A Black Paper on White Racism Part 1 (1971)

Summary

This video script explores the concept of white racism through a panel discussion featuring scholars and philosophers. It delves into the institutional practices of racism, the historical roots in European colonization, and the impact on black culture and identity. The conversation covers topics such as the control of black education, the distortion of Christianity to serve white interests, and the need for a reclamation of black values and culture. The panelists emphasize the importance of understanding and challenging the racist structures that pervade society to empower black communities.

Takeaways

• 📜 The script discusses the misunderstanding of racism, emphasizing that it's not just individual but also institutional, where practices indirectly related to race can perpetuate subordination.
• 🔍 It provides an example of institutional racism with all-white unions that only sponsor white members, thus excluding black individuals and maintaining a cycle of racial bias.
• 🌍 The conversation highlights that racism was historically used to justify the slave trade, colonialism, and the ruthlessness required for the development of modern capitalism.
• 🏛️ The script challenges the traditional Eurocentric narrative, arguing that racial classifications were artificially created to benefit certain groups and justify their dominance.
• 🏫 In education, racism is evident in the control of black education by whites, the exclusion of black communities from influence, and the failure of schools to acknowledge or address racism.
• ⛪️ The religious perspective presented argues that the Christian church has been complicit in racism, with a historical misrepresentation of Jesus as white and the perpetuation of white dominance in religious narratives.
• 🖼️ The script addresses the historical erasure and whitewashing of black figures in religious iconography, noting the shift from black Madonnas to white ones as part of the racial redefinition of Christianity.
• 🧠 The discussion points out the psychological impact of racism, suggesting that black people have been conditioned to view themselves and their communities through a white, often negative, lens.
• 🌿 There's a call for a reclamation of black history and culture, advocating for the development of black psychology, sociology, and educational systems that reflect black experiences and values.
• 💡 The script concludes with a call to action for the black community to reject white-defined values and institutions, and to build power structures that serve and empower black people.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the discussion in the script?

The main focus of the discussion is the exploration of white racism, its institutional practices, and the impact on black people, including how racism is perpetuated through various societal institutions such as education, history, and religion.

How is racism defined in the context of the script?

Racism is defined as the subordination of a person or group because of their race. It also includes institutional practices where a group is subordinated by factors indirectly related to race, such as union membership based on sponsorship by existing white members.

What is the role of historical context in understanding racism as discussed in the script?

The historical context, particularly the opening of the 'New World' and the actions of figures like Christopher Columbus, is crucial for understanding the roots of racism. It sets the stage for how European powers justified their conquests and the subsequent enslavement and colonization of non-European peoples.

Why did the European church issue a papal bull in 1455, and how does it relate to racism?

The papal bull was issued to resolve disputes between Portugal and Spain over rights to colonize and enslave non-Christian peoples. It authorized both nations to 'reduce to servitude all infidel people,' which were predominantly non-European, thus providing religious justification for racism and the slave trade.

How does the script suggest that racism is maintained in educational institutions?

Racism is maintained in educational institutions through control by white people, exclusion of black people from white communities, and the organization of schools as if racism does not exist. This includes a lack of representation and influence of black people in educational decision-making processes.

What is the perspective on the portrayal of Jesus and Christianity in the script?

The script argues that the portrayal of Jesus as white and the interpretation of Christianity as a white religion are historically false and theologically absurd. It suggests that the true origins of Christianity are African and that the religion has been distorted to serve white interests.

How does the script connect the concept of private property and capitalism to racism?

The script connects private property and capitalism to racism by suggesting that these concepts were used to justify the enslavement and subordination of black people. It argues that the notion of private property was used to exploit black labor and that capitalism benefited from this exploitation.

What is the suggested role of the black church according to the script?

The script suggests that the black church should become a power base for black people, a revolutionary instrument in the hands of black people, and a source of black values and culture that counters white power and the institutions that perpetuate racism.

How does the script discuss the psychological impact of racism on black people?

The script discusses the psychological impact of racism by highlighting how black people are educated to hate themselves and their communities, and how they are taught to view white standards as the norm. It calls for a black psychology that understands and counters the effects of living in a white-dominated society.

What is the script's stance on the values of African and Western societies?

The script contrasts African communalistic values with Western individualistic and materialistic values. It suggests that black people should reject the latter and return to their African roots, emphasizing the importance of communalism and a value system that opposes the materialism and individualism of Western society.

Outlines

00:00

📜 Understanding Racism and Its Institutional Impact

The first paragraph introduces the concept of racism, emphasizing the misunderstanding surrounding its definition and effects. It distinguishes between individual racism, which is the subordination based on race, and institutional racism, where a group is subordinated by indirectly race-related factors. An example given is an all-white union that perpetuates its racial composition by a sponsorship system, excluding black members. The discussion highlights that racist behavior can be both intentional and unintentional, often involving individuals unknowingly participating in racist patterns. The paragraph also touches on how standards and values for black people have been historically defined by white culture, and introduces six black scholars and philosophers who will discuss various aspects of racism in society.

05:01

🏛️ Racism in Education and the Christian Church

Paragraph two delves into the manifestations of racism in education and the Christian Church. It argues that white control over black education, both in integrated and segregated settings, is a clear evidence of racism. The discussion points out that schools continue to operate as if racism does not exist, despite living in a racist society. The conversation then shifts to the Christian Church, criticizing its portrayal of Jesus as white, which is historically and theologically inaccurate. The paragraph suggests that Christianity began as a black man's religion and that Jesus was a black messiah. It calls for the black church to become independent and reconnect with its African roots, to serve as a revolutionary instrument for black liberation.

10:02

🖼️ The Historical Whitewashing of Christianity and Its Imagery

Paragraph three discusses the historical shift in the portrayal of Jesus and the Madonna from black to white, reflecting the broader process of European colonization and the teaching of history from a white perspective. It criticizes the early Christian Church, particularly Apostle Paul, for altering the African roots of Christianity to make it more palatable to the Greco-Roman world. The paragraph also addresses the misconception that modern white Jews are directly connected to the biblical Jews, emphasizing that black Jews still exist and have a continuous lineage from the biblical period. The discussion calls for a reclamation of the true history and a rejection of the whitewashed narratives.

15:04

📚 The Racist Tendencies in Education and the Need for Black Empowerment

The fourth paragraph criticizes the educational process for teaching black students against their own interests, fostering self-hatred and alienation. It points out the lack of focus on solving problems specific to the black community in educational curricula. The discussion extends to the broader societal institutions, arguing that they are inherently racist and serve to maintain white power. The paragraph calls for the development of black psychology, sociology, and history that reflect the realities and values of black communities, and for the black church to become a base for empowering black people and challenging the existing power structures.

20:06

🌏 Clash of Values: African Communalism vs. European Individualism

Paragraph five contrasts the communalistic values of African societies with the individualistic and materialistic values of European societies. It discusses how the harsh living conditions in Europe led to a need for individualism and materialism, while the abundance of resources in Africa fostered a sharing culture. The paragraph argues that black people should reject the values imposed by white culture and return to their own historical values. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the historical and cultural context in which these values developed and the need for black people to assert their own value system in opposition to the dominant white materialism and individualism.

25:07

🌱 Reclaiming Black Values and Challenging White Supremacy

The final paragraph reiterates the need for black people to reclaim their values and not be swayed by the values of white society. It discusses the historical context of European colonization and how black people's hospitality was misunderstood and exploited by Europeans. The paragraph calls for a reevaluation of what is 'good' and 'bad' in favor of what is 'real' and beneficial for black people. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing the power dynamics at play and the need for black empowerment and self-determination.

Keywords

💡Racism

Racism is defined in the script as the subordination of a person or group because of race. It is a central theme of the video, with a focus on both individual and institutional racism. The video discusses how racism is not just intentional but also unintentional, deeply ingrained in societal institutions, and has historical roots in the colonization and enslavement of non-white peoples.

💡Institutional Racism

Institutional racism refers to the ways in which systems and institutions, such as education, law, and the economy, perpetuate racial inequality. In the video, examples like unions with all-white memberships that only allow white members to sponsor new members are given, illustrating how such practices can exclude people of color without explicit racial discrimination.

💡Subordination

Subordination in the context of the video means the act of making someone rank lower or submit to another's authority, often based on racial grounds. It is used to describe the systemic oppression of black people and how it's perpetuated through various societal structures.

💡Colonialism

Colonialism is the practice of a powerful country controlling and exploiting a weaker country. The video connects colonialism to the historical roots of racism, highlighting how it was used to justify the enslavement and oppression of non-European peoples.

💡Slave Trade

The slave trade is discussed as a historical practice that racism was created to justify. It refers to the transatlantic trade where millions of Africans were forcibly taken and sold as slaves, shaping the racial dynamics that persist today.

💡White Supremacy

White supremacy is an ideology that white people are superior to people of other races. The video suggests that many societal institutions and norms are built upon this ideology, leading to the marginalization and oppression of non-white individuals.

💡Cultural Hegemony

Cultural hegemony refers to the dominance of one culture over others, often leading to the suppression or erasure of minority cultures. The video discusses how white culture has historically defined the standards of beauty, social etiquette, and even names, thereby imposing its values on others.

💡Educational Inequality

Educational inequality is a key concept in the video, highlighting the disparities in educational opportunities and resources available to different racial groups. It is linked to the broader theme of institutional racism, as the control over black education by white people is critiqued.

💡Black Nationalism

Black nationalism is a political ideology that advocates for the self-determination and self-government of black people. The video mentions black Christian nationalism as a movement that seeks to reclaim the African roots of Christianity and use the church as a base for empowerment.

💡Psychological Development

Psychological development in the video refers to the impact of racism on the mental and emotional well-being of black individuals. It is discussed in the context of how societal norms and institutions can lead to internalized racism and a negative self-image among black people.

💡Communalism

Communalism is a social and political ideology that emphasizes the importance of community and shared ownership over individualism. The video contrasts communalism, which is associated with traditional African societies, with the individualism and materialism of Western societies.

Highlights

The definition and effects of racism are often misunderstood, particularly its impact on black individuals.

Institutional racism involves subordination of a group indirectly related to race, such as all-white unions excluding black members.

Racist behavior can be both intentional and unintentional, often perpetuated by individuals unknowingly participating in racist patterns.

Standards and values for black people have historically been defined by white culture, including beauty standards and social etiquette.

The concept of race is an artificial creation by man, used to justify the slave trade and colonialism.

Racism was created to justify the ruthlessness required in the making of modern capitalism.

Education is a clear evidence of racism, with control over black education often in the hands of whites who may not understand black culture and history.

White communities can influence black education even in the absence of black residents, maintaining a form of control.

Schools are organized as if racism does not exist, with no real shift in power or change in content to reflect a racist society.

The Christian church has been complicit in racism, with white interpretations of Jesus and Christianity being historically inaccurate.

Black Christianity should return to its African roots, as the original Christianity was a black man's religion.

The image of Christianity as white is a result of European colonization of history and cultural narratives.

The portrayal of Jesus as white is an insult to Jewish people and a distortion of historical and religious facts.

The educational process often teaches black children to hate themselves and be advocates for the mainstream against their own people.

The struggle for black people is a struggle for power against white people's efforts to maintain power.

Black people should reject white values and return to their own historic black values, which are communalistic and different from white individualism and materialism.

The black church should become a power base for black people to challenge the institutional conception that perpetuates their powerlessness.

Transcripts

[Music]

good evening

this week and next we will present a

black paper on white racism

frequently the definition and effects of

racism are greatly misunderstood

certainly the impact on blacks can only

be described by us

an operational definition of individual

racism is

subordination of a person or group

because of race

but we will focus on the institutional

practice of racism

when a group is subordinated by factors

indirectly related to race

an example would be a union with all

white members

you can only get in the union if a

member sponsors you

and automatically whites select one

another so this pattern of selection

automatically keeps blacks out

the union is white in the first place

because its membership

reflects the leftover patterns of

slavery therefore

racist behavior is both intentional and

unintentional

our institutions mostly involve

unsuspecting individuals

who are part of a racist pattern all

definitions

of black people's standards and values

have been defined by whites in a society

basically european as simple as it may

seem

we have never made any definition of our

condition beauty standards

social etiquette even our names have

been given us

by white culture to make an

authoritative statement of our concept

of christianity history education

values and culture war colonialism and

imperialism

and psychological development and how

these institutions

operate in a white racist society six

black scholars and philosophers

have been invited to present positions

and analyses of these topics

with me tonight are john henrik clark

an associate professor of african and

afro-american history at hunter college

in new york

mr clark is also author of 11 books

including harlem usa

preston wilcox head of the education

workshop of the congress of african

people

is president of afram associates a black

educational consultant firm

and as an outstanding author reverend

albert clegg is

pastor of the shrine of the black

madonna in detroit michigan and an

advocate of black christian nationalism

he is author of a soon-to-be published

book black christian nationalism

new directions for the black church

brother clark

i'd like to begin by establishing some

kind of a frame of reference

exactly what are we talking about

and i think in order to do this i'm

going to try to dismiss the subject then

come back to it

and deal with it there is no such thing

as a race nature created no races

man created races racial classifications

and he had his own reason for doing it

now

who benefited from this artificial

creation

at first who benefits from it now

now let's look at the historical roots

of this whole thing

and you're not going to understand it

until you understand the implications

the far-reaching effects of the opening

up of the so-called new world

christopher columbus and other thugs

coming

suppressing the um the indians and

finding a justification for this kind

of thing let's look at europe in the

15th

and the 16th century because racism

has its roots in that second rise of

europe

in the 15th in the 16th century they had

to justify

what they were going to do to most of

mankind

they were about to take over the whole

world

now there's a myth about an argument

about whether the world was round or

flat

that's an old wives tale the european

had gained

enough knowledge and had enough guns

and he had been hungry enough within the

body of europe

until he decided that he was going to go

out and take the world

be it round our flat now

in order to understand the religious

basis of racism we have to go back

to a papal bull that the pope issued

in 1455 in an argument between

portugal and spain he turned to them

impatiently and said

you are both authorized to reduce to

servitude

all infidel people and it just so

happens that most of the so-called

infidels

were non-european people non-white

people

europe not only had its bases

for racism it had its basis for the

slave trade

and the same basis would be good in the

colonial system

that followed racism was created

to justify the slave trade to justify

the colonial system

and to justify the up to ruthlessness

that had to

go into the making of modern capitalism

mr wilcox let me begin by suggesting

that the

clearest evidence of racism and

education is the essential control

over black education both in so-called

integrated settings and in segregated

settings

by white people many of whom are

incapable of responding to the people

that are educating as people

many of whom are incapable of

understanding the culture and the

history of the people who are educating

many of whom really

do not see any kind of responsibility

for involving these communities and

managing their own education the second

kind of

aspect is the the ability of white

communities to keep

black people out of their communities

and still

yet exercise some influence over the

education

and black communities that is uh even

when there's no blacks in the white

community whites are still

having some kind of influence over the

education in black communities

a third example is the ways way in which

our schools are organized

despite the fact that we know we live in

a racist society the schools

continue to be organized as though

racism does not exist

that is there has been no real shift of

power within the school there's been no

effective change in the content uh

there's been no

uh forthright recognition of the

politics involved in in

education for instance in new york city

about 55 percent of

the students are black and puerto rican

yet we have one

black and one puerto rican member on a

school board of five people

so three white people are making

decisions that affect 55

of people who they may not be able to

respect his people

reverend clay well i think the the basic

uh reason or symptom

or proof for the racism of the

christian church is the simple fact that

white people have pretended for so long

that that jesus was white

and that they've had the necessity to

interpret jesus as being white when

essentially white christianity is

racially uh

is historically false and

theologically absurd and practically in

terms of its effect on black people

it's a debasing institution that

enslaves black people

i think we have to understand though

that this we're not making moral

judgments here any institution that

exists in any society exists to serve

the interests of the people who set it

up

and christianity uh began as a black

man's religion it's an african religion

we have to remember that israel went

into egypt

with 70 people and after approximately

750 years came out with over 2 million

people

and hordes of other slaves who came out

and became also part of the emerging new

nation of israel

so israel the biblical israel was a

black nation an african nation

that came out of uh of africa

and kept constant ties with africa and

so we have to remember then that jesus

was a

was a black messiah not a not a white

messiah and he comes out of the whole

historical background of of africa

of african traditions of african history

of african culture

the concept of communalism the concept

of the chosen people

the concept of kingdom of god on earth

all these things were

out of african tradition not out of the

white man's tradition

and jesus was essentially a

revolutionary

messiah who was trying to lead a black

people in a revolt

in a struggle and conflict with a white

gentile oppressor

so the whole church has to be viewed

from the point of view of the white

oppressor

the white oppressor has one kind of

christianity as one kind of church

the black church has to become

independent and go back to the historic

african roots of christianity

because the slave church that the white

man set up for black people

tends to continue the enslavement of

black people so the black church has to

become again a revolutionary

instrument in the hands of black people

controlled by black people

fighting as jesus fought for the

liberation of black people against white

gentile oppression

i'd like to continue well from reverend

klig's

point and deal briefly with image

because

image is the paramount factor in keeping

racism

alive now exactly when did the christian

church

become um become white in as much as

christ is

described in early literature as being

swarthy and heaven hair like

sheep's wool and that's surely not a

caucasian's hair

um the first image of the church the

first image of the madonna was

the black madonnas and these black

madonnas were very prevalent

in the churches of europe up until the

16th and the 17th century

there was no white madonnas in the

churches of europe and some of the

churches of europe to this very day

have black madonnas all right at what

point

did christianity become um all white and

at what point did christ become

a blonde blue eyed person that hangs in

your churches and with a haircut and a

uniform he'd probably be a good nazi

all right um one thing the jews seem to

have forgotten is that

the pitch of christ as in present-day

literature is an insult to them

because there's nothing particularly

jewish

about him physically um or otherwise

all right now another thing we're going

to have to look at

seriously is that when the europeans

projected themselves out into the

broader world

they not only colonize most of mankind

they colonize the teaching of history

itself

and gradually so many things black

became um became white

i'd like to just say one little word

about the when did christianity become

white

the process uh by which christianity

became gradually to be interpreted as

being white began at a very early point

with

apostle paul who wrote the epistles of

the new testament

and who was even at that time with black

israel and black jews

an uncle tom jew uh he was an uncle town

black jew

and he wanted to identify with white

gentile world he prided himself on being

a pharisee but more

on being having roman citizenship so as

soon as he had

sunstroke on the damascus road and said

he's been converted

he started out to take the christianity

the teachings of jesus to the gentile

world

now he could not take the revolutionary

teachings that jesus had actually taught

because jesus was a zealot

and they they were engaged in revolution

i mean open revolution he was one of the

the zealot leaders of that time so he

couldn't take that to the gentile world

so he had had to make an image a symbol

out of jesus on the cross which was

compatible with the heathen symbolism of

the roman

and greco-roman heathen world

so he made jesus a kind of a heathen

symbol that he could take to the gentile

world

and the whole writings of the apostle

paul tend then

to destroy the basic uh

african background of christianity and

to make it compatible

with the uh greco-roman heathen world

so it it began there but the actual

identification

of christianity as being a white

religion didn't really take place until

the 14th 15th 16th centuries

when the pictures were being painted uh

and paid for by the

catholic church at that point white

people had decided to declare black

people inferior

and so the whole concept of of of jesus

being black or the madonna being black

was unacceptable to white people at all

a whole new type of slavery was

beginning to emerge

the old type of slavery in egypt joseph

was a slave

who rose to be second only to pharaoh a

whole different concept to slavery

you were a slave only in the terms that

your labor was taken but gradually the

white man declared that anyone who was

non-white

who was enslaved was declared to be

inferior therefore had a whole different

kind of existence

so the whole gradual thing was a part of

the slavery process that dr clark

mentioned

a part of the uh the betrayal of the

apostle paul

and a part of the fall of uh jerusalem

and the fort

and when jews were scattered all over

the world we have to remember one thing

i think it's very important that the

white jews that we see today

have no bloodline connection with with

the jews of the biblical period

they were converted to judaism in europe

and in in

in russia they were converted and have

no bloodline connection with the black

jews

who make up the biblical israel that the

bible writes about and of which jesus

was a part well what happened to the

black jews

the black jews are still in existence

they're black jews in america they're

black jews all over africa they're black

jews in palestine they're black jews

everywhere

diane's daughter complained not not more

than two years ago

that black jews had moved on either side

of her house and therefore her property

had depreciated

in palestine black jews had depreciated

her property

jews had moved directly from palestine

to india

and the community celebrated its uh

1900th

anniversary or something and they had

white jews who had emigrated from europe

and black jews would originally come

from jerusalem at the fall of

jerusalem had an uninterrupted straight

line of connection from

the fall of jerusalem to india all over

the world there are black jews

but the the zionist jews who had been

converted to judaism

have taken over the the control of the

definition of what

judaism is that's why people do with

anything if they come into it they take

it over and define what it is

as you state in your introductory

statement so we have to remember that

white jews when you see them on the

street

are not the jews of the biblical period

and that sometimes confuses black people

who ought to be black christian

nationalism

one of the things i'm hearing from both

of the brothers is that

not only if whites tried to deceive

blacks about

uh the realities but they in effect

deceived each other about the realities

that is uh i'm sitting here thinking

about uh the institutions in society all

of which are racist

you know which quite created in which

whites have used in order to advance

themselves

but never at any point uh stopping

recognizing for instance that the

prisons have nothing to do with

rehabilitation

or the courts in most cases really have

nothing to do with justice what about

school

what what specifically is uh is a racist

pattern

in your opinion as far as the

educational process or the schools is

concerned

well i would say that the overwhelming

educational

process that is racist is a tendency to

educate people

against their own interests that is to

educate black kids to hate themselves

to educate blacks uh to

feel alienated from their own people uh

to educated blacks to

become advocates for the mainstream

against their own people how is that

done specifically

well i would say that you know the

traditional educational process is

number one the concealing of the truth

about history

uh the educating of black students away

from

the problems of their own community for

instance very few black students on

college campuses

are unable to use their minds to work on

the problems that bedevil the black

community

like sickle cell anemia or the housing

problems

the drug problem problems that are

imposed on the black community by

by the outside very few black students

on white campuses or any campus

are spending their energies and their

minds on trying to find solutions to

those problems

in most cases they're being educated say

with a drug problem

learn how to uh use methadone you know

now look

let's deal with our own historical

naivete until we deal with it we're not

going any place

black people have no right to expect

anything from this establishment

because it wasn't set up for them they

wasn't brought to this country to be

given democracy

it was brought to this country to do

some work to labor and to obey

and once the machines made a whole lot

of these jobs

obsolete it tended to make a whole lot

of the people

obsolete now we keep worrying about the

american promise in the american dream

and we forget it wasn't made to us

the white man has not betrayed anything

because he didn't promise us anything

in the um in the first place now

the role of institutions in a dominant

in a society

is to reflect the power that controls

that society so we have american

institutions arrayed against us

and we not even expect these

institutions to reform themselves

because if they reform themselves that's

tantamount to presiding

over their own demise i'd like to say

one thing on that i think

the question you asked is how how do the

schools

accomplish this i mean you were

concerned about the process i think we

got to understand

that there's no such thing as objective

truth which is implicit in in everything

that

clark says that white people use the

institutions

to accomplish white purpose the white

purpose is to maintain a power position

and keep everybody else in a subordinate

powerless kind of position

now that's the institution's purpose and

that's what it's that's the way it

functions and how it functions

and we've got to realize that that

everything that the schools teach

is designed to fit into that purpose the

schools

teach not objective truth but what the

white man

wants to project is truth now that's

from the from the very kindergarten

right straight on

for example what uh sociology

sociology is not a science in the sense

that it's

dealing objectively with the way people

live together it's dealing with the

white man's pattern of living together

as the norm

by which we judge how other people live

if you live like white people live then

you're living

the way you are supposed to live if not

you're either primitive or insane

as a people psychologically it's the

same thing psychology does not deal

with any uh objective kind of

discussion or development of how people

live or analysis of how people

function as individuals but how does the

white man function

if the white man does it this way then

this is the norm by which we judge

all other people if the white man is

violent then actually all people have to

be violent to be normal

if you're not violent obviously there's

something wrong with it you should be in

an insane asylum

the whole pattern that's set up as a

norm for human behavior by psychologists

all the whole library full of it

psychiatrists everybody that's dealing

with it is dealing with it from a white

point of view

so they have they teach white children

black children and white children to

look to white eyes

from the kindergarten on the black child

is beginning to look at the world and

interpret it through white eyes

everything he is is wrong everything

that exists in his community is wrong

we ought to declare that white music

really is no good that white psychology

is no good

the black the white man either acts like

we do or he's insane

white sociology is no good the very

structure of white society indicates

that white people obviously

in social structure are either insane or

they're abnormal

so we have to project down a black

psychology of black sociology or black

music a black history

that takes in the realities and that is

essentially sound

as opposed to the mythology that the

white man has developed

out of his own uh ignorance for one

thing out of his non-creativity because

white man has never created anything

he's stolen things but never created

anything he cannot

actually deal with history because

history is a recital

of his total failure in his total

absence of making any genuine

contributions

if we define a black psychology of black

sociology

uh where will we use these where would

we

we'd use them first to unscramble our

own mixed up minds

if we could understand that black

psychology is is is the psychology that

black man has to have

if he's going to escape from

powerlessness in a white man's world

now the struggle is a struggle between

black people for power

and white people to keep power now we

all we're dealing with is a power

struggle

every institution that the white man has

he uses in this power struggle

there's nothing wrong with that nothing

immoral about any people would do that

when we get on top we're gonna do

exactly the same thing

we're gonna use every institution to

perpetuate black power

and the white man's gonna have to fight

up from the bottom again for another you

know 100 million years trying to get

back to a position of power

there's nothing wrong with fighting for

power but the thing that's wrong is for

powerless people to accept their

powerlessness

and to accept the definition by which

they are maintained

powerless and to accept the institutions

which perpetuate their powerlessness

so that's why i think the new the black

church has to become a power base

for black people and changing this total

institutional conception

uh structure that black people are

living in we've got to use it as a base

to spin off all the institutions that

black people need

that come from a black perspective a

black orientation and are concerned with

black power

as opposed to white power let's go back

to this value

and i think we we i don't think we've

gone over it

too well um we need to look at what kind

of societies did black people come out

of what happened before this

interference

now we came out of basic pluralistic

societies

but we came out of sharing societies

where

nobody was very rich and nobody at all

was poor

now an african-american society would no

more kill a deer and say this is mine

and he would fly

because he didn't think that way he

thought of all poverty

as belonging to the total community now

we were brought into a society as slaves

just at the time the concept of private

property

and capitalism was getting well underway

with the backing of the church

now there is a clash between the values

of the

the best values of the society we came

out of

in the society that enslaved us and

too many of us are tied up with these

values the sacredness

of private property what is so sacred

about private property

what is so sacred about one man taking

upon himself

more than he could use in a lifetime

while people walking by this mountain of

wealth

starving nothing particularly sacred

about this

and these things did not exist in these

old societies

until these old societies began to have

internal differences

and the european came in

and the african naively permitted him to

arbitrate an

african family dispute until we

understand

that up on site the african

invited the european for dinner that's

the first thing he did

the indian invited the european for

dinner the polynesians invited the

european for dinner

now if you invite people for dinner

you first place you've got plenty dinner

and you have a society that is

traditionally hospitable to strangers

the indians invited christopher columbus

for dinner

the first thing they did all right

now let's look at what was happening

inside of christopher columbus's mind

and we can go to his own diary for this

he said i wonder why they're so friendly

they'll be easier to conquer

than i thought they would be i wonder

why they're bringing such small amounts

of gold

i wonder where the minds are his

intentions were not

good it wasn't good then

the intentions are not good now and the

black man

is still hung up with this dinner

invitation

this kindness with the thought that if

you create a create

treat a person humanely then he would

accumulate toward you

black people have not seen white people

at

all that is why they can't deal with

them i won't say one

but i think we have to be careful black

people

we we're too much tied up in this what's

good

and what's bad i think what we need to

begin to look at is what's real

now i don't care whether it's good or

bad i just care whether it

it works whether it doesn't work whether

it helps black people it doesn't help

black people

white people are individualistic white

people are materialistic

and i think dyches is absolutely correct

in the definition of this of black

civilization african civilization

communalistic whole concept is different

but the white man's

individualism and materialism stems from

the fact that he comes

out of a situation a a place where you

could hardly live

you know the barren land where you could

hardly grow no resources

where they had to fight each other just

to keep alive and where each person had

to try to steal all he could to keep

somebody else from getting it so he

could stay alive

now that builds individualism and

materialism now he didn't have much in

the way of materialism but he had

the need the desire so he built ships he

built guns

everything in order to take something

from somebody else now you got to

realize that the black man came up in

a different whole different kind of

environment where there was

everything that a person needed they

didn't have to to

to cheat and lie and steal to get enough

to eat enough to eat was everywhere

nobody had to take from somebody else

all the resources of the world were

right there in the ground and

they had everything they didn't need to

build ships and go conquer someplace

else

if if africans build a ship where would

they go any place they went was worse

than where they were

but the white man could build a ship and

go any place because any place he went

was better than where he was

anything that he could take was better

than what he already had so we're

dealing with the coaches of two people

that stem

from the kind of situation in which they

live black people today

are trying to be individualistic and

materialistic because we are now in a

slave culture

the white man has dominated us so

completely we try to accept his values

what we've got to do is reject his

values go back and accept

the old values that come from africa our

own historic black values

and have a black value system that we

put in opposition to the white man's

materialistic

materialism and individualism thank you

very much gentlemen

uh this week we have presented a black

paper on white racism part one

we have discussed education history

and christianity and how these

institutions in a racist pattern

affect the lives and mentality of black

people

next week we'll present part two we will

deal next week with

values and culture war colonialism and

imperialism

and personality development or

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psychology