president ial or local, whatever, to advance that. First i want to thank you for the gift you gave us today. I have three points. One is garveyism, the theory and i think that is key for our survival because we have to become more reliant on our own communities and to stop doing outside of our communities. I am not saying cut ourselves off from the world but the key is to be able to sustain our community so that our money can circulate in the community. Thats one point. The other was in doing so, we have to look at the montgomery bus boycott and how it could call the company crippled the company so they have to start doing things differently. I would like to ask our White Brothers and sisters who acknowledge and see the White Privilege is a problem. I would like for you to now speak up more in regards to making that wrong right. For the three of you, do you all think the system can be infiltrated, changing things over time, or does the system needs to be overthrown . She said racism is deeply embedded in the system, but for me it doesnt seem that it is embedded in the system as it is synonymous with the system. You cant get out the system without changing as a country built on the system and franchise made in other people said you think you can infiltrate and change over time or do you need to overdose the system . How black power has been retained and strengthened among the black middle class that with so many other ethnic groups as they gained a foothold, their purpose was to consolidate and strengthen their power but for us in a different situation than most other ethnic groups, we feel this need to water it down even more and to recoil from the claim of black power. Have you seen any insight where that has been maintained and can you refer us to some scholarships . Im really curious about that. Well, i am glad we brought you here to give a diagnosis. Can i just start out . I want to start with the first question should listen to these insane and my answer is i suspect not that i didnt see her diagnosis. Whats interesting to me about that question is the way that i hear today questions of oppression being talked about. For example, my university as does other universities, black students have a voice for their displeasure about underrepresentation and the student body or that their numbers in the student body are so high primarily because the forprofit athletes make up a large percentage of the population and so other types of black students are not being included and theres instances of being stopped in the stores or i dont mean to go through the whole list but what is interesting to me is the response of the authorities is we are going to make more Mental Health Resources Available to black students, so if you feel oppressed the problem is you must be crazy. We they must be mentally disturbed and im sure there is mental anxiety that goes along with it but it seems to me the solution is not a Mental Hygiene solution, its a political solution and the social solution and so its interesting how they turned it into something turn it into Something Else and coincidentally its also at a time when mentalhealth resources are being cut. So that is just kind of a connection that i made and the answer to the third question was no idle to think that things can be an adult rated and there can be some type of corporation that would lead to anything resembling genuine equality and i think that we ought to think about the election in the space that it creates to have the discussion about the type of change people want to have going forward. The first book i dont want to say any of these politics but the fact i very much believe the Current System does not work it has to be toppled. Next can we infiltrate thinking about the reform and how those forces operate and in terms of the question about to make a and thank you so much for the question. Angela davis autobiography she talks about how the socalled Mental Illness has social roots and that its very much a reflection of racism, poverty, what have you. On her work for women and criminalization by a state which they mythologize black women and therefore because they are deemed as being a criminal that opens the door for their suppression and i would say that was very much true. To be clear, her husband died violently. This is during the heart at the center of the massive activity she had seven children than she had in eighth child with a man with whom she very much loved and who seemed like she was going to get married but he got cold feet because he was concerned about feeding children and he left her, she had the child have probably suffered from postpartum. But again, shes a black woman trying to hold it down with poverty. The speed is coming after her, targeting her and theres a reform that says shes probably okay she will be okay but because she was defiant and stood up and was openly confrontational defending herself and her children from state officials trying to take her kids to the fact she had a breakdown, we all would have a breakdown if we were in that kind of situation again this is a form of state violence which the Mental Hospitals are used to suppress and control people. She was 30 more years after. Yes she wasnt quite the same person but she was still resilient and family loved her so spending 25 years she still remained confident and proud of who she was and thats the story im trying to tell. The other thing is a new deal. It was a raw deal. And when you deal with the welfare state, you know, michael talks about the shadow of the house. They didnt know how to cure the stuff anyway. Now no one has asked the question how can get a job as a School Teacher. Shes possibly losing jobs when they find out shes black. That might drive you crazy. Whats with peoplesoft criticism, to back, her Church Community shamed her from being pregnant. So when you need them back to the backing you, i think thats why malcolm x. Criticized a lot because he was thinking about what had happened to his mother and his siblings when your own Spiritual Community doesnt give you the solidarity that you need that is going to jump on you so thats why when people ask why did he do it when he did that i think that as a matter of fact he says in the buck i was thinking about my mother. Almost everything he did he said i was thinking about my mother so when the School Teacher tells him he cant become an attorney, he said he wanted to become an attorney so he could get his mother out of the insane asylum so when the teacher told him that it wasnt just that he lost his career aspirations but he knew he couldnt help his mother and when he comes to that hes in denial and wants to think about Everything Else but that hes forced to think about the other and says you know, im just beginning to study this but its changing my whole worldview. He said im just beginning. And i think if you look at every speech he makes near the end of 64 beginning at 65, you hear a different voice and hes telling you ive changed my worldview and he doesnt say a lot of other cut hes thinking about this resistance and he says starting with my other. So the mother is the key thing. Weve got a raw deal stay off the hook in terms of what they are doing and what they are calling welfare for cheap is right it was the destruction of black families he called it straight out. They would later chump that card but during this period they dont have many allies to defend their rights. I hate to hear people be so sensitive to welfare. If you look at the interviews its like every mother is ashamed. I tried to do everything i could, stuff like that. So really to see the triumph, one meaning of black power was articulated by the National Welfare rights organization. The women in baltimore who are struggling. And in my hometown the women who did that strike in american history, those same women have established the most successful nonprofit housing they produced more Affordable Housing units than anybody else. And in las vegas they are developing alternative things so i think it meant Different Things to different classes and the struggle came about when the class is at the top fault it was over because they got into Political Office and they left anybody else struggling with that weight behind. So thats my take on it. Black power meant Different Things to different social sectors and so the timing some people think the struggle is over once i got to be the mayor. Once i got to be the professor. That goes to one of the questions. I almost hesitate to jump in to say thank you to the crowd but it goes to one of the questions that was asked about the brief historical insight and the strengthening of the middle class. The question is if we even do some diagnosis of the places we are in now and when i see the places here in 19 social, political, geographical, the whole idea about continuing to defend the notion that we can expect because we have established folks in the middle class who actually have positions of professors and mayors and bureaucrats and somehow thats going to translate into the betterment of the black community is extremely troubled and problematic at this point. That doesnt mean im not excited for them to get into those species but i think that a reliance on that doesnt work for us by its south and thats been tied to the moment and the whole focus on whats on the agenda. Its back to whats on the agenda, what kind of power do we want depending on the power we want and also in the moment when and where i enter such as the offending of the status then how can we begin to do that Coalition Building and of course Coalition Building is very, very hard. I dont know dont know if it was this conversation but just because you want working class unity among white, black, brown, whoever else we have to talk about that. Are you having that conversation that allows people into the space, so i think its also thinking about the issue and who is moving forward on the most progressive issue. Part of that also means we have to vote. As much as people think about voting is the least you can do. Right now folks need to vote. Folks need to vote and they need to understand the vote and its south isnt going to achieve just like in itself it wont achieve. The other thing we have to do, theres a lot of things we have to do but its like 804. One of the things we have to do is get underneath the narrative because the fact of the matter is the narrative we create and to the language we use into the discourse leaves and the rhetoric translates to concrete policies and programs and then the circles back around to create and fortified system dot we are trying to topple as we try to reform. That is an either or because if you wait for the possible we will be catching hell if we dont try to do Something Else with the system. But that narrative thats why we could get rid of it. We didnt get rid of corporate welfare or wall street welfare. We didnt get rid of suburban welfare that we got rid of what he called welfare and demonizing people and doing that work on the backs of people so we have to ask the hard questions and look at the issues and we have to vote and mobilize people and use the space that is happening now to build sustainable struggles and thats hard work, to back. So thats what ive got. Thank you all so much for having us. Your life work and living have to be a struggle. [applause] next month, march the third the subject is women in the black panther party. So come out to that one. Somebody said the soldout . [inaudible] [laughter] then the church and the struggle is going to be april 7. And i looking at the right thing . [inaudible]