One of the most promising of the young Negro poets said to me once, “I want to be a poet—not a Negro poet,” meaning, I believe, “I want to write like a white poet”; meaning subconsciously, “I would like to be a white poet”; meaning … Read More(1926) Langston Hughes, “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain”
Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Declaration of Biafra Fellow countrymen and women, you, the people of Eastern Nigeria: Conscious of the supreme authority of Almighty God over all mankind, of your duty to yourselves and posterity; Aware that you can no longer be protected in your lives … Read More(1967) Biafra’s Declaration of Independence
In a July 1918 editorial in The Crisis, W.E.B. Du Bois urged African Americans to set aside their differences with their countrymen over the nation’s treatment of its black citizens and “close ranks” in the war against Imperial Germany and its Allies. Ten months later, … Read More(1919) W.E.B. Du Bois, “Returning Soldiers,” Editorial from The Crisis
“If We Must Die,” written in 1919 by Harlem Renaissance poet Claude McKay, became for many African Americans an anthem for resistance against the anti-black violence then sweeping the nation. His words appear below. If we must die—let it not be like hogs Hunted and … Read More(1919) “If We Must Die”
On August 15, 1970, Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party, gave a speech in New York City where he outlined the Party’s position on two emerging movements at the time, the women’s liberation movement and the gay liberation movement. Newton’s remarks … Read More(1970) Huey P. Newton, “The Women’s Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements”
In the editorial below that first appeared in the Black Panther Party newspaper in April 1969, the leaders of the Party make the case for the nationwide Panther Free Breakfast for School Children Program. To Feed Our Children The Free Breakfast for School Children is … Read More(1969) The Black Panther Party: To Feed Our Children
The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program Written October 15, 1966 1. We Want Freedom. We Want Power to Determine the Destiny of Our Black Community. We believe that Black people will not be free until we are able to determine our destiny. 2. We Want … Read More(1966) The Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program
On May 19, 2017, New Orleans, Louisiana Mayor Mitch Landrieu addressed an audience in his city as a backdrop and explanation of the city’s recent decision to remove statues of General Robert E. Lee and other Confederate military and political leaders from public squares in … Read More(2017) New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s Address on the Removal of Confederate Monuments in New Orleans
On January 14, 1963, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel gave the speech “Religion and Race,” at a conference of the same name that assembled in Chicago, Illinois. There he met Dr. Martin Luther King and the two became friends. Rabbi Heschel marched with Dr. King at … Read More(1963) Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, “Religion and Race”
On May 20, 1893, women’s activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper gave this speech before the World’s Congress of Representative Women, meeting in their conference in Chicago, Illinois. If before sin had cast its deepest shadows or sorrow had distilled its bitterest tears, it was true … Read More(1893) Frances E.W. Harper, “Woman’s Political Future”
