I Used The Word 'negro' And I

I Believe That It Would Be Almost Impossible To Find Anywhere In America A Black Man Who Has Lived Further Down In The Mud Of Human Society Than I Have; Or A Black Man Who Has Been Any More Ignorant Than I Have; Or A Black Man Who Has Suffered More Anguish During His Life Than I Have. But It Is Only After The Deepest Darkness That The Greatest Joy Can Come; It Is Only After Slavery And Prison That The Sweetest Appreciation Of Freedom Can Come.

I Learned Early That Crying Out In Protest Could Accomplish Things. My Older Brothers And Sister Had Started To School When, Sometimes, They Would Come In And Ask For A Buttered Biscuit Or Something And My Mother, Impatiently, Would Tell Them No. But I Would Cry Out And Make A Fuss Until I Got What I Wanted. I Remember Well How My Mother Asked Me Why I Couldn't Be A Nice Boy Like Wilfred; But I Would Think To Myself That Wilfred, For Being So Nice And Quiet, Often Stayed Hungry. So Early In Life, I Had Learned That If You Want Something, You Had Better Make Some Noise.

Once Negro Community Recognize It As Such, They Can Adopt The Same Measures Against The Community That Harbors The Criminals Who Are Responsible For This Activity.

The Problem Facing Our People Here In America Is Bigger Than All Other Personal Or Organizational Differences. Therefore, As Leaders, We Must Stop Worrying About The Threat That We Seem To Think We Pose To Each Other's Personal Prestige, And Concentrate Our United Efforts Toward Solving The Unending Hurt That Is Being Done Daily To Our People Here In America.

10 Years Ago The Black Man Knew What His Condition Was. And Today, Because Of The World Revolution That's Taking Place All Over This Earth, The Black Man Would Be Fighting For What He Knows Is His By Right, But The Movement On The Part Of [martin Luther] King And The Others Had Done Nothing But Slow Down The Militancy That Is Inherent In The Nature Of The Black Man.