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J
I
* A
t this
tim
e the stru
ggle o
f our
peop
le has reach
ed
* classic prop
ortions an
d w
e are going to h
ave to deal w
ith
* th
is in cla
ssic terms. O
ur stru
ggle h
as d
eepen
ed u
ntil
* the issu
es that con
trol the society are th
e everyday issu
es * of B
lack p
eople. W
e've finally lau
nch
ed th
e spearh
ead of
ou
r atta
ck in
to th
e very
system
of o
pp
ression
itself. If W
e challen
ge the en
tire system of op
pression
in B
abylon
an
d w
e've got it on a level n
ow w
here it can
be d
ealt with
. T
here is n
o more h
ide-an
go-seek. T
he B
lack P
anth
er. P
arty
has p
ut th
e struggle o
f ou
r peo
ple o
n a
for-rea
l ,F
t, level wh
ere there ain
't no p
lace for the op
pressor to h
ide,
* becau
se we con
front th
e opp
ressor with
Revolu
tion. W
e * con
front th
e opp
ressor with
the n
egation of everyth
ing
*abou
t him
, his en
tire system. O
ur freed
om can
only b
e * b
ased
up
on
the n
ega
tion
of th
e system
of o
pp
ression
. * A
nd
since o
ur stru
ggle is n
ow
on
that lev
el, we m
ust
*deal w
ith it in
those term
s. *.m
. Wh
at w
e need
, at th
is time, is a
n o
ver-a
ll fram
ework
1E
and
structu
re to our stru
ggle so that everyb
ody can
see
4 .e how w
e can move.
*
Th e Black
Pan
ther P
arty has totally an
d u
neq
uivocally
*ind
icted th
e system of op
pression
in B
abylon
, and
we've
* prop
osed a m
ethod
for dealin
g with
the system
; and
we
* mu
st also begin
to articulate a ration
al and
positive al-
* ternative to th
e system. It is n
ot enou
gh ju
st to say that
* w
e're goin
g to
have S
ocia
lism, o
r that w
e're goin
g to
change this decadent C
apitalist system. W
e must also point
▪ ou
t that w
e wan
t Socialism
and
how
we go ab
out gettin
g 31.6. it. A
nd
we m
ust b
e ab
le to d
eal w
ith th
e structu
re of
society and the instruments that hold that structure together.
* An
d at th
e bottom
of the stru
cture of op
pression
in B
abylon
* is th
e Am
erican C
onstitu
tion.
It
*
The U
.S. Constitution is the battlefield on w
hich the struggle * o
f ou
r peo
ples,fo
r their lib
eratio
n is ta
kin
g p
lace. T
he
* Su
prem
e Cou
rt 'interp
rets the law
of the lan
d accord
ing
* to the C
onstitu
tion. T
he C
onstitu
tion is th
e ultim
ate source
* of authority, the ultirriate repository of the collective sover - * eign
ty of the p
eople. It is th
e place w
here th
e collective *u
sov
ereign
ty o
f the p
eop
le ha
s been
ga
thered
tog
ether.
1r An
d th
e Con
stitution
is sup
posed
to represen
t a just an
d
7.31
equ
itable organ
ization of ou
r collective sovereignty in
a
f eform th
at will gu
arantee u
s a good life an
d lib
erty and
*th
e pu
rsuit of h
app
iness. A
nd
we h
ave not received
this.
*
So ou
r challen
ge is a constitu
tional ch
allenge. W
e chal-
* lenge th
e Con
stitution
of the U
nited
States of A
merica.
* An
d w
e're saying th
at there's som
ething wrong in B
abylon, * an
d th
e form of its organ
ization is b
ased u
pon
the U
.S.
Con
stitution
, and
we m
ust cltan
ge this form
of the system
, A, and w
e must change the C
onstitution.
•
an
ticipa
te the sa
me ty
pe o
f reactio
n fro
m a
lot o
f
4 ev nap
es that w
e got from ou
r call for a Un
ited F
ront A
gainst
* F
ascism
. Bu
t by th
e back
slidin
g th
at th
ese peo
ple d
o,
*they on
ly guaran
tee and
they on
ly prove th
e Black
Pan
ther P
arty right on
ce again—
they gu
arantee th
at the U
nited
F
ron
t Ag
ain
st Fa
scism w
ill be erected
in th
e streets, by the people, w
ith arms in their hands. B
ecause they made
it imp
ossible for an
y other form
of Un
ited F
ront A
gainst
Fascism
to co
me a
bou
t. An
d th
ey w
ill alw
ays d
o th
is, and they w
ill do this with our call for a R
EV
OL
UT
ION
AR
Y
PE
OP
LE
'S CO
NST
ITU
TIO
NA
L C
ON
VE
NT
ION
, to be con-vened by the people, and pigs have no say.
I thin
k th
at we can
do a little research
on A
merican
h
istory and
check
out th
e Con
stitution
al Con
vention
s that
have been held in the past, after the liberation of the colony from
British
Imp
erialism. A
nd
the w
ay that p
ower h
as b
een ap
portion
ed in
Bab
ylon, I've b
een th
ink
ing, w
e can
attack. W
e can m
ake a valid
attack w
ith w
hich
to edu
cate th
e peop
le. We can
attack th
e Great C
omp
romise, w
hich
stru
ctured
the A
merican
Con
gress and
created th
e Sen
ate an
d th
e Hou
se. Th
is was su
pp
osed to b
alance off th
ose states w
ith. , large p
opu
lations again
st those states th
at h
ad sm
all pop
ulation
s so that each
state was given
two
senators an
d all th
e other p
ower w
as app
ortioned
out on
a n
um
erical basis, accord
ing to th
e pop
ulation
. So m
any
peop
le meritin
g one rep
resentative in
Con
gress. Th
is is on
e of those so-called
check
s and
balan
ces that th
ey talk
so much about that keep B
lack people in check while W
hite p
eople b
alance off th
eir pow
er against u
s, and
exploit u
s, m
urd
er us, an
d d
eny u
s our life an
d ou
r hu
man
ity. Th
is is o
ne o
f those ch
ecks a
nd
bala
nces. A
nd
this is rea
lly
the trick
ba
g in
Am
erican
histo
ry. T
hey
like to
call it
the gen
ius of th
e Am
erican S
ystem b
ecause it p
rovides
them
with
an in
strum
ent of ru
le. Th
is is wh
y they say th
at d
emo
cracy
in A
merica
ha
s been
perfected
un
der th
e A
merican
form of electoral system
. A
nd
if you n
otice, the h
istoric natu
re of the U
.S. S
enate,
this is th
e instru
men
t thro
ug
h w
hich
the ru
ling
class
guaran
tees its pow
er and
guaran
tees its control of th
e A
merican governm
ent. Our oppressors have been Senators.
Senator Johnson, Senator Kennedy, Senator E
astland, Senator S
trom
Th
urm
on
d, S
ena
tor T
alm
ag
e, Sen
ato
r Stin
nis,
Senator Hum
phrey, Senator Know
land, Senator Goldw
ater, S
enator B
rooks. T
hese are th
e high
er echelon
of the D
ema-
gogic Politician
s. Th
ese are the W
atchd
ogs of Bab
ylon,
the G
uard
dogs of B
abylon
. Th
ese pigs. A
nd
they're a d
if-feren
t form of target th
an th
e more n
um
erously p
opu
lated
House of R
epresentatives. T
he H
ouse of R
epresen
tatives is more rep
resentative
than the Senate, and it doesn't represent us. I say th
at we ch
allenge th
e structu
re of the U
.S. G
ov-ern
men
t and
we p
ropose to ch
ange th
e structu
re of this
governm
ent b
y hold
ing an
other C
onstitu
tional C
onven
tion
so that w
e can all b
e represen
ted. B
lack p
eople can
pick
th
eir own
represen
tatives. Wh
ere youn
g peop
le, wh
o are th
e majority in
Bab
ylon, can
have som
e form of rep
re-sen
tation gu
aranteed
, instead
of all these old
decrep
it
PA
NT
HE
R P
AR
TY
U.S
.A.
witch
es decid
ingou
r destin
y. An
d w
e kn
ow th
at these p
igs * w
ill not givens a ConstitutionalC
onvention.So that the strug- g
le *„
for the Constitutional C
onvention becomes part andparcel
of our stru
ggle for liberation
. In fact; it b
ecomes syn
ony- 4
mous w
ith our struggle for liberationbecauseyou can't have * one w
ithout the other. We have aright to a C
onstitutional Con- *
vention when the people call for one. T
he people of Babylon *
have b
ecome alien
ated from
the atrociou
s, opp
ressive * govern
men
t that's in
. the h
and
s of a vicious, exp
loitative * ru
ling class.
Th
e rulin
g class will n
ot allow it, b
ut w
e have a righ
t to a C
onstitu
tional C
onven
tion an
d w
e will figh
t for our W
righ
ts. S
o we call for a R
EV
OL
UT
ION
AR
Y P
EO
PL
E'S
CO
N- *
STT
TU
TIO
NA
L C
ON
VE
NT
ION
. T
his is a
ctua
lly th
e imp
lemen
tatio
n o
f Po
int N
o. 1
0 *
of th
e Bla
ck P
an
ther P
arty
's Pla
tform
an
d P
rogra
m. *
In
Poin
t No. 10 w
e state that w
e call for a U.N
. Su
per- *
vised P
lebiscite to b
e held
amon
gst Black
Peop
le so that *
we can
go on record
determ
inin
g our ow
n d
estiny. A
nd
*
we stated
that th
is is our m
ajor political goal.
Now
it's very clear that w
e have a p
osition on
the *C
C,
on a *R
PC
C, an
d w
hat w
e're saying is th
at we are eith
er goin
g to have ou
r full freed
om an
d lib
eration w
ithin
the *
structu
re tha
t succeed
s Ba
by
lon
, or w
e wa
nt o
ut o
f it. *
We're n
ot going to accep
t less than
our fu
ll freedom
and
* lib
eration an
d, rem
ain in
side of it p
eacefully. S
o either *
we're goin
g to chan
ge Bab
ylon, restru
cture it alon
g hu
-m
an
istic lines, o
r we im
plem
ent th
at p
ortio
n o
f Po
int *
N
o. 10 that relates to m
oving on
the in
ternation
al level--T
he B
lack P
lebiscite.
We're sp
eakin
g abou
t the form
that ou
r struggle m
ust
take an
d th
e direction
that w
e move in
, like a target to
aim at. B
ecause w
e have to lib
erate ourselves from
this
offensive p
ower stru
cture. W
e have to w
age a Peop
le's W
' against th
e opp
ressive system an
d its m
ercenaries,
ter., we w
ill do th
is, and
we w
ill be victoriou
s, and
we w
ill h
ave a •CC
, a *RP
CC
. Bu
t we d
on't w
ait un
til after the
victory takes p
lace before w
e start thin
kin
g and
talkin
g ab
out h
ow w
e move, w
hat w
e will d
o. Becau
se it is all part of the process of getting there—
knowing w
here you're going.
We're opening ,up the hidden history, opening up B
abylon to a fu
ll examin
ation. W
e've already d
iagnosed
it as a fatal 'cancer called C
apitalism, F
ascism, and Im
perialism.
It will all b
ecome m
uch
clearer wh
en w
e start talkin
g ab
out ch
angin
g the d
ocum
ents an
d th
e structu
re of the
mechanism
and the documents that control.
AL
L PO
WE
R T
O T
HE
PEO
PLE
*CC
equals Constitutional C
onvention *R
PC
C eq
tials Revoltu
ionary P
eople's C
onstitu
tional *
Convention
4C
ON
ST
I1' U
TIO
N
7,11111111111111111 7.;
vs.A
ti
• EL
DR
IDG
E C
LE
AV
ER
MIN
IST
ER
OF
IFO
RM
AT
ION
BL
AC
K
******************************************************************************#
ME
SS
AG
E. T
( D
elivered On T
he O
f The E
mancip
At W
ashing ton, D.(
World R
acism, A
nd Iy
BY
TH
E B
LA
CK
A
s oppressed people held captive w
ithin
the con
fines of
the F
ascist-Im
peria
list Un
ited S
tates o
f Am
erica, w
e B
lack Am
ericans take a dim
view of th
e position th
at we,
as a people, find ou
rselves in at th
e beginn
ing of th
e 7th
decade of the T
wen
tieth C
entu
ry. W
e find ou
rselves in a very dan
gerous w
orld-situation
. W
hite A
merica h
as always adh
ered to a very racist attitude
in its p
olicy to
wa
rds p
eop
le wh
o h
ave co
lor. T
his h
as
been
true in
the p
ast a
nd it is tru
e today. W
e see very clearly th
at wh
ereas Wh
ite Am
erica has escalated its policy
of repression an
d contain
men
t of Black people in
side the
Un
ited S
tates itself, o
n a
wo
rld sca
le, the U
nited
Sta
tes is p
layin
g th
e lead
ing
role in
org
an
izing
the W
hite ra
ce again
st the people of th
e world w
ho h
ave a color. Resolv-
ing con
tradictions betw
een W
hite P
rotestants an
d Wh
ite C
atholics, betw
een W
hite C
hristian
s and W
hite Jew
s, be-tw
een W
hite C
apitalists and W
hite C
omm
un
ists, between
W
hite E
astern E
uropean
s and W
hite W
estern E
uropean
s, betw
een
Wh
ite Arch
eo-C
olo
nia
lists an
d W
hite N
eo-
Colo
nia
lists, wh
erever we lo
ok, th
e pictu
re is on
e an
d
the sa
me. W
hite ra
cist Am
erica, w
hich
do
mestica
lly ha
s adopted
the p
olicy o
f open
fascism
in o
rder to
pu
t dow
n
the u
prisings of oppressed people of color an
d those few
W
hites w
ho ta
ke a
stan
d a
gain
st the g
rizzly reality o
f
by Presiden
t Abrah
am L
incoln
of TH
E E
MA
NC
IPA
TIO
N
PR
OC
LA
MA
TIO
N du
ring th
e Civil W
ar, officially dated Jan
uary 1, 1863. T
he en
d result of th
e EM
AN
CIP
AT
ION
P
RO
CL
AM
AT
ION
wa
s sup
po
sed to
be th
e freedo
m a
nd
lib
eratio
n o
f Bla
ck p
eople fro
m th
e cruel sh
ack
les of
cha
ttel slavery. A
nd
yet, 10
0 a
nd
7 yea
rs later, to
da
y, B
lack
peo
ple still a
re not free. W
here is th
at freed
om
su
pposedly granted to ou
r people by TH
E E
MA
NC
IPA
TIO
N
PR
OC
LA
MA
TIO
N an
d guaran
teed to us by th
e Con
stitution
of th
e Un
ited.States?
Is it in th
e ma
ny "
Civil R
igh
ts Bills"
tha
t ha
ve been
p
assed
to try to
hid
e the irreleva
nce o
f the C
on
stitutio
n
for Black P
eople? Is it in
the b
loo
d-sh
ed a
nd
lives lost b
y Bla
ck P
eop
le w
hen
Am
erica b
rings "
Law
an
d O
rder"
to th
e gh
etto in
th
e sam
e fash
ion
an
d b
y those sa
me fo
rces that ex
port
"F
reedom an
d Dem
ocracy" to K
orea, to Vietn
am, to A
frica, A
sia, and L
atin A
merica?
Is it the rig
ht to
"politica
l activity"
wh
en th
e U.S
.A.
attempts to legally m
urder B
obby Seale, C
hairm
an of th
e B
lack Pan
ther P
arty, for his political beliefs?
Wh
ere was th
at right w
hen
brother M
alcolm w
as mur-
dered, wh
en M
artin L
uth
er Kin
g was gu
nn
ed down
? W
here is F
reedo
m w
hen
a p
eop
les righ
t to "
Freed
om
47..
4...2
.. J. -
Tl17.
.zir4 A
..
•• /4
14
G L
it-4
04
G
14
(4
./ G
{.I.IY
J 4
44
• • rY
YY
V • • vvY
V • rr•-•
•••r ■•••••• •••w
•
between
White A
rcheo
-Colo
nia
lists and W
hite N
eo-
Colo
nia
lists, wherever w
e look, th
e pictu
re is one a
nd
the sa
me. W
hite ra
cist Am
erica, w
hich
dom
estically h
as
adopted
the p
olicy o
f open
fascism
in o
rder to
put d
ow
n
the u
prisin
gs o
f oppressed
peo
ple o
f colo
r and th
ose few
W
hites w
ho ta
ke a sta
nd a
gain
st the g
rizzly reality o
f th
e Babylo
nia
n scen
e, this sa
me W
hite ra
cist Am
erica
has projected its domestic racist perspective onto the inter-
national scene and has organized world im
perialism along
racists lin
es. With
in th
e dom
estic confin
es of th
e United
Sta
tes of A
merica
, we see clea
rly that a
well-p
lanned
, ca
lcula
ted F
ascist G
enocid
al C
onsp
iracy is b
eing im
ple-
mented against our people. B
lack people within the dom
estic confines of the U.S.A
. have • rea
ched
anoth
er cross ro
ad. T
his is a
time fo
r the
most serious decisions that w
e, as a people, have ever been ca
lled u
pon to
make. T
he d
ecisions th
at w
e make in
our
time, the actions that w
e take or fail to take, w
ill determine
wheth
er we, a
s a p
eople, w
ill survive o
r fall victim
s to
gen
ocid
al exterm
inatio
n a
t the h
ands o
f the F
ASC
IST
M
AJO
RIT
Y w
hich the Nixon clique are rapidly m
obilizing in
to a
bea
stly vigila
nty w
eapon to
be u
nlea
shed
again
st us.
TH
E U
.S.A. M
ON
STE
R
The U
nited States of Am
erica is a barbaric organization co
ntro
lled a
nd o
pera
ted b
y ava
ricious, sa
distic, b
lood-
thirsty thieves. The U
nited States ofAm
erica is the Num
ber O
ne exp
loiter a
nd o
ppresso
r of th
e peo
ples o
f the w
hole
world
. The in
hum
an ca
pita
listic system w
hich
defin
es the
core o
f reality o
f the U
.S.A
., is the ro
ot o
f the evil th
at
has polluted the very fabric of existence within the U
.S.A.
o m
an
by m
an: th
e rule of m
an over man in-
Is it the rig
ht to
"politica
l activity" w
hen
the U
.S..
attempts to legally m
urder Bobby Seale, C
hairman of th
Black P
anther Party, for his political beliefs?
Where w
as that right when brother M
alcolm w
as mu,
dered, when M
artin Luther K
ing was gunned dow
n? W
here is F
reedom
when
a p
eoples rig
ht to
"Freed
oi
of Speech" is denied to ,the point of murder? W
hen attempt
at "Freedom
of the Press" brings bom
bings and lynchings W
here
is Fre
edom
when th
e rig
ht to
"peacefu
ll assem
ble" b
rings o
n m
assa
cres? W
here is o
ur rig
ht
"keep a
nd b
ear a
rms" w
hen
Bla
ck Peo
ple a
re atta
ck by th
e Racist G
estapo o
f Am
erica? W
here is "relig
iot
freedom
" when
pla
ces of w
orsh
ip b
ecom
e the scen
e I sh
oot-in
s and b
om
b-in
s? W
here is th
e right to
vote "r(
gard
less of ra
ce or co
lor" w
hen
murd
er takes p
lace
the voting polls?Are w
e free when w
e are not even secul fro
m b
eing sa
vagely m
urd
ered in
our sleep
by p
olicem
t w
ho stand blatantly before the world but yet go unpunishec
Is that "...eq
ual p
rotectio
n o
f the la
ws"?
The em
pi
pro
mise o
f the C
onstitu
tion to
"establish
Justice" li
exposed
to, th
e world
by th
e reality o
f Bla
ck Peo
ple
existence. For 400 years now
, Black people have suffers
an unbroken chain of abuse at the hands of White A
merica
For 4
00 yea
rs we h
ave b
een trea
ted a
s Am
erica's fo
ol
stool. T
his fa
ct is so clea
r that it req
uires n
o ,a
rgum
en
tation.
THE
CO
NSTITU
TION
The C
onstitu
tion o
f the U
.S.A
. does n
ot a
nd n
ever he
protected our people or guaranteed to us those lofty idea, enshrined w
ithin it. When the C
onstitution was first adopt
we w
ere held as slaves. We w
ere held in slavery under ti C
onstitu
tion. W
e have su
ffered every fo
rm o
f indig
ni,
and im
ositio
n
under th
e Constitu
tion, fro
m eco
nom
y
racists lin
es. With
in th
e dom
estic con
fines o
f the U
nited
Sta
tes of A
merica
, we see clea
rly that a
well-p
lan
ned
,
calculated F
ascist Gen
ocidal Con
spiracy is being im
ple-
men
ted against ou
r people. B
lack people with
in th
e domestic con
fines of th
e U.S
.A.
have - rea
ched
an
oth
er cross ro
ad. T
his is a
time fo
r the
most seriou
s decisions th
at we, as a people, h
ave ever been
called
upon
to m
ake. T
he d
ecision
s that w
e make in
ou
r
time, th
e actions th
at we take or fail to take, w
ill determin
e w
heth
er we, a
s a p
eople, w
ill survive o
r fall victim
s to
gen
ocid
al ex
termin
atio
n a
t the h
an
ds o
f the F
AS
CIS
T
MA
JOR
ITY
wh
ich th
e Nixon
clique are rapidly m
obilizing
into
a b
eastly vig
ilan
ty wea
pon
to b
e un
leash
ed a
gain
st
us.
assem
ble"
brin
gs o
n m
assa
cresr wn
ere zs (P
UT
r tgm
, &L,
"keep
an
d b
ear a
rms"
wh
en B
lack
Peo
ple are attacked
by th
e Racist G
estapo o
f Am
erica? W
here is "
religio
us
freedom
" w
hen
pla
ces of w
orsh
ip b
ecom
e the scen
e oj
shoot-in
s and bom
b.-ins? W
here is th
e right to vote "
re-
gard
less of ra
ce or co
lor"
wh
en m
urd
er takes p
lace a
the votin
g polls?Are w
e free wh
en w
e are not even
secure
from bein
g savagely mu
rdered in ou
r sleep by policemen
wh
o stand blatan
tly before the w
orld but yet go u
npu
nish
ed;
Is that "
...equ
al p
rotectio
n o
f the la
ws"
? T
he em
pty
pro
mise o
f the C
on
stitutio
n to
"esta
blish
Ju
stice" lie
exposed
to,
the w
orld
by
the reality of B
lack Peoples
existence. F
or 400 years now
, Black people h
ave sufferer
an u
nbroken
chain
of abuse at th
e han
ds of Wh
ite Am
erica
For 4
00 yea
rs we h
ave b
een trea
ted a
s Am
erica's fo
ot
stool. Th
is fact is so clear that it requ
ires no .argu
men
.
tation.
TH
E U
.S.A. M
ON
STE
R
Th
e Un
ited States of A
merica is a barbaric organ
ization
con
trolled
an
d o
pera
ted b
y ava
riciou
s, sadistic, b
lood-
thirsty th
ieves. Th
e Un
ited States ofA
merica is th
e Nu
mber
On
e explo
iter an
d o
ppresso
r of th
e peo
ples o
f the w
hole
world. T
he in
hu
man
capitalistic system w
hich
defines th
e
core o
f reality o
f the U
.S.A
., is the ro
ot o
f the evil th
at
has pollu
ted the very fabric of existen
ce with
in th
e U.S
.A.
Exploitation
of man
by man
; the ru
le of man
over man
in-
stead of the ru
le of the law
s of Hu
man
Righ
ts and Ju
stice;
sava
ge w
ars o
f aggressio
n, m
ass m
urd
er, gen
ocid
e, an
d
sham
eless slaugh
ter of the people of th
e world; im
puden
t,.
arro
gan
t Wh
ite Racism
; an
d a
naked
, bra
zen a
ttempt to
perpetuate W
hite S
uprem
acy on a w
orld scale--these are
a few of th
e un
savory characteristics of th
e U.S
.A. M
on-
ster with
wh
ich w
e have to deal.
We d
id n
ot a
sk fo
r this situ
atio
n. W
e did
not crea
te it.
An
d we do n
ot prefer it but w
e mu
st deal with
it.
TH
E E
MA
NC
IPA
TIO
N P
RO
CL
AM
AT
ION
Today, J
un
e 19th
, is the a
nn
iversary o
f the issu
an
ce
TH
E C
ON
STIT
UT
ION
Th
e Con
stitution
of the U
.S.A
. does not an
d never h
a
protected our people or gu
aranteed to u
s those lofty ideal
ensh
rined w
ithin
it. Wh
en th
e Con
stitution
was first adoptt
we w
ere held as slaves. W
e were h
eld in slavery u
nder th
Con
stitutio
n. W
e have su
ffered every fo
rm o
f indig
nil
an
d im
positio
n u
nder th
e Con
stitutio
n, fro
m eco
nom
i
exploitation, political su
bjugation
, to physical exterm
in
ation.
We n
eed n
o fu
rther evid
ence th
at th
ere is som
ethi
wron
g. w
ith th
e Con
stitution
of the U
nited S
tates of Am
eric
We h
ave h
ad o
ur H
um
an
Rig
hts d
enied
an
d vi'o
lat(
perpetually u
nder th
is Con
stitution
--for hu
ndreds' of year
As a people, w
e have received n
either th
e Equ
al Protecti
of the L
aws n
or Du
e Process of L
aw. W
here H
um
an R
ig)
are being daily violated th
ere is denial of D
ue P
rocess L
aw
an
d th
ere is no E
qu
al P
rotectio
n o
f the L
aw
. 7
Con
stitution
of the U
nited S
tates does not gu
arantee a
protect our E
conom
ic Righ
ts, or our P
olitical Righ
ts, r
AM
ER
ICA
107th A
nniversary tion P
roclamation
Capitol of B
abylon, perialism
June 19, 1970 A
NT
HE
R P
AR
TY
ou
r Socia
l Rig
hts. It d
oes n
ot even
gu
ara
ntee a
nd p
rotect
our m
ost basic Hu
man
Righ
t, the righ
t to LIV
E!
MP
LE
ME
NT
ING
PO
INT
NO
. 10 OF
TH
E B
LA
CK
PA
NT
HE
R
AR
TY
PL
AT
FO
RM
AN
D P
RO
GR
AM
Poin
t No. 1
0 o
f the B
lack
Pan
ther P
arty's P
latfo
rm
nd P
rogra
m a
ddresses itself to
the q
uestio
n o
f the N
a-
ion
al D
estiny o
f Bla
ck p
eople. W
e feel that, in
pra
ctical
erms, it is tim
e for B
lack
peo
ple a
s a w
hole to
address
heir a
ttentio
n to
the q
uestio
n o
f ou
r Natio
nal D
estiny.
Bla
ck p
eople ca
n n
o lo
nger eith
er respect th
e U.S
. on
stitutio
n, lo
ok to
it with
hope, o
r live un
der it. T
he
onstitu
tion is th
e social contract th
at binds th
e Am
erican
eople together in
to a sovereign n
ation an
d defines au
thority
nd' th
e distrib
utio
n o
f pow
er, righ
ts, an
d p
rivileges. B
y h
oving th
e Con
stitution
aside, renderin
g it nu
ll and void,
ord
er to ca
rry ou
t fascist o
ppressio
n a
nd rep
ression
f B
lack
peo
ple, th
e fascists h
ave, b
y that very fa
ct, testro
yed even
the fa
lse fou
ndatio
ns o
f au
thority in
this
ociety. W
e live in a
law
less society w
here ra
cist pig
s :a
ve usu
rped
the L
egisla
tive, Ju
dicia
l, an
d E
xecu
tive ra
nch
es of g
overn
men
t an
d p
erverted th
em to
ward
s the
rosp
erity of th
eir priva
te interests. W
e repu
dia
te, 'most
mi)haticallv_ a
ll rinriirria
.nte
T
nin
e
v•*
-- _
natio
n, A
merica
is now
in th
e mid
dle o
f the g
reatest
crisis in its h
istory. T
he B
lack
Pan
ther P
arty b
elieves th
at th
e Am
erican
peo
ple a
re capable o
f rising to
the
task
wh
ich h
istory h
as la
id b
efore th
e natio
n. W
e believe
that th
e Am
erican
peo
ple a
re capable o
f rejecting th
e fa
scist solu
tion
to th
e natio
nal crisis w
hich
the fa
scist N
ixon
cliqu
e, the G
eorg
e Walla
ces', Lester M
addoxes',
Ron
ald Reagan
s', Spiro A
gnew
s', etc. h
old out to th
e people.
WE
TH
ER
EF
OR
E, C
AL
L F
OR
A R
EV
OL
UT
ION
AR
Y
PE
OP
LE
'S CO
NST
ITU
TIO
NA
L C
ON
VE
NT
ION
, TO
BE
CO
N-
VE
NE
D B
Y T
HE
AM
ER
ICA
N P
EO
PL
E, T
O W
RIT
E A
NE
W
CO
NST
ITU
TIO
N T
HA
T W
ILL
GU
AR
AN
TE
E A
ND
DE
LIV
ER
T
O E
VE
RY
AM
ER
ICA
N C
ITIZ
EN
TH
E IN
VIO
LA
BL
E H
U-
MA
N R
IGH
T T
O L
IFE
, LIB
ER
TY
, AN
D T
HE
PU
RS
UIT
O
F H
AP
PIN
ESS!
We call u
pon th
e Am
erican people to rise up, repu
diate, an
d restra
in th
e forces o
f fascism
that a
re, now
ram
pan
t in
the lan
d and w
hich
are the on
ly real obstacles standin
g betw
een u
s and a ration
al resolution
of the n
ational crisis.
We believe th
at Black people are n
ot the on
ly group w
ithin
A
merica th
at stands in
need of a n
ew C
onstitu
tion. O
ther
ri on
al D
estiny o
f Bla
ck peo
ple. W
e feel tha
t, in p
ractica
l erm
s, it is time fo
r Bla
ck peo
ple a
s a w
hole to
address
heir a
ttentio
n to
the q
uestio
n o
f ou
r Na
tion
al D
estiny.
Bla
ck peo
ple ca
n n
o lo
nger eith
er respect th
e U.S
. ;o
nstitu
tion
, loo
k to it w
ith h
op
e, or live u
nd
er it. Th
e ;o
nstitu
tion is th
e socia
l contra
ct that b
inds th
e Am
erican
eople together into a sovereign nation and defines authority nd' th
e distrib
utio
n o
f pow
er, rights, a
nd p
rivileges. B
y hovin
g th
e Constitu
tion a
side, ren
derin
g it n
ull a
nd vo
id,
m o
rder to
carry o
ut fa
scist oppressio
n a
nd rep
ression
f Bla
ck p
eople
, the fa
scists h
ave, b
y th
at v
ery
fact,
estroyed
even th
e false fo
un
da
tion
s of a
uth
ority in
this
ociety. W
e live in a
law
less society w
here ra
cist pig
s ave u
surp
ed th
e Leg
islative, Ju
dicia
l, and E
xecutive
ranch
es of g
overn
men
t and p
erverted th
em to
ward
s the
rosp
erity of th
eir priva
te interests. W
e repudia
te, most
mphatically, all docum
ents, Law
s, Conventions, and P
rac-ices th
at a
llow
this sorry sta
te of a
ffairs to
exist—in
-luding the C
onstitution of the United States.
For u
s, the ca
se is abso
lutely clea
r: Bla
ck peo
ple h
ave
o future within the present structure ofpow
er and authority i th
e Un
ited S
tates u
nd
er the p
resent C
on
stitutio
n. F
or
s, also
, the a
lternatives a
re abso
lutely clea
r: the p
resent
tructu
re of p
ow
er and a
uth
ority in
the U
nited
Sta
tes must
e rad
ically ch
an
ged
or w
e, as a
peo
ple, m
ust extrica
te urselves from
entanglement w
ith the United States.
If we a
re to rem
ain
a p
art o
f the U
nited
Sta
tes, then
we
lust h
ave a
new
Co
nstitu
tion
tha
t will strictly g
ua
ran
tee
people.
WE
TH
ER
EF
OR
E, C
AL
L F
OR
A R
EV
OL
UT
ION
AR
Y
PE
OP
LE
'S CO
NST
ITU
TIO
NA
L C
ON
VE
NT
ION
, TO
BE
CO
N-
VE
NE
D B
Y T
HE
AM
ER
ICA
N P
EO
PL
E, T
O W
RIT
E A
NE
W
CO
NST
ITU
TIO
N T
HA
T W
ILL
GU
AR
AN
TE
E A
ND
DE
LIV
ER
T
O E
VE
RY
AM
ER
ICA
N C
ITIZ
EN
TH
E IN
VIO
LA
BL
E H
U-
MA
N R
IGH
T T
O L
IFE
, LIB
ER
TY
, AN
D T
HE
PU
RSU
IT
OF
HA
PP
INE
SS!
We call upon the A
merican people to rise up, repudiate,
and restra
in th
e forces o
f fascism
that a
re, now
ram
pant
in the land and which are the only real obstacles standing
between us and a rational resolution of the national crisis.
We believe that B
lack people are not the only group within
Am
erica th
at sta
nds in
need
of a
new
Co
nstitu
tion
. Oth
er oppressed
ethnic g
roups, th
e youth
of A
merica
, Wom
en,
young men w
ho are slaughtered as cannon fodder in mad,
avaricious wars of aggression, our neglected elderly people
all have an interest in a new C
onstitution that Will guarantee
us a
society in
which
Hum
an R
ights a
re suprem
e and
Justice is a
ssured
to every m
an
, wo
ma
n, a
nd
child
with
in
its jurisd
iction. F
or it is o
nly th
rough th
is mea
ns th
at
Am
erica, a
s a n
atio
n, ca
n live to
geth
er in p
eace w
ith
our brothers and sisters the world over. O
nly through this m
eans can the present character of Am
erica, the purveyor o
f explo
itatio
n, m
isery, dea
th, a
nd
wa
nto
n d
estructio
n a
ll over the planet earth, be changed.
r
l40 i.rte
u
vo
v&
wcu
ry (,i,u
th . 1-,1444,1* Y
GV
M iG
r44A
A/G
) futu
re with
in th
e present stru
cture ofpow
er and au
thority
. the U
nited
Sta
tes un
der th
e presen
t Con
stitutio
n. F
or
>, also, th
e alternatives are absolu
tely clear: the P
resent
:ructu
re of power an
d auth
ority in th
e Un
ited States m
ust
rad
ically ch
an
ged
or w
e, as a
peo
ple, m
ust ex
tricate
irselves from en
tanglem
ent w
ith th
e Un
ited States.
If we a
re to rem
ain
a p
art o
f the U
nited
Sta
tes, then
we
:ust h
ave .a n
ew C
on
stitutio
n th
at w
ill strictly gu
ara
ntee
hr H
um
an
Rig
hts to
Life, L
iberty, a
nd th
e Pu
rsuit o
f a
pp
iness, w
hich
is pro
mised
bu
t no
t delivered
by th
e resen
t Con
stitutio
n. W
e shall n
ot a
ccept o
ne io
ta less
at th
is, ou
r full, u
nblim
ished
Hu
man
Rig
hts. If th
is is )t to
be, if w
e can
not m
ake a
new
arra
ngem
ent w
ithin
:e U
nited S
tates, then
we h
ave no altern
ative but to declare
irselves free an
d in
dep
enden
t of th
e Un
ited S
tates. If
is ou
r natio
na
l destin
y to fo
llow
the la
tter cou
rse, then
e m
ust declare ou
rselves into self-govern
ing m
achin
ery, id
seek th
e recogn
ition
of th
e freedom
-lovin
g n
atio
ns
the w
orld. T
he B
lack
Pa
nth
er Pa
rty fully rea
lizes tha
t the tw
o
)ads o
pen
to u
s as set fo
rth a
bove in
volve m
on
um
enta
l idertakin
gs. Bu
t we are trapped in
a mon
sterous situ
ation
lat requires a m
onu
men
tal solution
. An
d no task, h
owever
nea
t, is too
mu
ch to
dea
l with
wh
en th
e very welfa
re, 4rvival, a
nd n
atio
nal d
estiny o
f ou
r peo
ple a
re at sta
ke.
avin
g a
lready stru
ggled
up fro
m th
e dism
al d
epth
s of
zattel slavery, no obstacles can
be too high
for us to su
r-.ount
in o
rder to
libera
te ou
r peo
ple a
nd
tak
e ba
ck th
e .eed
om
an
d secu
rity tha
t wa
s tak
en a
wa
y from
us a
nd
m
ied us for so lon
g.
3AL
L F
OR
A R
EV
OL
UT
ION
AR
Y P
EO
PL
E'S C
ON
STI-
TU
TIO
NA
L C
ON
VE
NT
ION
Th
e hou
r is late a
nd th
e situatio
n is d
espera
te. As a
(16
6
141.4UU
CO
& tf&
4G1 U
ZI. &
I& (4 14G
GV
‘..11149. 4 &I /111,444,14 IP
I41411 WY
O.* 6 W
A, ...rvvvr.r
us a
society in
wh
ich H
um
an
Rig
hts are
suprem
e and
Justice is assu
red to every man
, wom
an, an
d child w
ithin
its ju
risdictio
n. F
or it is o
nly th
rou
gh
this m
ean
s that
Am
erica, a
s a n
atio
n, ca
n live to
geth
er in p
eace w
ith
our broth
ers and sisters th
e world over. O
nly th
rough
this
mean
s can th
e present ch
aracter of Am
erica, the pu
rveyor of exploitation
, misery, death
, and w
anton
destruction
all over th
e planet earth
, be chan
ged.
WA
RN
ING
TO
AM
ER
ICA
We are from
25 to 30 million
strong, an
d we are arm
ed. A
nd w
e are consciou
s of our situ
ation. A
nd w
e are deter-m
ined to ch
ange it. A
nd w
e are un
afraid. Becau
se we h
ave ou
r guaran
tee. If the A
merican
people, as a wh
ole, do not
rise up, reverse the presen
t course of th
is nation
, wh
ich,
if un
checked, h
olds out on
ly fascist repression an
d genocide
for B
lack
peo
ple, th
en w
e, Bla
ck p
eople, w
ill be fo
rced
to resp
on
d w
ith a
form
of W
ar o
f Salva
tion
that in
the
chaos o
f carryin
g it o
ut a
nd th
e attem
pt to
repress it,
will g
ut th
is cou
ntry a
nd u
tterly destro
y it. Befo
re we
accep
t Gen
ocid
e, we w
ill inflict T
ota
l Destru
ction
up
on
B
abylon.
It had b
est be u
ndersto
od, n
ow
, that th
e pow
er we rely
upon
ultim
ately, as our on
ly guaran
tee against G
enocide
at th
e ha
nd
s of th
e Fa
scist Ma
jority, is
our strategic ability to
lay th
is cou
ntry in
ruin
s, from
the b
otto
m to
th
e top. If fo
rced to
resort to
this g
uara
ntee, w
e will n
ot
hesitate to do so.
FO
R T
HE
SAL
VA
TIO
N, L
IBE
RA
TIO
N, A
ND
FR
EE
DO
M
OF
OU
R P
EO
PL
E, W
E W
ILL
NO
T H
ESIT
AT
E T
O E
ITH
ER
K
ILL
OR
DIE
!
AL
L P
OW
ER
TO
TH
E P
EO
PL
E
******************** *
. . .
TO
WA
RD
S A
NE
W .
. .
. .
. .
. C
ON
ST
ITU
TIO
N 4
.. .
. .
. .
. .
. H
*
H
UE
Y P
. NE
WT
ON
* *
*
*
MIN
IST
ER
OF
DE
FE
NS
E
* *
*
*
BL
AC
K P
AN
TH
ER
PA
RT
Y U
.S.A
. *
*
* *
A
Constitu
tional C
onven
tion is ex
tremely
importan
t at o
ne asso
rtmen
t of p
eop
le, will receiv
e the b
enefits an
d th
e *
*
this tim
e becau
se we m
ust red
efine an
d clarify
our actio
ns
wealth of the country.
*
*
.77.3t. and
ou
r futu
re plan
s as well as m
ake k
no
wn
to th
e peo
ple
4 and to
the w
orld
the ju
stification o
f our stru
ggle ag
ainst
yt,
Black
peo
ple in
this co
untry
, after such
a long p
eriod *
„ *
bu
reaucratic cap
italism an
d A
merican
Imp
erialism.
of su
ffering
becau
se of cap
italism an
d racism
, hav
e a righ
t A
kir
*
The C
ivil R
ights S
truggle is n
o m
ore th
an an
exten
sion
to ex
clusiv
ely co
ntro
l the in
stitutio
ns o
f the B
lack co
rnA
L
77 *
of th
e Am
erican R
evo
lutio
n o
f 17
76
. Ev
eryo
ne sh
ou
ld real-
mu
nity
. All o
ther eth
nic g
rou
ps w
ill also co
ntro
l their co
m- *
*
ize this, an
d w
ith th
at realization
we w
ill com
e to th
e con
- m
un
ity in
a co-o
perativ
e fashio
n. A
nd
the n
ation
al enter- *
* elu
sion th
at those th
ings th
at were g
ained
by th
e White
prise
s - what I c
all n
atio
nal e
nte
rprise
s are
those
big
*
*u p
opulatio
n o
f 1776 b
y sep
arating itself an
d fo
rmin
g a
mo
no
po
lies - will b
e natio
nalized
so
that each e
thnic
*
* n
ation - in
oth
er word
s of d
e-colo
nizin
g fro
m E
nglan
d -
gro
ups w
ill hav
e a represen
tative o
n th
e vario
us b
oard
s. *
t
*g
ained
them
auto
no
my
and
also th
e Hu
man
Rig
hts th
at they
B
ut th
ose o
ther eth
nic g
rou
ps, m
emb
ers of eth
nic g
rou
ps,
were seek
ing at th
at time.
*
wh
o liv
e in o
ur co
mm
un
ities, will b
e able to
particip
ate *
in a d
emo
cratic fashio
n, b
ecause racism
will b
e dead
. Bu
t I em
phasize th
at this w
as 1776 w
hen
White p
eople o
f also
we w
ill main
tain th
e right to
hav
e this P
roportio
nal 1
r 4 A
merica g
ained
Hu
man
Rig
hts. T
his w
as truly
a revo
lutio
n-
3
IC
Rep
resentatio
n b
ecause th
e trust h
as been
lost b
ecause o
f _ v_ * ary
struggle. U
nfo
rtunately
, Black
s, becau
se of racism
in
77 racism
. Black
peo
ple h
ave lo
st faith--faith
in th
is country
. se. *
the co
un
try an
d th
e fact of S
lavery
were n
ot in
clud
ed in
. w
*
* th
ese rights. S
o, after th
is, we h
ad th
e Civ
il Rig
hts M
ove-
An
d fo
r a safegu
ard, at least w
e'll hav
e to h
ave ex
clusiv
e
*m
ent, in
ord
er to g
ain th
ose rig
hts th
at Wh
ites gain
ed in
control over our local com
munities.
If w
e can't b
ring
these th
ing
s abo
ut, th
en, o
f cou
rse, we *
* 1
776. S
om
e two h
undred
years h
ave p
assed an
d w
e hav
en't
will h
e acceptin
g R
eaction
ary S
uicid
e, or su
icide cau
sed *
*gain
ed th
ose b
asic rights,
by
the reactio
nary
con
ditio
ns. I stan
d ag
ainst it, if I h
ave *
*
Of course, the country w
asn't revolutionized even though th
ere
was a
revolu
tionary
movem
ent. It w
as n
ot re
vo-
a choice, w
hich
I do, an
d if it co
mes to
the p
oin
t where *
th
ere's only
one ch
oice, - eith
er to accep
t Reactio
nary
*„
lutio
nized
simply
becau
se pro
ductio
n w
asn't at th
e stage
Suicid
e or R
evolu
tionary
Suicid
e, then
I would
accept
* \o
lere a socialist d
evelo
pm
ent w
as enco
urag
ed b
y th
e oth
er R
evolutionary Suicide.
*
ces. In o
ther w
ord
s, after the sep
aration fro
m E
nglan
d,
I thin
k it g
oes w
itho
ut say
ing
that B
lacks are p
erfectly
*d
emo
cratic capitalism
came in
to b
eing
. Th
ere was m
uch
ju
stified in
declarin
g a R
epublic o
r a Lib
erated T
erritory
, sr_
* lan
d to
be h
ad an
d farm
ed. It w
as basically
an ag
ricultu
ral 7
r if w
e find th
at we can
not, th
rought so
me m
utu
al coalitio
n, *
*
cou
ntry
and
very
little ind
ustry
. So
peo
ple co
uld
com
pete
* w
ith each
oth
er in so
mew
hat o
f a dem
ocratic fash
ion
. A
brin
g ab
ou
t this ty
pe o
f Plu
ralistic So
ciety th
at is desired
. *
* th
e soil. A
nd
there w
as much
availab
le soil. O
f course, I
man
could
hav
e the w
ealth th
at he earn
ed th
rough p
lantin
g
Th
e on
ly o
ther altern
ative is to
declare a R
epu
blic, an
d, *
*
emphasize ag
ain th
at Black
s were n
ot in
cluded
in th
is. as I said
, face the co
ward
ly im
perialistic arm
y, an
d th
ereby *
. . , .
either d
efeat them
or su
ffer Rev
olu
tion
ary S
uicid
e, wh
ich it
BL
AC
K P
AN
TH
ER
PA
RT
Y U
.S.A
.
** ****************************** ****************************** **
*
A C
on
stitutio
nal C
on
ven
tion
is extrem
ely im
po
rtant at
* th
is time b
ecause w
e must red
efine an
d clarify
our actio
ns
.1 an
d o
ur fu
ture p
lans as w
ell as mak
e know
n to
the p
eople
-4 an
d to
the w
orld
the ju
stification o
f our stru
ggle ag
ainst
* b
ureau
cratic capitalism
and
Am
erican Im
perialism
. *
Th
e Civ
il Rig
hts S
trug
gle is n
o m
ore th
an an
exten
sion
* o
f the A
merican
Rev
olu
tion o
f 1776. E
very
one sh
ould
real- *
ize this, an
d w
ith th
at realization
we w
ill com
e to th
e con
-* elu
sion th
at those th
ings th
at were g
ained
by th
e White
*
po
pu
lation
of 1
77
6 b
y sep
arating
itself and
form
ing
a 7t. n
ation - in
oth
er word
s of d
e-colo
nizin
g fro
m E
nglan
d -
*gain
ed th
em au
tonom
y an
d also
the H
um
an R
ights th
at they
4.ste.
were seek
ing
at that tim
e. Ir. I em
ph
asize that th
is was 1
77
6 w
hen
Wh
ite peo
ple o
f A
merica g
ained
Hu
man
Rig
hts. T
his w
as truly
a revo
lutio
n-
* ary
strug
gle. U
nfo
rtunately
, Black
s, becau
se of racism
in
* th
e cou
ntry
and
the fact o
f Slav
ery w
ere no
t inclu
ded
in
* th
ese righ
ts. So
, after this, w
e had
the C
ivil R
igh
ts Mo
ve-
* m
ent, in
ord
er to g
ain th
ose rig
hts th
at Wh
ites gain
ed in
*
17
76
. So
me tw
o h
un
dred
years h
ave p
assed an
d w
e hav
en't
*g
ained
tho
se basic rig
hts.
tO
f course, th
e country
wasn
't revolu
tionized
even
though
witt- there w
as a revolu
tionary
movem
ent. It w
as not rev
o-
lutio
nized
simp
ly b
ecause p
rod
uctio
n w
asn't at th
e stage
* ~
dire a so
cialist dev
elopm
ent w
as enco
urag
ed b
y th
e oth
er *
ces. In o
ther w
ord
s, after the sep
aration fro
m E
nglan
d,
* d
emo
cratic capitalism
came in
to b
eing
. Th
ere was m
uch
*
land
to b
e had
and
farmed
. It was b
asically an
agricu
ltural
* co
un
try an
d v
ery little in
du
stry. S
o p
eop
le cou
ld co
mp
ete * w
ith each
oth
er in so
mew
hat o
f a dem
ocratic fash
ion. A
*
• m
an co
uld
hav
e the w
ealth th
at he earn
ed th
rou
gh
plan
ting
*
the so
il. An
d th
ere was m
uch
availab
le soil. O
f cou
rse, I *
emp
hasize ag
ain th
at Black
s were n
ot in
clud
ed in
this.
*
As th
e y
ears p
asse
d a
nd
as th
e c
ou
ntry
's ind
ustry
*
becam
e matu
re, the ag
ricultu
ral land
s becam
e centralized
*
in th
e han
ds o
f a few. T
his p
resented
new
pro
blem
s, es-*
pecially
wh
en B
lacks w
ere no
t inclu
ded
in th
e first stage
*o
f dev
elop
men
t - the d
emo
cratic capitalistic era. In
ou
r * tim
e - around 1
970 - th
e country
is not o
nly
fully
dev
eloped
, *
but it is o
verd
evelo
ped
. The eco
nom
y is o
verd
evelo
ped
, * th
e in
dustry
is overd
evelo
ped. T
he ru
ling c
lass o
f the
tco
untry
no lo
nger in
vests its su
rplu
s capital in
the co
untry
. 31 T
his b
rings u
s to th
e imperialistic era, w
here th
e capital-
▪
ist is now
investing his surplus in the developing countries 47. o
f the T
hird
Wo
rld, in
ord
er to
gain
a p
rofit, b
ecau
se
* th
ere
is no ro
om
for e
xpansio
n in
side o
f this m
atu
re
* eco
no
my
. *
While all o
f this is h
appen
ing. B
lacks are still stru
gglin
g
* fo
r basic
hu
man
righ
ts; the
righ
t to v
ote, th
e righ
t for
* eco
nom
ic well-b
eing etc. W
e cannot g
ain o
ur p
olitical
*• lib
erties with
ou
t the eco
no
mic freed
om
. We can
no
t be
31 integ
rated in
to th
e capitalistic sy
stem, b
ecause ev
en if
Ir we h
ad th
e wealth
or th
e surp
lus cap
ital to in
vest, th
ere w
ou
ld b
e no
mark
et. Th
ere is no
fertile mark
et in w
hich
se. to
inv
est. Not in
side o
f this co
untry
.
questio
n th
e establish
ed o
rder, b
ut w
e questio
n th
e very
sy
stem.
We feel th
at the o
nly
way
that w
e can g
et freedom
at th
is time, after o
bserv
ing
and
exp
eriencin
g th
e con
ditio
ns
of th
e country
, is to h
ave a P
roportio
nal R
epresen
tation
in a so
cialist framew
ork
. T
his m
eans th
at the in
du
stries that n
ow
are held
by
a sm
all rulin
g circle sh
ould
be n
ationalized
, and all eth
nic
gro
ups, in
cludin
g all m
inority
gro
ups, w
ill be g
uaran
teed
a place in
pro
po
rtion
to th
eir nu
mb
er in th
e cou
ntry
, at th
e adm
inistrativ
e level an
d at th
e work
er's level. A
ny-
thin
g sh
ort o
f this w
ould
be co
mpro
misin
g o
ur freed
om
again, and w
e will not stand for it.
Matter o
f fact, any
com
pro
mise w
ou
ld b
e, suicid
al. It w
ould
be w
hat I call R
eactionary
Suicid
e. To accep
t a com
promise. R
eactionary Suicide m
eans that the conditions, th
e reaction
ary co
nd
ition
s, wo
uld
be th
e cause o
f ou
r suicide. If w
e stand and do nothing, it would be self-m
urder. I w
ould
rather ch
oose th
e reverse, if it b
ecom
es necessary
, an
d th
at is Rev
olu
tion
ary S
uicid
e. Th
at's suicid
e mo
tivated
by th
e desire to
chan
ge th
e system
, or else d
ie tryin
g. T
o
. .
one assortment of people, w
ill receive the benefits and the
wealth of the country.
Black
peo
ple in
this co
untry
, after such
a long p
eriod
of su
ffering b
ecause o
f capitalism
and racism
, hav
e a right
to ex
clusiv
ely co
ntro
l the in
stitutio
ns o
f the B
lack co
rn -
munity. A
ll other ethnic groups will also control their com
-m
unity
in a co
-operativ
e fashio
n. A
nd th
e natio
nal en
ter-p
rises - w
hat I c
all n
atio
nal e
nte
rprise
s are
tho
se b
ig
monopolies - w
ill be n
ationalized
so th
at each eth
nic
gro
ups w
ill hav
e a represen
tative o
n th
e vario
us b
oard
s. B
ut th
ose o
ther eth
hic g
rou
ps, m
emb
ers of eth
nic g
rou
ps,
who liv
e in o
ur co
mm
unities, w
ill be ab
le to p
articipate
in a d
emocratic fash
ion, b
ecause racism
will b
e dead
. But
also w
e will m
aintain
the rig
ht to
hav
e this P
roportio
nal
Rep
resentatio
n b
ecause th
e trust h
as been
lost b
ecause o
f racism
. Black
peo
ple h
ave lo
st faith--faith
in th
is country
. A
nd fo
r a safeguard
, at least we'll h
ave to
hav
e exclu
sive
con
trol o
ver o
ur lo
cal com
mu
nities.
If we can
't brin
g th
ese thin
gs ab
ou
t, then
, of co
urse, w
e w
ill be accep
ting
Reactio
nary
Su
icide, o
r suicid
e caused
b
y th
e reaction
ary co
nd
ition
s. I stand
again
st it, if I hav
e a ch
oice, w
hich
I do, an
d if it co
mes to
the p
oin
t where
there's o
nly
one ch
oice, - eith
er to accep
t Reactio
nary
S
uicid
e or R
evo
lutio
nary
Su
icide, th
en I w
ou
ld accep
t R
evolutionary Suicide.
I thin
k it g
oes w
ithout say
ing th
at Black
s are perfectly
ju
stified in
declarin
g a R
epu
blic o
r a Lib
erated T
erritory
, if w
e find
that w
e cann
ot, th
rou
gh
t som
e mu
tual co
alition
,
brin
g ab
ou
t this ty
pe o
f Plu
ralistic So
ciety th
at is desired
. T
he o
nly
oth
er alternativ
e is to d
eclare a Rep
ublic, an
d,
as I said, face the cowardly im
perialistic army, and thereby
either d
efeat them
or su
ffer Rev
olu
tionary
Suicid
e, which
is g
lorio
us sim
ply
becau
se it wo
uld
be o
ur ch
oice, an
d w
e w
on
't stand
by
and
let us b
e killed
on
e by
on
e. Killed
in
so m
any w
ays, k
illed sp
iritually
, killed
thro
ugh lack
of
basic n
eeds - m
edicin
e, food fo
r the k
ids, all th
ese thin
gs
that are so
basic w
e don't ev
enhav
e to arg
ue w
heth
er we're
due them.
As rev
olu
tionaries, I w
ould
like to
poin
t out, to
clarify
our catech
ism, th
at we h
ave b
een co
mpletely
crush
ed as
mem
bers o
f this so
-called civ
ilization
. An
d w
hen
I say
com
pletely
crush
ed, as rev
olu
tion
aries, we h
ave n
ot o
nly
rejected
a seat by
the o
pp
ressor -th
ose seats th
at he offers
are merely
crum
bs - w
e also reject th
e ord
inary
- I say
ord
inary
for lack
of a b
etter wo
rd - k
ind
of fam
ily ar-
ran
gem
en
ts that a
re o
ffere
d u
s, becau
se th
at to
o is a
com
pro
mise
. What I'm
sayin
g is th
at w
e h
ave to
co
mpro
mise ev
en to
hav
e a wife an
d k
ids an
d a h
ouse an
d
any
kin
d o
f job
or w
ork
. It's a com
pro
mise fo
r So
uth
ern
Black
s. It's a com
pro
mise fo
r them
to ju
st live as ev
ery
man
has a rig
ht to
live w
ith a fam
ily an
d h
is loved
ones,
because the bourgeois state lays down the conditions under
wh
ich y
ou
can h
ave a fam
ily. In
oth
er wo
rds; if I w
ere to
1%
01
uev
eiop
mem
- llle L
tellILIV
.I. am;
a. 1
11 u
ui
* tim
e - around 1
970 - th
e country
is not o
nly
fully
dev
eloped
, *
but it is o
verd
evelo
ped
. The eco
nom
y is o
verd
evelo
ped
, * th
e in
dustry
is overd
evelo
ped. T
he ru
ling c
lass o
f the
itco
untry
no lo
nger in
vests its su
rplu
s capital in
the co
untry
. :(e.r T
his b
rings u
s to th
e imperialistic era, w
here th
e capital-
ist is now
investin
g h
is surp
lus in
the d
evelo
pin
g co
untries
▪
of th
e T
hird
Wo
rld, in
ord
er to
gain
a p
rofit, b
ecau
se
* th
ere
is no ro
om
for e
xpansio
n in
side o
f this m
atu
re
* eco
no
my
. *
While all o
f this is h
appen
ing. B
lacks are still stru
gglin
g
* fo
r basic
hum
an rig
hts: th
e rig
ht to
vote
, the rig
ht fo
r * eco
nom
ic well-b
eing etc. W
e cannot g
ain o
ur p
olitical
• lib
erties with
out th
e econom
ic freedom
. We can
not b
e in
tegrated
into
the cap
italistic system
, becau
se even
if w
e had
the w
ealth o
r the su
rplu
s capital to
inv
est, there
4 bi, would
be n
o m
arket. T
here is n
o fertile m
arket in
which
* to
invest. N
ot in
side o
f this co
untry
. *
I wo
uld
like to
back
track a little to
the p
eriod
of 1
86
3,
*
18
65
, after the E
man
cipatio
n P
roclam
ation
and
then
the so
-
* called
Reco
nstru
ction
. Th
e Freed
man
's Bu
reau w
as es-
ttab
lished
du
ring
the R
econ
structio
n in
ord
er to allo
t on
e L
▪
"
▪
of th
e chief p
oin
ts argued
in C
ongress b
y T
had
eus S
teven
s,
4 vc. that B
lacks b
e allotted
forty
acres and a m
ule, B
ecause
* w
ithout th
e land it w
as realized th
at there w
ould
be n
o
*freed
om
. But th
is did
not o
ccur. I w
ould
like to
emphasize
* th
is to sh
ow
that A
merica h
as com
pro
mised
ou
r freedom
* again and again. T
he Hayes C
omprom
ise of 1877 devastated * th
e wh
ole R
econstru
ction p
eriod
and th
e few cru
mbs th
at * w
e'd g
ained
durin
g th
at perio
d.
*
So
I refer to a tim
e wh
en w
e've b
een fo
rced o
ut o
f the
* so
ciety, w
e've b
een fo
rced o
ut o
f equ
al pro
tection
of th
e *
law, an
d h
um
an resp
ect. An
d it leav
es us w
ith n
oth
ing
to
- lo
se, really, an
d ev
eryth
ing
to g
ain, b
ecause w
e've lo
st * ev
eryth
ing. A
nd, o
f course, w
hen
one h
as lost ev
eryth
ing,
*
noth
ing is o
pen
to h
im b
ut T
otal R
ebellio
n. R
ebellio
n
*
again
st that fo
rce and th
ose co
nditio
ns w
hich
hav
e stripped
*
him of his very dignity as a hum
an being. *
What are th
e alternativ
es? We'v
e conclu
ded
that th
ere's
*
no
roo
m fo
r us in
the cap
italistic system
, becau
se of th
e *
overd
evelo
ped
natu
re of th
e country
. We see th
at as far as * a
uto
nom
y o
f our c
om
munity
in a
ny re
spect, a
s far a
s self-g
overn
ing o
ur in
stutio
ns; th
is cannot ex
ist under cap
-italism
either b
ecause cap
italism, th
e capitalistic sy
stem,
*
is dictated
by
the sm
all rulin
g class, ap
pro
xim
ately 7
6
* co
mp
anies th
at con
trol th
e wh
ole in
du
stry an
d th
e wh
ole
* w
ealth
of th
is country
. That's G
enera
l Moto
rs, Ford
, *
Ch
rysler, G
eneral D
yn
amics, L
ock
heed
, Stan
dard
Oil,
* D
uP
ont, C
hase M
anhattan
Ban
k, B
ank o
f Am
erica, and so
* o
n d
ow
n th
e line.
*
The o
nly
way
that w
e can n
ow
get freed
om
is to ch
ange
* th
ats
t th
at led
i 1
We w
ere brought i t system
t e
us in
to sla
very
.
of th
e country
, is to h
ave a P
roportio
nal R
epresen
tation
in a so
cialist framew
ork
. T
his m
eans th
at the in
dustries th
at now
are held
by a
small ru
ling
circle sho
uld
be n
ation
alized, an
d all eth
nic
gro
ups, in
cludin
g all m
inority
gro
ups, w
ill be g
uaran
teed
a place in
pro
portio
n to
their n
um
ber in
the co
untry
, at th
e adm
inistrativ
e level an
d at th
e work
er's level. A
ny-
thin
g sh
ort o
f this w
ould
be co
mpro
misin
g o
ur freed
om
ag
ain, an
d w
e will n
ot stan
d fo
r it. M
atter of fact, an
y co
mpro
mise w
ould
be. su
icidal. It
would
be w
hat I call R
eactionary
Suicid
e. To accep
t a com
promise. R
eactionary Suicide m
eans that the conditions, th
e reactionary
conditio
ns, w
ould
be th
e cause o
f our
suicide. If we stand and do nothing, it w
ould be self-murder.
I would
rather ch
oose th
e reverse, if it b
ecom
es necessary
, an
d th
at is Rev
olu
tion
ary S
uicid
e. Th
at's suicid
e mo
tivated
by th
e desire to
chan
ge th
e system
, or else d
ie tryin
g. T
o
chan
ge th
e reaction
ary co
nd
ition
s. Bu
t this is a freed
om
of
chOice. A
nd I would choose this for the generation to com
e]
and I w
ould
choose it fo
r my o
wn in
tegrity
, for th
e simple
reason th
at I refuse, o
ur g
eneratio
n refu
ses, to liv
e as
slaves.
So, w
e are dem
andin
g a C
onsitu
tion th
at reflects the
ethnic an
d th
e plu
ralistic natu
re of th
e society
. We d
eman
d
a Co
nstititio
n th
at wo
uld
gu
arantee u
s the rig
ht to
live.
We d
eman
d a C
on
stitutio
n th
at has resp
ect for th
e peo
ple,
and
a Co
nstitu
tion
that serv
es the p
eop
le instead
of a
Co
nstitu
tion
that serv
es the ru
ling
class. W
e know
that in
this co
untry
there are certain
public
institu
tions, th
at are suposed
ly set u
p b
y th
e peo
ple, b
ut
in reality
are set up b
y th
e rulin
g circle, to
preten
d to
serv
e the p
eople's b
asic need
s. This is th
e Social S
ecurity
, E
mplo
ym
ent In
suran
ce, Welfare S
ubsid
ies etc. The ru
ling
class sets up th
ese public ag
encies to
buy o
ff the p
eople
with
a small ex
ample o
f socialism
. But w
e see that th
e ru
ling class ev
en u
ses the p
ublic facilities to
their o
wn
adv
antag
e. Th
e rulin
g class really
uses p
ub
lic fun
ds o
n a
gig
antic scale to
furth
er its ow
n in
terests. A
n example of this is the big railw
ay barons who receive
subsid
ies. In o
ther w
ord
s, they
receive w
elfare aid. T
he
big
farmers, su
ch as S
enato
r Eastlan
d, reciev
e subsid
ies
from
the p
ublic in
stutio
ns in
the co
untry
, while th
e peo
ple,
wh
en th
ey n
eed su
bsid
ies, wh
en th
ey n
eed w
elfare aid, are
harassed
, ho
un
ded
, even
to th
e exten
t that in
ord
er to g
et th
e aid th
ey m
ust rev
eal wh
o th
ey sleep
with
at nig
ht,
while E
astland an
d all o
f the o
thers receiv
e millio
ns o
f dollars each
year, y
et they
don't h
ave to
reveal th
e last w
om
an o
r man
they
slept w
ith, I th
ink th
at this is a g
ood
exam
ple o
f a dictatio
rship
by th
e bourg
eoisie. W
hat w
e ad
vocate is a d
ictatorsh
ip b
y th
e peo
ple. W
hat I m
ean b
y
that is n
ot th
at the p
eop
le will ab
use w
hat u
sed to
be b
ou
r-g
eoisie, b
ut it is sim
ply
that th
e peo
ple's n
eeds w
ill be
taken
un
der co
nsid
eration
and
they
will b
e the p
rime fo
cus
at all times in
consid
eration g
iven
. And n
o o
ne class, n
o that are so basic w
e don't even have to argue whether w
e're due them
. A
s revo
lutio
naries, I w
ou
ld lik
e to p
oin
t ou
t, to clarify
our catech
ism, th
at we h
ave b
een co
mpletely
crush
ed as
mem
bers o
f this so
-called civ
ilization
. An
d w
hen
I say
com
pletely
crush
ed, as rev
olu
tionaries, w
e hav
e not o
nly
rejected
a seat by
the o
pp
ressor -th
ose seats th
at he o
ffers are m
erely cru
mbs - w
e also reject th
e ord
inary
- I say
ord
inary
for lack
of a b
etter word
- kin
d o
f family
ar-ra
ngem
ents th
at a
re o
ffere
d u
s, because
that to
o is a
co
mp
rom
ise. Wh
at I'm
say
ing
is that w
e h
av
e to
co
mp
rom
ise even
to h
ave a w
ife and
kid
s and
a ho
use an
d
any k
ind o
f job o
r work
. It's a com
pro
mise fo
r South
ern
Black
s. It's a com
pro
mise fo
r them
to ju
st live as ev
ery
man
has a rig
ht to
live w
ith a fam
ily an
d h
is loved
ones,
because the bourgeois state lays down the conditions under
which
you can
hav
e a family
. In o
ther w
ord
s; if I were to
accep
t a family
, then
I wo
uld
accept th
is family
un
der
conditio
ns th
at hav
e been
prescrib
ed b
y th
e capitalists.
I wo
uld
hav
e to accep
t the co
nd
ition
s of p
ov
erty, if I liv
e in
the S
outh
of w
orm
s in m
y k
ids sto
mach
es, a lack o
f fo
od, a lack
of clo
thin
g. If I h
ave to
live in
the u
rban
areas of H
arlem, I h
ave to
accept, in
ord
er to h
ave a fam
ily,
a com
pro
mise an
d h
ave th
e kin
d o
f family
that th
ey h
ave
prescrib
ed, th
e kin
d o
f family
that is b
itten b
y rats, th
at sleeps in housing that is unfit for hum
an beings, S
o as rev
olu
tionaries w
e not o
nly
reject these seats
by th
e oppresso
r, we'v
e also rejected
the n
orm
al - when
I say
'norm
al' it's again
for lack
of a b
etter word
- we
can't accep
t even
the p
rimary
relationsh
ip o
f that n
ucleu
s fam
ily. A
nd w
e're very
angry
becau
se we can
't accept
these th
ing
s. Becau
se every
man
is du
e it. We're v
ery
ang
ry, so
therefo
re we're left o
ut in
the tw
iligh
t zon
e w
ith hatred for those conditons and those people who cause
the co
nditio
ns. M
atter of fact, w
e hav
e such
strong feel-
ings until we w
on't rest and we w
on'tfeel that we have done
our jo
b u
ntil w
e've lash
ed o
ut an
d cru
shed
those p
eople
and
tho
se con
ditio
ns th
at wo
n't allo
w u
s to h
ave ev
en th
e basic th
ings th
at every
man
on th
e face of th
e earth h
as a rig
ht to
hav
e. Th
at is a ho
me, a fam
ily, an
d k
ids. T
o
hav
e a family
we h
ave to
accept k
ids th
at are infected
w
ith ra
cism
, the c
onditio
ns o
f racism
, from
the v
ery
m
om
ent h
e b
ecom
ei c
onsc
ious. S
o th
is is why w
e're
strictly
, as the M
inister o
f Info
rmatio
n h
as said, w
e're outlaw
s, we're o
utsid
e even
the law
of h
um
anity
becau
se w
e thin
k th
at we'v
e been
deh
um
anized
. But b
ecause w
e've
been
deh
um
anized
we'v
e beco
me v
ery d
angero
us p
eople,
dangerous to those who w
on't let us be human.
I would
add th
at it must alw
ays b
e remem
bered
, under-
stood, an
d realized
, that o
ur o
ne g
oal is to
crush
Am
erican
Cap
italism an
d A
merican
Imp
erialism. B
ecause w
itho
ut
this, we can do nothing.
AL
L P
OW
ER
TO
TH
E P
EO
PL
E
w
no
sla
very
because
of p
rofit fo
r the sla
ve d
river a
nd th
e
* cap
italist. So
we q
uestio
n th
e very
system
. We d
on
't on
ly
******* *
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*********40
