The urban confrontation Program #8 What's Happening to American Blacks?
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Urban confrontation and analysis of the continuing crises facing 20th
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century man in the American city.
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Today's recorded guests are Messiah Hewett of the Black Panther Party Roy Innis of the
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Congress of Racial Equality Dr. Ralph Abernathy of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
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And Roy Wilkins of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Today's
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program the black color line for perspectives on race.
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Questions asked in the following program are merely the moderator's method of presenting many sides of
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today's topic. Here is your host Joseph R.. Nader.
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Historians tell us that since slavery times black people have been given the
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short end of the stick. And since slavery times blacks have wondered why
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asking themselves they obvious question. Is it because I'm blunt.
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The answer is generally come back. Yes it is because I'm black. A
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whispered Yes at first but an answer that in recent years has come to be shouted loud
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and clear as black Americans have apparently concluded that though color was the
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great measuring stick of the past it cannot be an acceptable means of measuring a
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man's worth in the future. On this program you are about to hear four
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black men talk about what it's like to be black in 20th century America.
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They propose changes in America and they hope America will take concrete positive
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decisive action to solve its race problem myself.
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Brothers on stage with me. We represent but not called
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America's problem.
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Is not a problem this particular two Methodist deacons
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Baptist preaches or the so-called young militants.
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It's a problem of a whole race. A whole group of people.
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Social commentators tell us that black Americans are second class citizens
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in housing food jobs and education. The question is why
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do these commentators make such sweeping generalizations. Perhaps the answer is
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because blacks are the only minority group that has come to this country against its own will.
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Unlike their fellow citizens who exchanged a life of oppression in Europe for a life
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of freedom in America slave ships carried blocks from a life of freedom and
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dignity in Africa to a life of degradation. In America they out for all
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Americans history is exactly the reverse of most minority groups who have successfully
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made it in America because no other minority group was involved in the
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plantation slavery system. At this particular point in their history
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black Americans are determined to speak out and tell what it feels like to be black in
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20th century America.
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It's not the moles in the world problem you know that is the biggest problem
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this list of black people black pride the leaders of
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Rome here wonder how races the Greeks are against us.
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So call powerlessness is the problem that
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we understand and the only thing that's held this country together this
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and help black people down as long as the rampant racism. And
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racism as a tenant that was used. Since the days of reconstruction.
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Was bad and what the Klan were the first fascist in the history of the world. We don't
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let.
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The fact. Southern Christian Leadership Conference and we are working every
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day against it. That this nation can spin.
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25 or 30 billion dollars to put a man on the moon
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and yet not spend $54 to stand a man known to
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speak right here in Boston Massachusetts.
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Most black people in this room are very familiar with unemployment low paying jobs high
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taxes high cost of living. Evils of the society.
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Most important of all are something we have not done honestly and consciously.
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To recognize that we are two distinct people. Sharing the same
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approximate piece of geography. Segregated.
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On equal. Because segregation is a condition where any.
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Two factions of society one dominating the other. One controlling the flow of goods
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and services.
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And controlling the institutions and not only their own area but in the area
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of the other people.
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But the reason that you have the speakers here before you tonight. Is because we've got a problem and that problem
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is class survival. One thing about America is it has
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become so all day to day so much the norm in America that you sort of used
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to sit down Lester down and cut it up. We sit down and we talk about it. Take your foot off our neck
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please. And. Come in here and you clap
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pause. Give us some donations. So we're right on we're doing we're struggling against racism
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and saying racism is a genocide. We have.
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A very critical situation. In the United States at this
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moment. For black people. We are seeing what could be
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possibly the first phase.
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Of what might become a genocidal campaign against black people.
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It is at this moment. Directed. And it seems to be a national
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conspiracy. Against the Black Panther Party.
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Some of those thing to political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
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Some of the some of us think that it's very necessary. That everybody
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respect the human rights that everyone has to defend themselves. But in
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America if you defend yourself when you're not part of the system then you become. The criminal.
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The real criminal makes yourself look like the victim of an unprovoked attack.
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I think it would be shortsighted. If one moment. We fail to
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heed. The handwriting on the wall of. The clear.
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Handwriting that say's in less than two years 28 pandas kill.
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40 of their leaders arrested. A hundred of their members at least in jail.
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For sending to the Black Panther Party is not new. We want to bomb
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the stage can tell you is solving the problem through genocide.
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Skag through Red Devils.
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Speak. Resouce fascist pig.
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To stop. This is.
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When it. Comes against Baptist machine guns against parents. That's how America
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solve the problem.
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I must admit I'd rather be in Los Angeles or Chicago or anyplace pencils or catching
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hell right now. Because Panthers talk in any number of black people
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dressed ourselves to what's meaningful to the black man who may not have a college degree
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and don't know the U.N. from a frog but he knows a racist
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fascist pig cop when he sees one. He knows hunger you know his unemployment.
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Is what I call the American syndrome. It is I don't want
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to recognize that which I don't like. Itis.
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A very serious disease. This is the cause the
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Americans. Not to recognize. Those many millions of Russians
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after 1917 after the revolution. The same thing is true
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of the Nationalists today.
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The problems with the students the black students have here with their fellow students with the
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administration is not something separate totally divorced from the black
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community.
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There's a relationship. Relationship is the same
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as that relationship between a Baptist church machine gun and shot up in Detroit.
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In a patent office or the home machine gun is shot up in
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Chicago Los Angeles New York Seattle.
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So we tried we tried.
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English Southern negro. Arabic
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Swahili. We do in rock
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music. We sang the blues. We cry ballads it was the voice of a
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people granted to a country that has never yet heard that voice.
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It's been going on for 400 years.
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The repression has been meted out to black people in this country is the basis of a song me was the
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basis for Sand Creek. Was a basis for massacre and mass slaughter
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and mass murder throughout the history of this country. If we can do it than it is
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right here in chains don't stand a chance. That's data to.
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Have an address. Niggas have no rises to respect I was a Supreme Court
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1857 and it still holds true today. The courts give us no justice.
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Years ago.
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When John F. Kennedy. And then it was Robert
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Francis Kennedy.
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And now almost two years ago it was Martin Luther King Jr.
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and a few days ago it was up Panther brothers over in Chicago
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and tomorrow it may be me you i.e. anybody.
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Yeah I anybody out.
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There I want to make it clear that black people understand what's happening to them.
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The conditions of battle with America present a unique problem.
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And of soul will require unique solutions. We have to assume that. The
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final solution will be in the interest of both people black and white.
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Also most assume that there is a solution to this problem that might be more or less
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mutually satisfactory to both sides. In order to address this problem.
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We must look to social political and economic factors.
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And then we can isolate any one of them.
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Newspapers and magazines radio and TV all of
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devoted much time to discussing solutions to the nation's racial problem
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in front of our microphones Roy Innis of corps out of Messiah are here what of the
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Black Panther Party express their solutions to our race dilemma. Roy
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speaks of the liberation movement and a messiah who talks about taking the United States
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government before the United Nations World Court.
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It is a movement to liberate black people. From white domination.
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Outside of the American system. We do not seek to reform it. We
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do not seek to have a revolution in it. In fact every revolution
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should come for us. It will come after we liberated.
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The Black Panther Party's intention. To do what a lot of brothers.
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Southern Christian Leadership Conference the end of Lucy P. now come in the organization of
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Afro-American Unity that used to exist talked about. Us to take this government your
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government which you have passed. Charge it before the United Nations with
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genocide against the people. We don't think that we have to wait until the genocide is
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defined by 99 percent of his being his Think like the Indians or the buffaloes.
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The solution of the nationalists the solution of liberation. Has never really been considered
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a test. Or even understood for a fact. Let me for a while.
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Discuss some observations about the condition of black people in America. First of
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all we exist in the heterogeneous relationship. I have is that two
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groups two class factions. With different interests.
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We live. Our lives through a graphically a pot. We number over
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25 million.
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That's more people than many independent nations. That's where. We have a
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productivity measured by the gross national product. Of all
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140 billion dollars. Which is more productivity than most in the pendent
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nations.
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Now it is these kinds of observations. That lead me and the
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nationalists to assume that we are in fact and they should be. And in terms of
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coming in the United States. And we must do that as a program where
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people live in the colonial state do. They must sue for independence.
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They want to liberate themselves. The monks say they will liberate themselves
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by any means possible.
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But we understand that our struggle has got to go on a level to a world court because
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we're not going to let the people who perpetrated the oppression upon us
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stand judge of themselves.
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We don't think America can do it with an immediate and immediate program.
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We constructed. And pushed.
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A bill called the Community self-determination bill. That
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would have set up and clap communities for the first time. A
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central line instrument. That had both political and economic
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functions. That could bring a greater degree of unity to our communities.
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But the force the federal government to deal directly with us instead of through
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a pane of attention like the cities or the state. That couldn't find
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the very necessary step. That was breaking out of the lemon we exist in.
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The immediate program. Is a move to gain. And
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create. Political units to convert the rods barriers
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and the Bostons into. Cities. On par with the Boston
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the Harlem's and possibly New York City's The Watts and Pa with Los
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Angeles. That's such a couple of the time the most political unit and
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PA which you cobble. So that within that local unit at
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