Description

The program, reviewing 1968 and previewing 1969, concentrates on three often interrelated areas vis-a-vis black America: economics, politics, and community control. There is among blacks a consensus that the age of white patronage has ended and that black programs must be increasingly cohesive. In the word of black militant Ron Karenga, 1968 was a year in which blacks were politicized in order to take a position on self-determination, self-respect and self-defense...and 1969 will be the year of reconstruction, to pull it all this together. In the area of economics, the consensus opposes President Nixon's concept of black capitalism, which would only be an adjunct of white capitalism in the words of historian Richard Moore. Instead, we must organize co-operatives, strengthen the organization of Afro-American workers, and create financial resources capable of helping Africans rid themselves of colonialism and neo-colonialism. Vital to the Negroes' credo of self-determination is community control most immediately regarding the school system. Actor-author Julian Mayfield asks: Who will control the city schools, the community or the white gangs who have always held control? Ultimately, he feels the community will gain control. Next comes the police, say Mayfield. He notes that Black Power involves controlling our environment as much as humanly possible. Otherwise, we'll all bein concentration camps. There is general agreement on the importance of the student movement, encouraging the admission of more blacks in universities and more organization among these black students. LeRoi Jones remarks the black movement has been more successful on predominantly white campuses...

Record Contributed By

Thirteen - New York Public Library

Record Harvested From

Digital Commonwealth