Jackson, Miss - Stokely Carmichael -- SNCC leader -- speak of black power at rally
Speech · Black Liberation · 02:23
Stokely Carmichael
Summary
In a rally in Jackson, Mississippi, Stokely Carmichael, leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), delivers a passionate speech on black power. He outlines four key actions for Black people: overcoming shame of being Black, defining their own terms, fostering unity from Watts to Harlem, and building a formidable power base. He then critiques U.S. foreign policy, denouncing Black soldiers as mercenaries—hired killers who fight for freedom abroad while lacking it at home, even struggling to get a decent burial upon return.
Transcript (diarized)
Stokely Carmichael: I want to talk to black people across this country. There are four things we have to do. Number one, we have to stop being ashamed of being black. We've got to stop being ashamed of being black. Number two, we have to move into a position where we can define terms for what we want them to be, not what racist white society wants it to be. We have to move to define. We have to move to a position where we can feel strength and unity amongst each other from Watts to Harlem, where we won't ever be afraid. And the last thing we have to do is to build a power base so strong in this country that will bring them to their knees every time they mess with us. Now we have to talk about the foreign policy in this country because black people are nothing but mercenaries. A mercenary is a hired killer. And in our ghettos and in our rural areas of the South, our only chance is to go into the army. And what this country is saying to us is the only way we can have a decent life is to become a hired killer. We've got to stop that.
Speaker 2: We've got to stop that.
Stokely Carmichael: A black mercenary is a man who goes to deliver freedom for somebody else when he doesn't have it where he comes from. We're mercenaries. A black mercenary is a man who leaves his land and goes to another land and gets shot over there and is afraid to fight for it on his own land.
Speaker 2: We are mercenaries.
Stokely Carmichael: A black mercenary is a man who can get killed on a foreign land and come home and can't get a decent burial in his hometown. We are mercenaries.