One of the tragedies of the struggle against racism is that up to now there has been no national organization which could speak to the growing militancy of young black people in the urban ghetto.
Our grandfathers had to run, run, run. My generation's out of breath. We ain't running no more.
Seems to me that the institutions that function in this country are clearly racist, and that they're built upon racism.
The knowledge I have now is not the knowledge I had then.
The first need of a free people is to define their own terms.
The philosophers Camus and Sartre raise the question whether or not a man can condemn himself.
The secret of life is to have no fear; it's the only way to function.
There has been only a civil rights movement, whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of liberal whites.
It is a call for black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It is a call for black people to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations.
So that the failures to pass a civil rights bill isn't because of Black Power, isn't because of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee; it's not because of the rebellions that are occurring in the major cities.
We were aware of the fact that death walks hand in hand with struggle.
We had no more courage than Harriet Tubman or Marcus Garvey had in their times. We just had a more vulnerable enemy.