Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

as mayors, another black man was
elected as Senator from a New
England state, a black man sits on
the cabinet of the President, and
another black man sits on the Supreme
Court . All of these are dramatic
and significant "firsts" for
black people in the Sixties and they
portend further changes .
With these developments have
come other phenomena which indicate
the perplexing and troubled
situation within black communities,
for this is also the first decade to
see major urban insurrection for
four consecutive summers, with
the most recent outbursts far more
severe than any previous ones . This
is the decade that has seen more
and more black militants take up
the philosophy of self-defense when
attacked, viewing violent action as
an effective approach to black dig-
nity and manhood . This is the decade
that has seen more and more
black youth refusing to serve in the
Armed Forces of the United States
on the grounds that the nation is
engaged in a program of genocide
against black people in other lands,
and within its own confines the nation
is also practicing genocide
against blacks . These contradictory
trends amongst black people in
America-on the one hand some
black men getting more rewards for
participating in the system, and on
the other hand black men refusing
to participate regardless of the rewards-must
be taken into consideration
by a Black University,
for the contradiction requires some
resolution .
In this paper we shall review several
recent and major demographic
. . . a minority within the minority moves deeper into the middle class .
23 March 1968 NEGRO DIGEST