1960-1963 1964-1966 , 1967-1969 4 · 1960-1963.-b. Th e transitio n period, 1964-1966. —-c. Th e...

Page 1

HIS

TO

RY

OF

RA

M -

RE

VO

LU

TIO

NA

RY

A

CT

ION

M

OV

EM

EN

T

Tab

le o

f C

onte

nts

Intr

oduc

tion

* c

Ear

ly B

egin

ning

s D

Dev

elop

men

t of

RA

M i

nto

a N

atio

nal

Org

aniz

atio

n 18

Mal

colm

X a

nd R

AM

2

3

Org

aniz

atio

nal

Act

ivit

ies o

f R

AM

- 19

64 t

o 1

965

28

Org

aniz

atio

nal

Act

ivit

ies

of

RA

M -

1966

to

196

8 3

1

Dis

solu

tion

of

RA

M

37

Con

clus

ion

41

Foo

tnot

es

44

Bib

liog

raph

y 4

5

Not

e:

Thi

s pa

per

was

adv

ance

d as

an

init

ial

Bla

ck S

tudi

esdo

cum

ent

and

ther

efor

e do

es n

ot

give

a c

ompl

ete

ac-

coun

t an

d an

alys

is o

f R

AM

's a

ctiv

itie

s.

INT

RO

DU

CT

ION

In

appr

oach

ing

a st

udy

of

RA

M

— t

he

Rev

olut

iona

ryA

ctio

n M

ovem

ent

— t

he

stuc

leru

of

hi

stor

y an

d po

liti

cal

scie

nce

need

s to

ide

ntif

y th

e m

odus

ope

rand

! of

stu

dyin

g th

eer

a th

at p

rodu

ced

it.

The

19

60's

is

uniq

ue i

n th

e se

nse

that

it

has

been

not

edas

an

era

of

poli

tica

l ac

tivi

sm p

arti

cula

rly

on

the

part

of

ala

rge

segm

ent

of

the

blac

k co

mm

unit

y. I

n th

e bl

ack

com

-m

unit

y am

ong

the

mas

ses,

the

196

0's

is r

emem

bere

d as

the

blac

k re

volu

tion

. T

here

ar

e se

vera

l th

ings

w

e m

ust

unde

r-st

and

in

our

stud

y of

th

e bl

ack

revo

luti

on i

n th

e 19

60's

.O

ne i

s th

at t

he 1

960'

s re

pres

ente

d a

clim

ax o

r hi

gh-n

de s

tage

in

the

cont

inuo

us s

trug

gle

of

Afr

ican

peo

ple

stri

ving

for

na-

tion

al l

iber

atio

n in

the

Uni

ted

Sta

tes.

The

19

60's

did

not

oc

cur

in a

vac

uum

nor

diii

the

mas

-si

ve r

esis

tanc

e st

age

subs

ide

beca

use

it w

as t

he e

nd o

f an

era

.T

hese

tw

o po

ints

are

im

port

ant

to r

emem

ber.

We

nvus

l vi

ewth

e bl

ack

revo

luti

on

in A

mer

ica

as a

con

tinu

ous

aist

oric

alpr

oces

s, t

akin

g m

any

twis

ts a

nd t

urns

, ha

ving

adv

ance

men

tsan

d se

tbac

ks,

empl

oyin

g di

ffer

ent

tact

ics

in

diff

eren

t his

-to

rica

l pe

riod

s. T

he

revo

luti

on,

beca

use

it fa

ced

a po

wer

ful

oppr

essi

ve

syst

em,

is a

pro

trac

ted

or

prol

onge

d st

rugg

le.

Itai

ms

to w

eake

n th

e sy

stem

, w

hich

is

both

rac

ist a

nd m

onop

-ol

y ca

pita

list

, be

fore

it

laun

ches

th

e m

ajor

thr

ust

in :

ne f

inal

blow

fo

r na

tion

al

libe

rati

on.

The

re

volu

tion

in

th

e '6

0's

wen

t th

roug

h th

ree

dist

inct

sta

ges:

a.

The

no

n-vi

olen

t di

rect

ac

tion

ph

ase

agai

nst

segr

egat

ion,

196

0-19

63.

-

b.

Th

e tr

ansi

tion

per

iod,

196

4-19

66.

—-

c.

The

ins

urre

ctio

nary

sta

ge,

1967

-196

9.In

the

ini

tial

sta

ges

of t

he b

lack

mov

emen

t in

the

six

ties

,it

s ce

nter

of

acti

vity

w

as in

the

sou

th. T

he m

ovem

ent

itil

i/ed

non-

viol

ent

dire

ct

acti

on

tact

ics

agai

nst

segr

egat

ed

publ

icfa

cili

ties

in

the

sou

th.

Sup

port

dem

onst

rati

ons

deve

lope

d in

the

nort

h pr

otes

ting

the

Jim

(/r

ow l

aws.

Tow

ards

tli

o en

d of

1963

, sp

onta

neou

s vi

olen

t de

mon

stra

tion

s oc

curr

ed

in

Page 2

Jack

sonv

ille

, F

lori

da,

and

Phi

Ude

lphi

a,

Pen

n.

Sta

rtin

g in

1964

, sp

onta

neou

s vi

olen

t ui

bi'n

re

bell

ions

oc

curr

ed

inap

prox

imat

ely

five

nor

ther

n in

ner

citi

es.

Bet

wee

n 19

64

and

1906

the

for

m o

f m

ass

prot

est

bega

nto

ch

ange

fr

om

mas

s no

n-vi

olen

t de

mon

stra

tion

s ag

ains

t,se

greg

ated

fa

cili

ties

in

the

sout

h to

vio

lent

mas

s ur

ban

rebe

l-li

ons

agai

nst

the

capi

talL

si

:,\.-

iem

in

the

no

rth

. T

his

peri

odw

e'ca

ll t

he t

rans

itio

n pe

rit-

.i be

caus

e th

e tw

o fo

rms

of p

rote

stex

iste

d at

th

e sa

me

tim

e w

ith

non-

viol

ent

dem

onst

rati

ons

still

bei

ng t

he p

redo

min

ant

form

of

prot

est.

The

yea

r 19

67

repr

esen

ts a

dif

fere

nt s

tage

. In

thi

s ye

arov

er

200

citi

es h

ad r

epor

ts

of v

iole

nt r

ebel

lion

s. M

ass

spon

-ta

neou

s ur

ban

rebe

llio

ns c

onti

nued

unt

il

1969

, w

hen

they

seem

to

have

bee

n re

plac

ed b

y sn

ipin

g of

pol

ice

in

1970

.W

e sh

ould

re

mem

ber

that

th

e or

gani

zati

ons

and

per-

sona

liti

es

who

w

ere

the

mos

t re

volu

tion

ary

in

the

1960

'sw

ere

not

proj

ecte

d by

the

mas

s m

edia

and

are

pro

babl

y th

ele

ast

hear

d of

, an

d in

man

y ca

ses

they

hav

e be

en

purp

osel

y

wri

tten

out

of

hist

ory.

The

re

volu

tion

of

the

19G

O's

date

s ba

ck

to t

he M

ont-

gom

ery

boyc

ott.

O

n D

ecem

ber

1, 1

905

a bl

ack

seam

stre

ssna

med

M

rs.

Ros

a P

arks

ref

used

to

gi

ve

her

seat

to

a w

hite

man

bec

ause

she

was

too

tir

ed t

o st

and.

She

was

arr

este

d fo

rvi

olat

ing

the

city

's s

egre

gati

on l

aws.

Aft

er t

he a

rres

t, a

grou

pof

bl

ack

wom

en

aske

d m

inis

ters

and

ci

vic

lead

ers

to

call

abo

ycot

t on

Dec

embe

r 5,

the

day

of

Mrs

. P

arks

' tr

ial.

One

of

the

min

iste

rs w

ho r

espo

nded

to

that

cal

l w

as t

wen

ty-s

ix-y

ear-

old

Mar

tin

Lut

her

Kin

g, J

r.,

past

or

of M

ontg

omer

y's

Dex

ter

Ave

nue

Bap

tist

Chu

rch.

Fro

m

mas

s m

eeti

ngs,

the

Mon

tgom

-er

y Im

prov

emen

t A

ssoc

iati

on w

as f

orm

ed. T

he M

.I.A

. or

ga-

nize

d a

car

mot

or

pool

to

tran

spor

t br

othe

rs a

nd s

iste

rs w

holi

ved

too

far

to

wal

k ha

ck a

nd f

orth

to

wor

k. T

he M

.I.A

.'s

dem

ands

wer

e:a.

a

guar

ante

e of

cou

rteo

us

trea

tmen

tb.

pa

ssen

gers

to

be s

eate

d on

a f

irst

-com

e, f

irst

-se

rved

bas

is w

ith

blac

ks s

eati

ng f

rom

the

bac

k

c.

empl

oym

ent

of

i\egr

o dr

iver

s on

pr

edom

i-na

ntly

Neg

ro b

us r

oute

s.A

t m

ass

mee

ting

s D

r. M

arti

n L

uthe

r K

ing,

Jr.

em

erge

das

fli

c m

ain

mas

s le

ader

of

the

bo

yco

tt. M

ontg

omer

y fr

ied

tobr

eak

the

boyc

ott

but

afte

r a

year

of

stru

ggle

, th

e U

.S.

Su-

prem

e C

ourt

dec

lare

d A

laba

ma'

s si

,ate

and

loc

al l

aws

supp

ort-

ing

segr

egat

ion

on

buse

s un

cons

titu

tion

al. T

he M

ontg

omer

ybo

ycot

t se

rved

as

an

exam

ple

of

succ

essf

ul

mas

s di

rect

ac-

tion

. O

ther

com

mun

itie

s or

gani

/ed

sim

ilar

cam

paig

ns.

By

1957

D

r. K

ing

had

orga

nize

d SC

LC

(t

he

Sou

ther

nC

hris

tian

Lea

ders

hip

Con

fere

nce)

to d

evel

op t

he n

on-v

iole

ntm

ass

dire

ct

acti

on

mov

emen

t. B

y 19

58

smal

l non

-vio

lent

dem

onst

rati

ons

wer

e te

sted

in

diff

eren

t pl

aces

in

the

coun

try.

1960

ca

me

in w

ith

(.lie

aura

of

high

exp

ecta

tion

s fr

om b

lack

wor

king

cl

ass

stru

ggle

's fo

r na

tion

al

dem

ocra

tic

righ

ts.

On

Feb

ruar

y 1,

196

0,

four

fre

shm

en a

t A

& T

Col

lege

in

Gre

ens-

boro

, N

orth

Car

olin

a, s

at

in a

t a

Woo

lwor

th l

unch

cou

nter

dow

ntow

n, h

i a

mat

ter

of d

ays

the

idea

lea

ped

to o

ther

cit

ies

in N

orth

Car

olin

a. D

urin

g th

e ne

xt t

wo

wee

ks,

sit-

ins

spre

adto

fi

ftee

n ci

ties

in

five

sou

ther

n st

ates

. W

ithi

n th

e fo

llow

ing

year

, ov

er 5

0,00

0 pe

ople

— m

ost

wer

e bl

acks

, so

me

whi

te —

part

icip

ated

in

som

e ki

nd o

f de

mon

stra

tion

or

anot

her

in a

hund

red

citi

es a

nd

over

3,6

00 d

emon

stra

tors

sp

ent

tim

e in

jail

. In

a

year

, se

vera

l h

un

dre

d co

unte

rs h

ad

been

de

segr

e-ga

ted

in s

outh

ern

citi

es.

The

m

ain

cent

ers

of

prot

est

wer

e N

ashv

ille

. T

cnn.

,A

tlan

ta,

Ga.

, an

d O

rang

cbur

g, S

.C.

Nea

rly

1,30

0 ar

rest

s ha

d be

en

mad

e by

th

isti

me.

. .

. T

here

w

ere

400

arre

sts

in O

rang

ebur

g,ab

out

150

in N

ashv

ille

, ne

arly

40

in e

ach

of T

al-

laha

ssee

an

d F

lore

nce

(Sou

th

Car

olin

a),

abou

t80

in

Atl

anta

, ab

out

65 i

n M

emph

is a

nd n

earl

y85

in

Mar

shal

l, T

exas

. In

the

Nor

th, c

olle

ge s

tu-

dent

s st

aged

su

pp

ort

ing

dem

onst

rati

ons

and

rais

ed

fund

s fo

r ar

rest

ed

Sou

ther

n st

ud

ents

.T

lie

focu

s of

th

e si

t-in

s w

as

broa

deni

ng t

o

Page 3

incl

ude

libr

arie

s, m

useu

ms,

and

art

gal

leri

es;

the

met

hods

.

. . w

ere

. . .

wad

e-in

s, s

tand

-ins

, kn

eel-

ins

and

othe

r fo

rms

of

non-

viol

ent

dire

ct

ac-

tion

.O

n A

pril

15,

a st

uden

t co

nfer

ence

was

cal

led

unde

r th

eau

spic

es o

f M

iss

Ell

a B

aker

, fi

eld

wor

ker

for

SCL

C.

.The

stu

-de

nts

form

ed

the

Stu

dent

N

on-V

iole

nt

Coo

rdin

atin

g C

om-

mit

tee

(SN

CC

).In

O

ctob

er

of

19U

O,

at a

stu

dent

con

fere

nce

of s

ever

alhu

ndre

d de

lega

tes

in

Atl

anta

, SN

CC

be

cam

e a

perm

anen

tor

gani

zati

on.

Thr

ough

out

1960

an

d ea

rly

1961

, SN

CC

de

mon

stra

ted

agai

nst

segr

egat

ion

in

publ

ic

faci

liti

es

in t

he

sout

h. I

n th

esp

ring

of

1961

, C

OR

E,

the

Con

gres

s of

Rac

ial

Equ

alit

y, d

e-ci

ded

to t

est

law

s pe

rtai

ning

to i

nter

-sta

te t

rave

l at

seg

rega

ted

term

inal

fac

ilit

ies

at b

us s

tati

ons.

As

whi

te

mob

s at

tack

ed

the

CO

RE

fr

eedo

m

ride

rs,

CO

RE

deci

ded

to e

nd

the

ride

s.

But

SN

CC

pi

cked

up

th

efr

eedo

m

ride

s an

d co

ntin

ued

them

thr

ough

out

the

spri

ng a

ndsu

mm

er o

f 19

61.

In t

he n

orth

, an

othe

r ty

pe o

f m

ass

mov

emen

t w

as d

evel

-op

ing.

It

was

the

Nat

ion

of I

slam

, le

d by

Eli

jah

Muh

amm

ad.

The

Nat

ion

of I

slam

, br

ande

d by

the

whi

te p

ress

as

the

Bla

ckM

usli

ms,

be

liev

ed

the

whi

te, m

an

was

the

de

vil,

advo

cate

dra

cial

sep

arat

ion

and

a bl

ack

nati

on i

n th

e so

uth,

and

pra

c-ti

ced

unar

med

se

lf-d

efen

se.

It

was

a'

reli

giou

s na

tion

alis

tm

ovem

ent

crea

ted

in 1

930

by W

alla

ce D

. F

ard.

Aft

er

Ear

d's

disa

ppea

ranc

e in

19

34,

Eli

jah

Mu

ham

mad

to

ok

over

th

eN

.O.I

, as

the

la

st m

esse

nger

of

All

ah.

The

m

ovem

ent

bega

nto

gr

ow

in t

he

late

fi

ftie

s,

whe

n M

alco

lm

X

was

rec

ruit

edan

d be

cam

e na

tion

al s

poke

sman

.So

tw

o m

ass

mo

vem

ents

wer

e de

velo

ping

— o

ne

inte

-gr

atio

nist

/non

-vio

lent

in

the

sou

th a

nd t

he o

ther

sep

arat

ion-

ist/

self

-def

ense

in

th

e no

rth.

B

oth

mov

emen

ts h

ad r

elig

ious

over

tone

s. T

he m

ovem

ent

in t

he s

outh

, ha

d st

rong

tie

s to

the

Bla

ck C

hris

tian

ch

urch

, an

d th

e no

rthe

rn m

ovem

ent

was

an

Isla

mic

mov

emen

t.A

th

ird

tren

d in

th

e m

ovem

ent

was

rep

rese

nted

by

Rob

ert

P.

Wil

liam

s.

Wil

liam

s in

19

57,

as p

resi

dent

of

th

eU

nion

Cou

nty,

N.C

., br

anch

o!

the

NA

AC

P, a

rmed

the

bla

ckco

mm

unit

y ag

ains

t K

KK

att

acks

. W

illi

ams

used

dir

ect

acti

onm

ass

dem

onst

rati

ons

of t

he i

nteg

rati

onis

ts b

ut h

is d

emon

stra

-ti

ons

wer

e pr

otec

ted

wit

h ar

med

gua

rds.

His

ope

n ad

voca

tion

of

arm

ed

self

-def

ense

an

d pu

blic

sta

tem

ents

of

"mee

t vi

o-le

nce

wit

h vi

olen

ce"

led

him

to

cl

ashe

s w

ith

the

nati

onal

lead

ersh

ip o

f th

e N

AA

CP.

Thi

s is

a b

rief

bac

kdro

p to

the

cli

mac

tic

even

ts t

hat

led

to

a ne

w

deve

lopm

ent

in t

he b

lack

lib

erat

ion

stru

ggle

. Thi

spa

per

is a

n in

com

plet

e an

alys

is o

f R

AM

— th

e R

evol

utio

nary

Act

ion

Mov

emen

t. It

is

hope

d it

wil

l be

the

bas

is f

or a

mor

eth

orou

gh s

tudy

in

the

futu

re a

nd w

ill

prov

ide

soci

al r

esea

rch-

ers

wit

h m

ater

ial

for

mak

ing

empi

rica

l st

udie

s of

the

sub

ject

mat

ter.

Page 4

EA

RL

Y

BE

GIN

NIN

GS

The

R

evol

utio

nary

A

ctio

n M

ovem

ent

(RA

M)

evol

ved

from

the

sou

ther

n ci

vil

righ

ts m

ovem

ent

of t

he e

arly

19

GO

'san

d th

e bl

ack

nati

onal

ist

mov

emen

t in

jior

ther

n ci

ties

.A

s a

resu

lt

of

the

sit-

ins,

stu

dent

s in

no

rthe

rn

citi

esor

gani

zed

sym

path

y (s

uppo

rt)

dem

onst

rati

ons.

T

radi

tion

alci

vil

righ

ts o

rgan

izat

ions

lik

e th

e N

AA

CP

and

CO

RE

hel

dm

ass

rall

ies

in n

orth

ern

blac

k co

mm

unit

ies.

Bla

ck

and

whi

te

stud

ents

dem

onst

rate

d ag

ains

t W

ool-

wor

th s

tore

s an

d al

ong

wit

h pr

ogre

ssiv

e cl

ergy

led

eco

nom

icbo

ycot

ts.

Bla

ck

stud

ents

wit

h m

ore

radi

cal

lean

ings

in

the

nort

h,w

hile

su

ppor

ting

SN

CC

, ha

d a

tend

ency

to

reje

ct i

ts

non-

viol

ent

phil

osop

hy.

Som

e of

the

se s

tude

nts

join

ed

CO

RE

to

part

icip

ate

in d

irec

t ac

tion

act

ivit

ies.

In

the

sum

mer

of

19

61,

at

the

tim

e of

th

e fr

eedo

mri

des,

Rob

ert

F.

Wil

liam

s,

pres

iden

t of

th

e M

onro

e,

N.C

.,N

AA

CP,

iss

ued

a na

tion

-wid

e ca

ll fo

r A

fro-

Am

eric

ans

to a

rmfo

r se

lf-d

efen

se

and

go t

o M

onro

e fo

r a

show

dow

n w

ith

the

KK

K.2

W

illi

ams

also

ca

lled

fo

r fr

eedo

m

ride

rs

to

go

toM

onro

e to

tes

t no

n-vi

olen

ce.

Als

o w

ithi

n th

e w

hite

lef

t, T

he L

.I.D

.. T

he L

eagu

e fo

rIn

dust

rial

D

emoc

racy

, pl

anne

d to

fo

rm

a st

uden

t br

anch

call

ed

S.D

.S.

— S

tude

nts

for

a D

emoc

rati

c S

ocie

ty.

S.D

.S.

was

to

ho

ld

a co

nfer

ence

on

th

e ne

w

left

at

th

e N

.S.A

.(N

atio

nal

Stu

dent

Ass

ocia

tion

) co

nfer

ence

in

Mad

ison

, Wis

e.SN

CC

was

als

o re

pres

ente

d at

the

N.S

.A.

conf

eren

ce.

Dur

ing

the

conf

eren

ce,

new

s of

W

illi

ams'

flig

ht

into

exil

e re

ache

d m

ovem

ent,

circ

les.

D

iscu

ssio

ns a

mon

g bl

ack

SNC

C

and

CU

RIO

w

orke

rs

and

inde

pend

ent

blac

k ra

dica

lsto

ok

plac

e as

to

w

hat

sign

ific

ance

th

e ev

ents

in

M

onro

e,N

.C.,

had

for

the

mov

emen

t.B

lack

cad

re i

nsid

e of

S.D

.S.

met

and

dis

cuss

ed d

evel

op-

ing

a bl

ack

radi

cal

mov

emen

t th

at

wou

ld

crea

te c

ondi

tion

s

to m

ake

it f

avor

able

to

brin

g W

illi

ams b

ack

into

the

cou

ntry

.T

his

was

a s

mal

l m

eeti

ng o

f ab

out

four

peo

ple.

Don

ald

Free

-m

an,

a bl

ack

stud

ent

at

Cas

e W

este

rn

Res

erve

C

olle

ge

inC

leve

land

, O

hio,

sa

id

he

wou

ld

corr

espo

nd

wit

h ev

eryo

nean

d w

ould

de

cide

whe

n to

mee

t ag

ain.

One

of

thos

e pr

esen

tat

th

e m

eeti

ng

was

a s

tude

nt

at

Cen

tral

S

tate

C

olle

ge i

nW

ilbe

rfor

ce,

Ohi

o.D

urin

g th

e fa

ll of

19G

1 an

off

-cam

pus

chap

ter

of S

.D.S

.fo

rmed

at

C

entr

al

Sta

te,

call

ed

Cha

llen

ge.

Cha

llen

ge w

as a

blac

k ra

dica

l fo

rmat

ion

havi

ng n

o ba

sic

ideo

logy

. P

art

of i

tsm

embe

rshi

p w

as

stud

ents

w

ho

had

been

ex

pell

ed

from

sout

hern

sch

ools

for

sit

-in

dem

onst

rati

ons,

stu

dent

s w

ho h

adta

ken

free

dom

ri

des

and.

stu

dent

s fr

om

the

nort

h, s

ome

ofw

hom

had

bee

n m

embe

rs o

f th

e N

atio

n of

Isl

am a

nd A

fric

anna

tion

alis

t or

gani

zati

ons.

C

hall

enge

's

mai

n em

phas

is

was

stru

ggli

ng

for

mor

e st

uden

t ri

ghts

on

cam

pus

and

brin

ging

abl

ack

poli

tica

l aw

aren

ess

to

the

stud

ent

body

, fn

a y

ear-

long

batt

le

wit

h th

e co

lleg

e's

adm

inis

trat

ion

over

.st

uden

t ri

ghts

,m

embe

rs

of

Cha

llen

ge

beca

me

mor

e ra

dica

li/e

d. C

hall

enge

mem

bers

w

ould

att

end

stud

ent

conf

eren

ces

in t

he s

outh

and

part

icip

ate

in d

emon

stra

tion

s in

the

no

rth.

Fr

eem

an

wou

ldse

nd

lett

ers

to

the

Cha

llen

ge

cadr

e di

scus

sing

ide

olog

ical

aspe

cts

of t

he c

ivil

righ

ts m

ovem

ent.

In

the

spri

ng o

f 19

62,

Stud

ies

on

the

Lef

t, a

radi

cal

quar

terl

y,

publ

ishe

d H

arol

d C

ruse

's a

rtic

le,

"Rev

olut

iona

ryN

atio

nali

sm

and

the

Afr

o-A

mer

ican

."3

Fre

eman

w

rote

a

lett

er

to

the

Cha

llen

ge c

adre

tel

ling

the

m t

o se

riou

sly

stud

yth

e ar

ticl

e, l

ie a

lso

said

bla

ck r

adic

als

else

whe

re w

ere

stud

y-in

g th

e ar

ticl

e an

d th

at a

mov

emen

t ha

d to

be

crea

ted

in t

heno

rth

sim

ilar

to

the

Nat

ion

of

Isla

m,

usin

g th

e ta

ctic

s of

SNC

C b

ut o

utsi

de o

f th

e N

AA

CP

and

CO

RE

. T

he C

hall

enge

cadr

e st

udie

d F

reem

an's

let

ter

but

did

not

know

w

here

to

begi

n. Aft

er

muc

h di

scus

sion

, th

e ca

dre

deci

ded

to.

form

a

broa

d co

alit

ion

to

take

ove

r st

uden

t go

vern

men

t. M

eeti

ngs

wer

e he

ld

wit

h re

pres

enta

tive

s fr

om

each

cl

ass,

fr

ater

niti

es

Page 5

and

soro

riti

es.

A s

late

was

dra

fted

an

d a

nam

e fo

r th

e Ji

arty

was

sel

ecte

d. I

t w

as c

alle

d H

AM

, la

ter

to.b

e kn

own_

as t

heR

evol

utio

nary

Act

ion

Mov

emen

t.T

he C

hall

enge

cad

re m

et a

nd d

ecid

ed t

o di

ssol

ve i

tsel

fin

to R

AM

and

be

com

e tin

.- R

AM

lea

ders

hip.

R

AM

jvo

n al

lst

uden

t go

vern

men

t of

fice

s.

Aft

er

the

elec

tion

, th

e in

ner

RA

M c

ore

disc

usse

d w

hat

to d

o n

ext.

Som

e sa

id t

hat

all

that

coul

d be

don

e at

Cen

tral

Sta

te h

ad a

lrea

dy o

ccur

red,

whi

leot

hers

dis

agre

ed.

Som

e of

the

inn

er c

ore

deci

ded

to s

tay

atC

entr

al S

tate

ari

d ru

n th

e st

uden

t go

vern

men

t, w

hile

a f

ewde

cide

d to

ret

urn

to t

heir

com

mun

itie

s an

d at

tem

pt t

o or

ga-

nize

aro

und

Fre

eman

's

basi

c ou

tlin

e. T

wo

of

the

retu

rnin

gst

uden

ts w

ere

Wan

da M

arsh

all a

nd M

ax

Sta

nfor

d.F

reem

an w

rote

to

Sta

nfor

d in

Phi

lade

lphi

a, s

ayin

g th

athe

was

goi

ng t

o Ph

ilad

elph

ia i

n th

e su

mm

er o

f 19

62 a

nd t

hat

he

wan

ted

him

to

or

gani

ze

a m

eeti

ng.

Fre

eman

w

ent

toPh

ilad

elph

ia a

nd m

et

wit

h a

grou

p of

Sta

nfor

d's

high

sch

ool

frie

nds.

He

disc

usse

d th

e m

ovem

ent

and

the

dire

ctio

n it

had

to

take

. L

ater

in

di

scus

sion

s w

ith

Sta

nfor

d,

Fre

eman

gav

ein

stru

ctio

ns t

hat

Phi

lade

lphi

a sh

ould

bec

ome

a pi

lot

proj

ect.

The

m

ovem

ent

wou

ld e

vent

uall

y lie

cal

led

[JA

M.

Fre

eman

cont

inue

d to

tra

vel

from

ci

ty t

o ci

ty.

In S

epte

mbe

r of

19G

2,S

tanf

ord

wen

t to

th

e N

atio

nal

Stu

dent

A

ssoc

iati

on

head

-qu

arte

rs

in

Phil

adel

phia

, w

here

iie

m

et

Mar

ion.

B

arry

fr

omSN

CC

, w

ho w

as i

n Ph

ilad

elph

ia t

o he

lp r

aise

fun

ds C

or S

NC

C.

Wan

da M

arsh

all

tran

sfer

red

to T

empl

e U

nive

rsit

y an

d be

gan

wor

king

wit

h bl

ack

stud

ents

the

re.

In t

he p

roce

ss o

f w

orki

ng w

ith

SNC

C,

Sta

nfor

d m

et t

hebl

ack

left

in

P

hila

delp

hia.

One

ac

quai

ntan

ce w

as B

ill D

avis

,w

ho w

as l

eade

r of

an

inde

pend

ent

blac

k M

arxi

st c

adre

cal

led

O.A

. (O

rgan

izat

ion

Ale

rt).

A

lso

duri

ng

this

ti

me

Sta

nfor

dha

d di

scus

sion

s w

ith

Mar

ion

Har

ry a

bout

the

dir

ecti

on o

f th

em

ovem

ent.

One

nig

ht w

hile

lis

teni

ng t

o th

e di

scus

sion

in

the

N.S

.A.

offi

ce,

Mis

s El

la

Bak

er e

ncou

rage

d S

tanf

ord

to c

on-

tinu

e to

dev

elop

his

ide

as.

Aft

er

Mar

ion

Har

ry

left

P

hila

delp

hia,

liil

l D

avis

ask

ed

8

Sta

nfor

d to

joi

n O

.A.

Sta

nfor

d w

rote

F

reem

an

abo

ut

O.A

.an

d F

reem

an

deci

ded

to n

ivet

wit

h D

avis

. Fr

eem

an

wen

t to

Phi

lade

lphi

a in

Oct

ober

of

19

62 a

nd

afte

r lo

ng d

iscu

ssio

nsw

ith

Dav

is t

old

Sta

nfor

d th

at O

.A.

was

too

int

elle

ctua

l and

not

acti

on-o

rien

ted

enou

gh.

Fre

eman

had

org

aniz

ed t

he A

fri-

can

Am

eric

an

Inst

itut

e in

C

leve

land

. M

e w

as a

lso

a sc

hool

teac

her

in t

he C

leve

land

sch

ool

syst

em,

lie

told

Sta

nfor

d th

athe

had

to

star

t so

met

hing

ind

epen

dent

of

O.A

. S

tanf

ord

was

still

not

con

vinc

ed.

Fre

eman

lef

t an

d re

turn

ed t

o C

leve

land

.D

urin

g a

mee

ting

of

O.A

., D

avis

har

shly

cri

tici

zed

SNC

Can

d sa

id

that

SN

CC

w

ould

ne

ver

chan

ge.

Sta

nfor

d op

pose

dth

at

posi

tion

, sa

ying

th

at

SNC

C

was

at

the

cent

er o

f th

em

ovem

ent

and

even

ts w

ould

for

ce S

NC

C t

o ch

ange

. The

dis

-cu

ssio

n en

ded

in

a he

ated

de

bate

. S

tanf

ord

disc

usse

d th

ede

bate

w

ith

Wan

da M

arsh

all

of t

he o

rigi

nal

RA

M c

adre

, w

hoha

d to

ref

use

to j

oin

O.A

.D

urin

g th

e T

hank

sgiv

ing

brea

k, M

arsh

all

wen

t ho

me

toW

hite

Pla

ins,

New

Yor

k, a

nd S

tanf

ord

visi

ted

her.

He

deci

ded

to v

isit

Mal

colm

X t

o as

k hi

m i

f he

sho

uld

join

the

Nat

ion

ofIs

lam

. M

arsh

all

and

Sta

nfor

d m

et

wit

h M

inis

ter

Mal

colm

at

the

Sha

bazz

Res

taur

ant

in N

ew Y

ork.

Aft

er a

len

gthy

bla

ckhi

stor

y le

sson

by

Min

iste

r Mal

colm

, S

tanf

ord

aske

d M

alco

lmif

he s

houl

d jo

in

the

Nat

ion

of

Isla

m.

Mal

colm

, to

his

sur

-pr

ise,

sai

d no

. H

e sa

id,

"You

ca

n do

mor

e fo

r th

e ho

nora

ble

Eli

jah

Muh

amm

ad b

y or

gani

zing

out

side

of

the

Nat

ion.

"M

inis

ter

Mal

colm

's

stat

emen

ts c

onvi

nced

M

arsh

all

and

Sta

nfor

d to

do

in

depe

nden

t or

gani

zing

. S

tanf

ord

draf

ted

apo

siti

on p

aper

tit

led

"Ori

enta

tion

to

a B

lack

Mas

s M

ovem

ent,

part

1"

and

circ

ulat

ed i

t am

on

g th

e bl

ack

left

in

Phil

adel

phia

.H

e w

ent

to

visi

t M

rs.

Eth

el

John

son,

who

had

be

en

a co

-w

orke

r w

ith

Rob

ert

Wil

liam

s in

Mon

roe,

N.C

., an

d w

ho w

asth

en

resi

ding

in

Phi

lade

lphi

a. M

rs.

John

son

read

th

e pa

per

and

late

r to

ld S

tanf

ord

she

wou

ld h

elp

him

org

aniz

e.F

reem

an

retu

rned

to

Ph

ilad

elph

ia

for

the

Chr

istm

asho

lida

ys.

At

a m

eeti

ng w

ith

Mar

shal

l, he

har

angu

ed

Stan

ford

for

not

havi

ng o

rgan

ized

. It

was

dec

ided

at

tha

t m

eeti

ng t

o

Page 6

orga

nize

a s

tudy

gro

up i

n Ja

nuar

v of

196

3.

Tow

ards

the

end

of

1962

, M

arsh

all

and

Sta

nfor

d ca

lled

to

geth

er

a gr

oup

ofbl

ack

acti

vist

s to

dis

cuss

or

gani

zing

aro

und

orie

ntat

ion

to a

blac

k m

ass

mov

emen

t.W

ithi

n a

mon

th's

tim

e, k

ey. b

lack

act

ivis

ts c

ame

into

the

stud

y gr

oup.

Tw

o ce

ntra

l t.

gure

s w

ere

Sta

n D

anie

ls a

nd P

Jay-

thel

l B

enja

min

. T

he g

roup

dec

ided

to

call

itsel

f R

AM

— R

evo-

luti

onar

y A

ctio

n M

ovem

ent.

It d

ecid

ed i

t w

ould

be

a bl

ack

nati

onal

ist

dire

ct a

ctio

n or

gani

zati

on.

Its

purp

ose

wou

ld

beto

st

art

a m

ass

blac

k na

tion

alis

t m

ovem

ent.

By

usin

g m

ass

dire

ct

acti

on

com

bine

d w

ith

the

tact

ics

of s

elf-

defe

nse,

it

hope

d to

cha

nge

the

civi

l ri

ghts

mov

emen

t in

to a

bla

ck r

evo-

luti

on.

RA

M d

ecid

ed

to w

ork

wit

h th

e es

tabl

ishe

d ci

vil

righ

tsle

ader

ship

in

P

hila

delp

hia

and

even

tual

ly

buil

d a

base

for

mas

s su

ppor

t.R

AM

con

tact

ed R

ev.

Loo

n Su

lliv

an a

nd v

olun

teer

ed

tohe

lp o

rgan

ize

wit

h th

e m

ass

sele

ctiv

e bo

ycot

ts t

he P

hila

del-

phia

m

inis

ters

w

ere

cond

ucti

ng

agai

nst

indu

stri

es t

hat

dis-

crim

inat

ed i

n th

eir

hinn

g pr

acti

ces.

RA

M

dist

ribu

ted

leaf

lets

in

the

tens

of

thou

sand

s do

orto

do

or

thro

ugho

ut t

he c

omm

unit

y. I

n th

e ea

rly

mon

ths

of19

63

a ne

w

Phi

lade

lphi

a N

AA

CP

pres

iden

t w

as

elec

ted

nam

ed C

ecil

Moo

re,

an a

ttor

ney

who

was

dir

ect-

acti

on p

rone

.T

empl

e U

nive

rsit

y in

itia

ted

a pi

lot

proj

ect

call

ed

PCA

,co

mpo

sed

of

w.'n

tc l

iber

als

who

ha

d be

en

give

n a

gran

t of

one

mil

lion

do

llar

s to

st

udy

nort

h P

hila

delp

hia.

No

blac

kpe

ople

fr

om

the

com

mu

nit

y w

ere

incl

uded

on

the

com

mis

-si

on.

The

NA

AC

P de

cide

d to

hol

d a

mas

s ra

lly

to p

rote

st t

heco

mm

issi

on.

Moo

re

aske

d al

l co

mm

unit

y gr

oups

to

he

lp i

nor

gani

zing

the

pro

ject

.T

he

RA

M a

ctio

n st

udy

grou

p im

med

iate

ly

beca

me

in-

volv

ed.

RA

M n

umbe

rs c

ircu

late

d th

roug

h no

rth

Phi

lade

lphi

ast

reet

s w

ith

hom

emad

e lo

ud s

peak

ers,

hol

ding

str

eet

mee

ting

sar

id

hand

ing

out

leaf

lets

. R

AM

mem

bers

wen

t in

to t

he b

ars

and

pool

roo

ms

hold

ing

rap

sess

ions

.T

he

rall

y w

as a

tot

al s

ucce

ss.

But

all

the

pett

y bo

urge

ois

10

lead

ersh

ip

did

was

giv

e fl

ower

y sp

eec.

'ics.

The

w

eek

foll

ow-

ing,

th

e N

AA

CP

and

RA

M

pick

eted

th

e P

CA

off

ices

. F

orso

me

reas

on t

he N

AA

CP

call

ed o

ff t

he p

icke

ting

and

not

too

muc

h ca

me

of t

he p

rote

st.

RA

M

mem

bers

fe

lt

the

mov

emen

t ne

eded

a v

oice

tha

tw

as

inde

pend

ent

of

the

exis

ting

civ

il ri

ghts

gro

ups.

R

AM

asse

ssed

all

the

civi

l ri

ghts

gro

ups

exce

pt S

NC

C a

s bo

urge

ois

and

also

ana

ly/e

d I. h

e N

atio

n of

Is

lam

as

havi

ng a

bou

rgeo

isor

ient

atio

n.

It

was

tho

ught

th

at

a bl

ack

radi

cal

publ

icat

ion

shou

ld

be c

reat

ed.

RA

M b

egan

pub

lish

ing a

bim

onth

ly c

alle

dB

lack

A

mer

ica.

To

begi

n to

ag

itat

e th

e m

asse

s, R

AM

cir

cu-

late

d a

free

on

e-pa

ge n

ewsl

ette

r ca

lled

R

AM

Sp

eaks

. R

AM

.Spe

aks

addr

esse

d it

self

to

lo

cal

issu

es a

nd

issu

es

that

w

ere

cons

tant

ly a

risi

ng i

n th

e m

ovem

ent.

Bla

ck A

mer

ica

was

mor

eth

eore

tica

l. M

embe

rs o

f R

AM

wen

t on

rad

io a

nd p

ubli

cize

dth

eir

stud

y gr

oup

and

prog

ram

.A

s m

ore

com

mu

nit

y pe

ople

jo

ined

(h

e R

AM

st

udy

grou

p,

the

clas

s an

d ag

e co

mpo

siti

on

of

the

stud

y gr

oup

chan

ged

from

ba

sica

lly

stud

ents

in

thei

r ea

rly

20's

to

blac

kw

orki

ng c

lass

int

o th

e ea

rly

30's.

RA

M d

ecid

ed t

o be

gin

mas

s re

cru

itm

ent.

The

org

aniz

a-ti

on

bega

n to

ho

ld

mas

s st

reet

m

eeti

ngs

in N

orth

Ph

ilad

el-

phia

. Fr

ee

wee

kly

Afr

ican

and

Afr

o-A

mer

ican

his

tory

cla

sses

wer

e he

ld,

taug

ht b

y P

layt

hell

B

enja

min

, a

youn

g se

lf-e

du-

cate

d hi

stor

ian.

Oth

er m

eeti

ngs

wou

ld d

iscu

ss b

uild

ing

RA

Min

to a

mas

s m

ovem

ent.

Thr

ough

it

s pu

blic

atio

n, B

lack

Am

eric

a, H

AM

beg

an t

oco

mm

unic

ate

wit

h ot

her

new

nat

iona

list

for

mat

ions

. In

San

Fra

ncis

co,

Don

ald

War

den

had

star

ted

the

Afr

o-A

mer

ican

Ass

ocia

tion

. In

D

etro

it,

Luk

e T

ripp

, Jo

hn W

illi

ams,

Cha

rles

(Mao

) Jo

hnso

n,

Gen

eral

B

aker

an

d (J

wen

K

emp

wer

e th

ele

ader

ship

of

U'l

l'R

U,

and

Fre

eman

had

org

aniz

ed t

he A

fro-

Am

eric

an

Inst

itut

e in

Cle

vela

nd. S

terl

ing

Slu

ckey

, T

hom

asH

igge

nbot

tom

an

d Jo

hn

Bra

cey,

Jr

., ha

d fo

rmed

N

.A.O

.,N

atio

nal

Afr

o-A

mer

ican

Org

aniz

atio

n, i

n C

hica

go, a

nd

ther

ew

as

a bl

ack

cult

ural

g

rou

p in

N

ew

Yor

k ca

lled

U

mbr

a. 11

Page 7

Sta

nfor

d w

ould

tra

vel

arou

nd o

n w

eeke

nds

in t

he s

outh

and

acro

ss t

he n

orth

to

keep

in

touc

h w

ith

new

dev

elop

men

ts.

SNC

C b

egan

mob

iliz

ing

blac

ks i

n m

ass

vote

r re

gist

rati

onm

arch

es i

n G

reen

woo

d, M

issi

ssip

pi.

Mis

siss

ippi

sta

te t

roop

ers

atta

cked

th

e de

mon

stra

tors

an

d m

asse

s w

ere

bein

g ja

iled

.T

hen

cam

e th

e m

ass

dem

onst

rati

ons

in

Bir

min

gham

. T

hem

ovem

ent

seri

ousl

y be

gan

to j

ell,

as t

he m

ood

of b

lack

peo

-pl

e in

the

nor

th b

ecam

e an

gry.

The

N

AA

CP

calle

d a

mas

s de

mon

stra

tion

in

fro

nt o

fP

hila

delp

hia'

s C

ity

Hal

l in

whi

ch R

AM

par

tici

pate

d, c

arry

ing

sign

s ca

llin

g fo

r ar

med

se

lf-d

efen

se.

NA

AC

P pr

esid

ent

Cec

il M

oore

de

cide

d to

te

st

mas

sdi

rect

act

ion

in P

hila

delp

hia

by p

rote

stin

g ag

ains

t un

ion

dis-

crim

inat

ion

on

a co

nstr

ucti

on

site

...at

30

tli

jmcL

Dau

phi.

nS

tree

ts i

n th

e he

art

of t

he b

lack

com

mun

ity

in N

orth

Phi

la-

delp

hia.

H

e as

ked

RA

M

to

help

in

th

e rn

obil

i/at

ion.

The

cons

truc

tion

sit

e w

as i

n R

AM

ter

rito

ry,

thre

e bl

ocks

fro

m i

tsof

fice

. M

oore

mad

e N

AA

CP

equi

pmen

t, av

aila

ble-

to R

AM

.R

AM

im

med

iate

ly

Look

a

surv

ey

of

the

com

mun

ity,

aski

ng

resi

dent

s if

th

ey

wou

ld s

uppo

rt

dem

onst

rati

ons

inPh

ilad

elph

ia s

imil

ar t

o th

e on

es b

eing

hel

d in

the

sou

th.

The

over

whe

lmin

g re

spon

se w

as "

Yes

." R

AM

mem

bers

cir

cula

ted

thro

ugho

ut

the

com

mu

nit

y w

ith

leaf

lets

an

d bu

ll

horn

s,go

ing

door

to

door

, ta

lkin

g to

str

eet

gang

s.T

he

dem

onst

rati

on

was

sch

edul

ed

to

star

t at

6

a.m

.,M

ay

27th

, 19

53.

RA

M l

eade

rs S

tan

Dan

iels

and

Max

Sta

n-fo

rd

join

ed

the

pick

et l

ine,

w

hich

bl

ocke

d th

e w

orke

rs,

all

whi

tes,

fro

m

ente

ring

the

con

stru

ctio

n si

te.

Wit

hin

min

utes

the

Phi

lade

lphi

a po

lice

fo

rmed

a

flyi

ng w

edge

and

at

tack

edth

e pi

cket

li

ne.

Sin

glin

g ou

t D

anie

ls a

nd S

tanf

ord,

tw

enty

poli

ce j

um

ped

the

m a

s th

ey f

ough

t un

til u

ncon

scio

us.

As

wor

d sp

read

th

roug

hout

th

e co

mm

unit

y,

mas

ses

wen

t to

th

e co

nstr

ucti

on s

ite.

D

anie

ls

and

Sta

nfor

d w

ere

arre

sted

. In

th

e po

lice

st

atio

n,

Sta

nfor

d as

ked

to

mak

e a

phon

e ca

ll.

lie

call

ed M

inis

ter

Mal

colm

X a

nd t

old

him

wha

tha

d ha

ppen

ed.

Mal

colm

pr

omis

ed

to

publ

iciz

e w

hat

was

12

happ

enin

g in

Phi

lade

lphi

a. H

e w

ent

on t

he r

adio

tha

t ni

ght

in

New

Y

ork

and

trav

eled

to

P

hila

delp

hia

two

days

lal

.cr,

spea

king

on

radi

o ag

ain.

Wor

d sw

op',

not

only

Phi

lade

lphi

abu

t th

e en

tire

Eas

t C

oast

. W

ithi

n a

wee

k, 5

0,00

0 to

100

,000

peop

le p

arti

cipa

ted

in d

emon

stra

tion

s th

at o

ften

tur

ned

into

viol

ent

clas

hes

betw

een

the

mas

ses

and

the

poli

ce.

The

pr

es-

sure

bec

ame

too

muc

h fo

r th

e N

AA

CP

, an

d th

ey c

alle

d of

fth

e pr

otes

ts.

The

wor

d R

AM

had

bec

ome

know

n am

ong

blac

k ra

dica

lci

rcle

s in

the

n

ort

h.

The

May

dem

onst

rati

ons

wer

e th

e fi

rst

mas

s br

eakt

hrou

gh

in t

he n

orth

of

mas

s in

volv

emen

t.T

he n

atio

nal

NA

AC

P co

nven

tion

was

bei

ng h

eld

in C

hi-

cago

du

ring

th

e su

mm

er o

f 19

63.

Moo

re

deci

ded

to

take

Sta

n D

anie

ls a

nd M

ax S

tanf

ord

"to

keep

the

m o

ut o

f tr

oubl

ew

hile

I'm

gon

e."

Sta

nfor

d an

d D

anie

ls s

lopp

ed t

hrou

gh C

leve

land

on

the

way

to

Chi

cago

. T

here

(h

oy

conf

erre

d w

ith

Fre

eman

, w

hode

cide

d to

dr

ive

into

C

hica

go a

nd

intr

oduc

e D

anie

ls

and

Sta

nfor

d to

the

cad

re t

here

.T

here

was

gen

eral

di

scus

sion

of

wha

t ha

d be

en s

tart

edin

Phi

lade

lphi

a an

d (h

en

the

disc

ussi

on c

ente

red

aro

un

d w

hat

coul

d be

don

e in

Chi

cago

. S

omeo

ne

men

tion

ed t

hat

May

orD

aley

and

Rev

eren

d Ja

ckso

n (h

ead

of t

he B

apti

st c

onve

ntio

nw

ho h

ad p

ubli

cly

den

ou

nce

d D

r. M

arti

n L

uth

er K

ii'iij

, Jr.

and

civi

l ri

ghts

de

mon

stra

tion

s)

wer

e go

ing

to

spea

k at

th

eN

AA

CP

rall

y th

at S

atur

day.

It w

as d

ecid

ed

that

the

cad

re w

ould

org

aniz

e co

mm

uni-

ty s

uppo

rt t

o pr

otes

t ag

ains

t D

aley

, and

Dan

iels

and

Sta

nfor

dw

ould

org

aniz

e th

e yo

uth

insi

de t

he N

AA

CP

conv

enti

on.

Dan

iels

and

Sta

nfor

d st

oppe

d an

NA

AC

P Y

outh

dan

ce.

The

y ca

lled

fo

r su

ppor

t of

th

e up

com

ing

dem

onst

rati

on.

NA

AC

P of

fici

als

beca

me,

ala

rmed

an

d st

oppe

d th

em

from

spea

king

. T

he C

hica

go c

adre

in

the

mea

ntim

e co

ntac

ted

acti

-vi

sts

and

othe

rs i

n th

e co

mm

unit

y ab

ou

t th

e de

mon

stra

tion

,w

hich

was

sch

edul

ed

for

July

4th

. Lea

flet

s w

ere

hand

ed o

uton

the

str

eets

, sub

way

s an

d bu

ses.

13

Page 8

The

N

AA

CP

rail

y pr

ocee

ded

as

plan

ned,

w

ith

top

NA

AC

P pe

ople

in

att

enda

nce.

To

keep

the

N

AA

CP

You

thfr

om

part

icip

atin

g in

the

dem

onst

rati

on, t

he t

op b

rass

had

all

the

yout

h de

lega

tes

sit

on s

tage

wit

h th

em.

May

or D

aley

was

intr

oduc

ed.

Dem

onst

rato

rs

mar

chin

g fr

om

the

back

of

th

epa

rk b

egan

bo

oing

Dal

ey.

The

boo

ing

was

so

loud

tha

t D

aley

coul

dn't

fini

sh

spea

king

; he

be

cam

e an

gry

and

left

. T

hen

Rev

eren

d Ja

ckso

n (h

ead

of t

he N

atio

nal

Bap

tist

con

vent

ion)

was

an

noun

ced

next

to

sp

eak.

A

s Ja

ckso

n ap

proa

ched

th

epo

dium

, th

e de

mon

stra

tors

be

gan

to

chan

t, "U

ncle

T

oms

Mus

t G

o."

The

aud

ienc

e pi

cked

up

the

chan

t.

Dem

onst

rato

rsch

arge

d th

e st

age.

25

,000

be

cam

e en

rage

d an

d a

full

-sca

leri

ot

brok

e ou

t as

the

m

asse

s ch

ased

Ja

ckso

n of

f th

e st

age

into

a w

aiti

ng c

ar t

hat

sped

him

off

to

safe

ty.

It w

as d

ecid

ed b

y th

e ca

dre

to g

et D

anie

ls a

nd S

tanf

ord

out

of t

own

imm

edia

tely

bec

ause

the

cit

y m

ight

bri

ng i

ncit

-in

g to

ri

ot

char

ges

agai

nst

them

. D

anie

ls w

as s

ent

back

to

Phil

adel

phia

an

d S

tanf

ord

to

Cle

vela

nd.

In C

leve

land

, Fr

ee-

man

tol

d S

tanf

ord

to g

o to

Det

roit

to

chec

k on

UII

UR

U a

ndto

hel

p th

em g

et t

hing

s go

ing.

In

Det

roit

, S

tanf

ord

met

wit

hU

IIU

RU

and

tol

d th

em w

hat

had

tran

spir

ed i

n C

hica

go.

A

blac

k pr

osti

tute

nam

ed C

ynth

ia S

cott

had

be

en s

hot

in

the

back

by

a

whi

te

poli

cem

an

and

kill

ed

the

prev

ious

wee

kend

. U

IIU

RU

de

cide

d to

hol

d a

rall

y an

d pr

otes

t de

m-

onst

rati

on i

n fr

ont

of t

he p

reci

nct o

f th

e gu

ilty

cop

. U

IUJR

Uap

proa

ched

G

.O.A

.L.,

a bl

ack

nati

onal

ist

civi

l ri

ghts

gro

up,

for

help

in

tii

e de

mon

stra

tion

. W

ithi

n tw

o w

eeks

, m

arch

esw

ere

orga

ni/o

d ag

ains

t, th

e pr

ecin

ct w

ith

the

com

mu

nit

ypa

rtic

ipat

ing

in t

he t

hous

ands

.S

tanf

ord

retu

rned

to

C

leve

land

and

rep

orte

d w

hat

was

deve

lopi

ng

in D

etro

it.

Fro

m C

leve

land

he

retu

rned

to

Phil

a-de

lphi

a. By

mid

-Jul

y, l

ocal

gr

ass

root

s ac

tivi

sts

wer

e ta

lkin

gab

out

mar

chin

g on

W

ashi

ngto

n an

d br

ingi

ng W

ashi

ngto

n to

a st

ands

till

.F

reem

an

deci

ded

the

tim

e ha

d co

me

to c

all

the

vari

ous

14

revo

luti

onar

y na

tion

alis

t ca

dres

tog

ethe

r in

wha

t w

as c

alle

da

Bla

ck

Van

guar

d C

onfe

renc

e.

The

B

lack

Van

guar

d C

onfe

r-en

ce w

as t

o be

a s

ecre

t, al

l-bl

ack,

; ll

-mal

e co

nfer

ence

to

draf

tst

rate

gy

for

the

prop

osed

mar

ch o

n W

ashi

ngto

n an

d di

rect

ion

of

the

mov

emen

t. T

he

conf

eren

ce

-vas

hel

d in

ear

ly A

ugus

tin

C

leve

land

, O

hio.

A

ctiv

ists

at

tend

ed

from

C

hica

go,

New

Yor

k, P

hila

delp

hia

and

Cle

vela

nd. D

etro

it w

as b

arre

d be

caus

eof

a s

ecur

ity

leak

in

the

cadr

e th

ere.

Fre

eman

pr

esid

ed

over

th

e co

nfer

ence

. D

iscu

ssio

nce

nter

ed

arou

nd c

hang

ing

the

exis

ting

civ

il ri

ghts

m

ovem

ent

into

a r

evol

utio

nary

na

tion

alis

t m

ovem

ent.

It

was

dis

cuss

edth

at

the

cadr

e co

uld

achi

eve

this

by

infi

ltra

ting

the

exi

stin

gci

vil

righ

ts

grou

ps

and

also

by

pr

ovid

ing

a le

ft a

lter

nati

vefr

om

outs

ide

of

the

exis

ting

civ

il ri

ghts

gr

oups

(C

OR

E,

SNC

C,

NA

AC

P,

SC

LC

). T

he m

arch

on

Was

hing

ton

was

als

odi

scus

sed.

It

was

de

cide

d (h

at a

n or

gani

/er

wou

ld

be

sent

into

Was

hing

ton

prio

r to

the

mar

ch

lo d

ecid

e w

hat

kind

of

ast

rate

gy t

he c

adre

sho

uld

lake

dur

ing

I he

mar

ch.

Dur

ing

the

disc

ussi

on

on

wha

t fo

rm

the

coal

itio

n of

acti

vist

s sh

ould

ta

ke,

the

begi

nnin

gs o

f an

id

eolo

gica

l spl

item

erge

d.

Chi

cago

an

d N

ew

Yor

k fa

vore

d us

ing

the

nam

eR

AM

—

Rev

olut

iona

ry A

ctio

n M

ovem

ent

— s

ince

RA

M

had

esta

blis

hed

a m

ass

brea

kthr

ough

. Tho

se a

dvoc

atin

g th

is p

osi-

tion

w

ante

d a

tigh

t-kn

it s

truc

ture

bas

ed

on d

isci

plin

ed c

ells

,w

ith

rule

s an

d or

gani

zati

on

base

d on

dem

ocra

tic

cent

rali

sm.

Free

man

ar

gued

ag

ains

t th

is p

osit

ion

and

advo

cate

d a

loos

eco

alit

ion

call

ed

the

Bla

ck

Lib

erat

ion

Fro

nt.

Phil

adel

phia

vote

d w

ith

Fre

eman

, an

d be

caus

e F

reem

an

had

mor

e ex

peri

-en

ce t

han

mos

t of

the

act

ivis

ts th

ere,

the

res

t vo

ted

on c

alli

ngth

e ga

ther

ing

the

Bla

ck L

iber

atio

n F

ron

t. C

hica

go a

lso

rais

edth

e qu

esti

on o

f w

heth

er t

he

BL

F sh

ould

be

a M

arxi

st-L

enin

-is

t fo

rmat

ion,

but

th

ere

was

no

cons

ensu

s or

agr

eem

ent,

so i

tw

as d

ecid

ed t

hat

the

BL

F w

ould

be

revo

luti

onar

y na

tion

alis

t.A

t th

e M

arch

on

Was

hing

ton,

the

cadr

e ag

ain

met

. T

heB

LF

orga

nize

r w

ho

had

been

se

nt

to

Was

hing

ton

repo

rted

that

the

mar

ch d

idn'

t ha

ve s

uppo

rt f

rom

the

maj

orit

y of

the 15

Page 9

blac

k co

mm

unit

y th

ere;

fro

m

his

conv

ersa

tion

s w

ith

peop

leon

the

str

eet,

man

y di

dn''

know

a m

arch

w

as b

eing

pla

nned

1'or

D.C

. It

w

as a

lso

ob:,

-rve

d th

at

the

arm

y w

as p

oste

d at

stra

tegi

c pl

aces

in

the

'-it

y an

d w

as o

n al

ert

to

mov

e in

in

case

of

tr

oubl

e. O

n t!

'o

basi

s of

th

e re

port

, it

was

dec

ided

just

to

part

icip

ate

in 1

'ie m

arch

and

obs

erve

.B

y ch

ance

, w

hs!-

- ca

dres

wer

e ha

ndin

g ou

t le

afle

ts i

n th

eco

mm

unit

y,

they

ra

n in

to

Don

ald

War

den,

w

ho

was

the

nch

airm

an o

f th

e A

AA

(A

fro-

Am

eric

an

Ass

ocia

tion

). A

mee

t-in

g w

as s

et u

p w

ith

War

den,

who

ran

dow

n w

hat

the

AA

Aw

as

abou

t fo

r ab

out

2V-J

hour

s.

Aft

er

the

mee

ting

it

was

deci

ded

that

the

cad

re w

ould

sta

y in

tou

ch w

ith

War

den,

but

Fre

eman

con

clud

ed

that

War

den

was

a b

ourg

eois

nat

iona

list

.It

was

dec

ided

tha

t th

e ca

dre

wou

ld g

o ba

ck t

o th

eir

resp

ec-

tive

loc

ales

and

bui

ld b

ases

.Se

vera

l ev

ents

oc

curr

ed

whi

ch s

hape

d th

e ci

vil

righ

tsm

ovem

ent

and

late

r th

e bl

ack

libe

rati

on m

ovem

ent.

One

was

the

bom

bing

of

four

bl

ack

sist

ers

in a

chu

rch

in B

irm

ingh

am,

Ala

bam

a. T

he n

ews

of t

his

both

ang

ered

the

bla

ck c

om

mu

ni-

ty

and

seni

w

aves

of

dem

oral

izat

ion

insi

de

the

civi

l ri

ghts

mov

emen

t. It

w

as

like

a

mor

tal

blow

af

ter

the

Mar

ch o

nW

ashi

ngto

n. T

hen

cam

e th

e as

sass

inat

ion

of J

ohn

Ken

nedy

,pr

esid

ent

of

the

U.S

. M

any

Neg

roes

acr

oss

the

coun

try

felt

they

had

los

t a

frie

nd.

To

the

cadr

e, t

he u

ltra

-rig

ht h

ad m

ade

a m

ove. M

alco

lm X

, sp

eaki

ng t

he S

unda

y af

ter

the

assa

ssin

atio

n,m

ade

refe

renc

e to

th

e K

enne

dy

assa

ssin

atio

n as

"ch

icke

nsco

min

g ho

me

to r

oo

st."

Kli

jah

Mu

ham

mad

, hea

d of

the

Na-

tion

of

Isla

m,

susp

ende

d M

alco

lm f

rom

spe

akin

g fo

r 90

day

san

d la

ter

exte

nded

I h

e su

spen

sion

ind

efin

itel

y.!n

Ph

ilad

elph

ia,

a w

hile

cop

sho

t a

blac

k ep

ilep

tic

in t

heba

ck o

f tl

ie h

ead

and

kill

ed h

im. A

coa

liti

on o

f bl

ack

radi

cal

grou

ps h

eld

mas

s ra

llie

s to

pro

test

pol

ice

brut

alit

y. A

fter

one

of t

he

rail

ies,

bla

ck t

eena

gers

beg

an s

mal

l-sc

ale

riot

ing.

RA

M,

obse

rvin

g I l

ie

riot

, be

gan

to

Iheo

ri/c

ab

ou

t th

e po

tent

ial

ofth

is k

ind

of a

ctiv

ity.

The

co

alit

ion

led

mas

s m

arch

es

on

the

cop'

s po

lice

stat

ion

only

to

be m

et

by m

achi

ne g

uns

star

ing

them

in

the

face

. T

he

coal

itio

n de

cide

d it

had

gone

as

far

as i

t co

uld

gow

itho

ut g

etti

ng i

nnoc

ent

peop

le h

urt

.F

reem

an

trav

eled

to

P

hila

delp

hia

to

talk

to

th

e R

AM

'ca

dre.

He

told

th

e ca

dre

to c

ease

all

pub

lic

acti

vity

and

sai

dth

at

the

ultr

a-ri

ght

was

pr

epar

ing

to c

rush

the

mov

emen

t.T

he w

ord

was

, "g

o un

derg

roun

d."

17