Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

(C) Consistency of Thought and
Action : If one thinks Black, one
must live Black, dress Black, sleep
Black, look Black, speak Black,
love Black, move Black, vacation
Black, write Black, study Black,
eat Black, conference Black, work
Black, read Black, go to Black
movies, lectures, hospitals, businesses,
schools, churches, countries,
restaurants, communities, and
in the process begin to "get ourselves
together" rather than impress
white people with how
threatening or dangerous the Black
vanguard has become . (To paraphrase
the poet, Don L. Lee, we
must be committed to the integration
of Negroes with Black people,
we must realize that we are all
Africans . )
(D) Objective Critical Analysis:
Too often our discussions are more
a function of ego needs than of the
objective condition of our people .
We must use our strongest forces
to attack the greatest problem in
order to meet the most critical
needs of our people . Only critical
social analysis will prevent the
wasting of energy by dealing with
symptoms rather than causes . We
need serious historical accounts of
neo-colonial institutions and not
simply journalistic polemics . Our
social analysis must be greater than
our personal struggles if we are
serious about meeting the needs of
our people . For example, we need
NEGRO DIGEST March 1969
(Continued from page 21)
a serious historical analysis of
Howard University and its neo-colonial
functions rather than merely
accounts of recent controversies
(though these accounts . are extremely
important in supporting
political consciousness with details
of recent events) .
(E) Develop Revolutionary
Consciousness: The first step toward
a revolutionary consciousness
is exposure to positive revolutionary
forces. While one is immersed
in Blackness, it is necessary to read
extensively the works of Brother
Malcolm, LeRoi Jones, Ron Karenga,
Robert Williams, Elijah Muhammad,
Mao, Che Guevara,
Frantz, Fanon, and others like
them. We must consistently read
periodicals like NEGRO DIGEST,
Liberator, Soul Book, Journal of
Black Poetry, Muhammad Speaks,
and others (many from the Third
World) . We must examine our
homes and listen to revolutionary
music, look at revolutionary images,
and live a revolutionary lifestyle
based on serious discipline.
(Note : If you take the last recordings
of John Coltrane and listen
one hour a day, the vibrations will
enable you to dig a lot of things
contrary to the ordered system we
face in our "place" in the mainstfeam
. Listen to "Ascension" and
rise in revolutionary consciousness
.
B9