Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

The question for us is whether
to be "equal" or to be free? To be
dependent or to be independent?
To be integrated or to be liberated?
The history of the "equal rights"
mode of struggle shows that this
mode of struggle has only resulted
in the maintenance of domination
and the continuance of dependency
. As "Justice" Roger B . Taney
of the U . S . Supreme Court said in
1857, "The black man has no rights
that a white man need respect ."
We are an African people . As
a people our struggle is one for independence
. There are three stages
in the struggle for independence :
1) self-reliance ; 2) liberation ; 3 )
independence .
Self-reliance is the condition of
relying on our resources as a people
in order to accomplish any
number of specific tasks and responsibilities
that contribute to our
liberation and independence . This
can mean, for example, the ability
to develop our oil resources in Nigeria,
our minds in a school in
Washington, D. C ., our bauxite in
the Caribbean, our gold in South
Africa, or our water resources in
the Sahara . There are countless
specifics . In essence, it means proceeding
to utilize all of the skills
that exist among our people . Selfreliance
concretely begins to break
the dependence forced upon us by
Europeans for the last 500 years . It
begins to consolidate the collective
strength of our scattered nation and
to focus this strength on the tasks
of reclaiming our natural and hu-
NEGRO DIGEST March 1970
man resources which will lead to
our independence. The hand and
mind begin to function in a liberated
and liberating manner.
Independence is the ability to
possess our minds and consciousness,
the ability of our people to
produce the goods and services necessary
for the well-being of our
people, and the ability to protect
and defend what is ours .
We have said that the first step
in our struggle for independence is
to become self-reliant. A critical
area in this regard is education .
It is necessary that we begin to
assume responsibility for our own
education in order that we begin
to determine what our interests are
and what responsibilities we have
to collectively assume . We cannot
realistically expect the institutions
and programs committed to white
power to meaningfully commit
themselves to the interests and priorities
of African people.
We have the responsibility to begin
to establish schools that function
in the interests of African
people . Such schools will :
1) outline a course of study
that will develop the body,
the mind, and scientific and
technical skills that will be
be used in the interest of
African people ;
2) each member of the school
will be expected to fulfill a
teaching responsibility with
in the larger African community
;
3 ) establish and encourage
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