“America is a
young dumb country and it needs all kinds of help. America is a dumb puppy with
big teeth that bite and hurt.” Abiodun Oyewole
“Isn’t there a
possibility you might end up in jail on your arrival?”
“I was born in
jail.” Stokely Carmichael
“There is a
point where caution ends and cowardice begins.” Eldridge Cleaver
“Anybody can die
nobly for a cause. The sign of maturity is to live day by day for that cause.”
Melvin Van Peebles
“…and then you
ask me, you know, whether I approve of violence. I mean that just doesn’t make
any sense at all; whether I approve of guns. I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama.
Some very, very good friends of mine were killed by bombs, bombs that were
planted by racists. I remember, from the time I was very small, I remember the
sounds of bombs exploding across the street; our house shaking. I remember my
father having to have guns at his disposal at all times because of the fact
that at any moment someone… we might expect to be attacked. The man who was at
that time in complete control of the city government, his name was Bull Conner,
would often get on the radio and make statements like, ‘Niggers have moved into
a white neighborhood, we better expect some bloodshed tonight,’ and sure enough
there would be bloodshed. After the four young girls who were, who lived very,
who lived, one of them lived next door to me, I was very good friends with the
sister of another one, my sister was very good friends with all three of them,
my mother taught one of them in her class, my mother, in fact when the bombing
occurred, one of the mothers of one of the young girls called my mother and
said, ‘Can you take me down to the church to pick up Carol? You know, we heard
about the bombing and I don’t have my car.’ And they went down and what did
they find? They found limbs and heads strewn all over the place. And then after
that, in my neighborhood all of the men organized themselves into an armed
patrol. They had to take their guns and patrol our community every night
because they did not want that to happen again. I mean that’s why when someone
asks me about violence I just find it incredible because what it means is that
the person who’s asking that question has absolutely no idea what Black people
have gone through, what Black people have experienced in this country since the
time the first Black person was kidnapped from the shores of Africa.” Angela Davis
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXQxyYllXnM
Angela Davis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2BIZy0HScM
