ROBERT F. WILLIAMS, Publisher -In Exile in Cuba
VOL. 7 -No. 1 AUGUST, 1965
USA THE POTENTIAL OF A MINORITY REVOLUTION
excerpt:
“Could a minority revolution succeed in racist America? It most certainly could! Theoretically, how could a minority segment win if it collectively decided to embark on such a serious course? Total unity would be required among the youth and a strong revolutionary nationalist spirit would have to prevail throughout the land. The segregationists, the hypocritical politicians and the terrorists have already paved the way for the latter. The spirit of self-sacrifice, selfless dedication to the triumph of a cause greater than any single individual, a feeling of self-confidence in ultimate victory, unshakable courage and identification with the struggling oppressed peoples of the world would be the necessary attributes for the success of a minority revolution.
Organization would require many facets . Groups dedicated to militant demonstrations would have to apply constant pressure to the power structure, create chaos and confusion and force the oppressor to unmask his ugly face before the world by reacting even more brutally and indiscriminately against Constitutional forces . This would expose the true nature of the power structure and inspire greater resistance to it .
Armed defense guards would have to be formed throughout the land. These groups would be organized within the confines of the law and when possible become sporting rifle clubs affiliated with the National Rifle Association. They would function only as defense units to safeguard life, limb and property in the ghetto communities. Some form of central direction would be necessary. A tightly organized and well disciplined underground guerilla force would also have to be formed to perform a more aggressive mission. It would have to be clandestinely organized and well versed in explo-segregationists, the hypocritical politicians and the terrorists have already paved the way for the latter . The spirit of self-sacrifice, selfless dedication to the triumph of a cause greater than any single individual, a feeling of self-confidence in ultimate victory, unshakable courage and identification with the struggling oppressed peoples of the world would be the necessary attributes for the success of a minority revolution.
Organization would require many facets . Groups dedicated to militant demonstrations would have to apply constant pressure to the power structure, create chaos and confusion and force the oppressor to unmask his ugly face before the world by reacting even more brutally and indiscriminately against Constitutional forces . This would expose the true nature of the power structure and inspire greater resistance to it .
Armed defense guards would have to be formed throughout the land . These groups would be organized within the confines of the law and when possible become sporting rifle clubs affiliated with the National Rifle Association. They would function only as defense units to safeguard life, limb and property in the ghetto communities. Some form of central direction would be necessary. A tightly organized and well disciplined underground guerilla force would also have to be formed to perform a more aggressive mission. It would have to be clandestinely organized and well versed in explo-sives. Its mission would be retaliation and a force used to pin down and disperse concentrated fascist power. It would prevent the power structure from rushing reinforcements to encircle and crush other defense groups engaged in battle against terrorist forces by ambushing, sniping, bombing bridges, booby-trapping and sabotaging highways. A welfare corps would have to be organized to build morale, raise funds, promote legal defense and take charge of the general welfare of the fighting forces and their families. Many of the members of the Welfare organization front would not understand its total function. They would be recruited on a humanitarian basis.
The most aggressive and irrepressible arm of the overall organization would be the fire teams. They would work in complete secrecy and would be totally divorced in the organizational sense from the main bodies of defense and other forces . They would enjoy complete autonomy. The group's only tangible loyalty to them would be in times of distress . Their legal aid in court defense would be rendered by Afro-Americans giving legal aid to victims of kangaroo court systems, as is commonly known where black people stand no chance of obtaining justice. This would be similar to, but more vigorous and militant than the NAACP's role.
The fire teams' mission would be sabotage. Thousands of these groups would be organized throughout racist America. These teams would consist of from three to four persons. They would only know the members of their immediate team. They would not identify with the civil rights movement. They would appear to be apathetic and even Uncle Toms. They would sometimes masquerade as super patriots, and be more than willing, in a deceptive way, to cooperate with the police. They would even infiltrate the police force and armed forces when possible, and work in the homes of officials as domestics. There would be no official meetings and discussions, only emergency calls and sudden missions.
The mission of these thousands of active fire teams would be setting strategic fires. They could render America's cities and countryside impotent. They could travel from city to city placing lighted candles covered by large paper bags in America's forests, and have time to be far removed from the scene by the time the lighted candle burned to the dried leaves. While unsparingly setting the torch to everything that would burn in the cities, and while concentrating on urban guerilla warfare, the rural countryside would not be neglected. Aside from the devastating damage that could be visited upon the countryside, such a mission could serve a twofold purpose. It would also divert enemy forces from the urban centers. State forces would be forced to spread their ranks and would not be able to sustain massive troop concentrations in a single community . The heat and smoke generated from the fires would render some of the highways impassable to repressive troop reinforcements.
The rural countryside covers vast areas and would require exhaustive man power, equipment and security forces . America cannot afford to allow its rich timber resources and crops to go up in smoke. The fire teams roving in automobiles would find unguarded rural objectives even more accessible. A few teams could start miles and miles of fires from one city to the other. The psychological impact would be tremendous . By day the billowing smoke would be seen for miles. By night the entire sky would reflect reddish flames that would elicit panic and a feeling of impending doom. Operating in teams of twos or threes, one freedom fighter could pour gasoline or lighter fluid from a small flask into public waste paper baskets, another could later enter and toss a lighted cigarette in the same container. Near closing time kitchen matches could be placed in the air conditioning systems of industrial and public buildings. The property of racists would be designated as priority objectives . Through this method, the racist oppressors could be reduced to poverty in a short span of time.
These fire teams could also go on pre-dawn missions just before the morning rush for work. Their objective would be to spread tacks fitted with wire bases to insure their upright position when thrown from a moving automobile in heavily travelled tunnels and freeways . Pure havoc would ensue. Sugar or sand in gas tanks could be used to knock out the engines of public vehicles . During police invasions of the ghetto, lye and acid bombs could be thrown from roof tops . Many forms of booby traps could be utilized.
Yes, a minority revolution could succeed in racist America. It could succeed because the winds of rebellion are rising against the racist oppressor throughout the world. It could triumph because the Afro-American struggle is part and parcel of the universal liberation struggle . It must be handled as such. It is only natural that the power structure would like to keep it isolated and provincial . The enemy's tactic is to divide and conquer. The Afro-American has sought to join the white American league since first arriving in chains in the new world. He has been brutally rejected. The racist whites have made it plain, in no uncertain terms, that the black American is never to be fully accepted in the mainstream of the so-called great society. It is as natural as water seeking its level for the Afro-American to turn to the oppressed peoples of the world to make common cause in the universal revolution for freedom and human dignity. What greater indication do we need, than centuries of barbaric oppression, that the U.S. power structure is our natural enemy?
With or without a common cause with the Afro-American the universal freedom forces are going to triumph over U.S . racist imperialism. The question is simply whether or not the black
American is going to perish with racist imperialist America as a party to her savage crimes against oppressed and progressive human-nity or whether he is going to contribute to the great victory of revolutionary humanity destined to fulfill its historical role .
In summary, let it be made clear that I am not advocating a minority revolution. I am merely exploring certain theoretical potentials as an alternative to passive submission to proposed genocide as projected by the racist, fascist and terrorist white groups now growing by leaps and bounds in the racist and imperialist USA. I hope that others, who are genuinely interested in the survival of black people in racist America, will analyze, debate and contribute to this thesis in a way that our people need never fear extermination under racial tyranny and fascism.
Each year rioting, as a result of police brutality and oppression, becomes more extensive and ferocious. We can neither pray nor hope our way out of this difficult situation. We must defend ourselves . We must fight, and we must fight to win. We must also consider the immediate necessity of effective self-defense and resist- ance to racist terror. During times of massive rioting too many of our people are forced to fight armed cops and troops with bare hands and stones . Cops and troops must be disarmed and their weapons turned against other cops to obtain weapons of defense. Tanks and armoured cars must be knocked out with molotov cocktails and captured when possible. Bazookas and mortars must be taken from troops and national guard armories to prevent heavy concentration of troops and invasion by overwhelming force. The Minutemen, Confederate Underground and other terrorist groups are arming and training with U.S. Army gear such as bazookas, mortars, hand grenades, machine guns and gas masks. Sub-machine guns are even being manufactured in small shops controlled by these fascist groups . These private arsenals must be located and raided for weapons and ammunition. These weapons can also be used to do extensive damage. Oil storage tanks and natural gas lines could be fired through delayed methods. The oppressor must be forced to pay heavily economically for his police brutality, pogroms, racist court frameups and white supremacy terror. The racist imperialist is an unmerciful bully when he can control a situation with his sophisticated weapons of death and destruction.
On the international scene, he will not hesitate to embark on the world's greatest campaign of slaughter in a desperate effort to save himself. The Afro-American liberation force is the only force in the world secure from fascist America's devastating nuclear force. He cannot use nuclear weapons against his own population, property and cities . In such a minority revolution, racist America's very essence of strength and power would become the Achilles' heel of her security and struggle for world domination.
The advanced technology of the affluent society has made it soft, nervous and hypersensitive . It is a society fearful of the cold realities of life . A society devoid of soul and humanism. A jungle society of dog eat dog, a society of frightful automation that is addicted to tranquilizers. Racist Americans are not psychologically prepared for fire storms, power, communications and transportation failures and long periods without public utilities. The Afro-American has been under siege since the very beginning of his days as a captive person in the so-called New World. Terror is a way of life for the great masses of Afro-Americans . Our people have practically become immune to the fear that flows from violence and brutality. Such a minority revolution could only succeed as an integral part of the universal liberation struggle. From this point of view, we would not be an isolated minority in racist America, but a highly concentrated sector of a majority revolution.
The Afro-American must take his fate into his own hands. He cannot rely on racist white brutes to dole out liberty like a welfare commodity. His only hope lies in concerted action with his oppressed brothers throughout the world. The racist imperialists are doomed. They cannot muster the power to save themselves. They are morally bankrupt . The vast majority of white Americans are racists who currently identify with U.S. imperialism. They have been deluded into believing that they have a vested interest in the oppressive and corrupt system . There is more hope, at this stage of struggle, for a rabid wolf than white supremacy orientated white workers allying themselves with racially oppressed Negroes. They are no more reliable in coming to the defense of persecuted Negroes than the German working class was in coming to the defense of the Jews under Hitler . The Afro-American is as alien to the so-called American way of life as a shoe shine boy is to Wall Street . The Afro-American is an outcast, the disinherited of the very society that he helped make affluent . The wilderness that his slave labor cleared; the sprawling cities that he helped build, his rebellious and freedom-starved spirit can make barren and desolate again.
While U.S. strength is spread around the world in a hypocritical gesture of making the world safe for so-called democracy, democracy goes begging at home. Let racist America be apprised of the fact that she can no longer count on a peaceful and united front at home so long as the Afro-American is brutally subjected to racial tyranny. Racism and imperialism are destroying the U.S .A. If her choice is doom rather than justice -if she prefers to emasculate and compromise the Constitution rather than to honor it ; then her irreversible choice most surely will be accommodated by the invincible historical tide of justice-loving humanity, gloriously storming the tyrannical bastions of imperialism and racism.
Our choice must be freedom or death. We must prepare ourselves to obtain freedom by any means. Let the phony liberals, the pseudo socialists, and their fellow-traveling avowed racists call us what they will . Our cause is just, our cause is freedom. Let us be labeled anything but pacifists suffering racial tyranny in a masochistic spirit of loving oppressive beasts. Yes, in racist America a minority revolution can succeed. Those who counsel patience and nonviolence, in the face of tyranny and aggression as against vigorous self-defense, are the vanguard puppets of U.S. imperialism, white supremacy and its oppressive status quo. They are foolhardy reactionaries, dreaming their psychotic dreams of a white supremacy slave kingdom, in ivory towers fast submerging in the quicksands of time. Yes, because of the relativity of righteous struggle, a minority revolution in racist America can succeed and bring about the establishment of a just and humanitarian government truly of the people, by the people, and for the people, dedicated to universal peace and brotherhood.”