Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1942-08-07
RANDOLPH,S SPEECH

Continued from Page IWO)
is today through the organized
church; labor, business which 'be-
came ascendant when individual
and partnership units were merged
and transformed into giant cartels,
corporations, holding companies
and trusts; education; govern
ment.
The need of the Negro is unity, the
labor leader outlined further.
THE condition from which the Negroes
in America and all over the world suffer
most is not because they are not white,
but because they are not organized. .
The strOng will invariably Cypress the
weak. . The law of the Survival of
the Fittest'' prevails. The fit are the Or
ganized and educated. . The white race
does not hold power and prestige solely be-
cause it is white but mainly because of
organization and education.
ireland" he illustrated, though white,
felt the brutal heel of imperial Great
Britain for some 500 years. The Oppres-
sion only stopped when Irishmen stopped
their common enemy. Japan was kicked
around by the imperialistic powers until
she became a united nation. China and
India will be either the happy hunting
ground of white or yellow imperialists un-
til they forge the unity they need.
Negroes need to build organizations
that cap assemble and mobilize into great
masses to struggle for economic, political
and social power" Randolph advised. Be-
moaning the late start of the Negro in
manifesting an interest in organizing his
labor power, he blamed Negro leaders who
not only opposed unions because of their
discrimination against the Negro worker,
but because some of the Negro leaders
were "benehciaries of the philanthropy and
6enevolence of white capitalists that made
huge profits out of low wages and long
hours of unrepresented workers.
Others, he went on, Z" pampered
intellectual and professional pimps of
white angels who must have some objects
for their paternalism to salve their hurt
cOnsciences, localized the talented tenth
working Negro tribute to and evidence of
their great culture, prestige position.
The leaders did not see that while art
and culture were necessary for the good
and beautiful life, they do not create
power, that power resides in the working
man, and that the possession of power
is condition to the securing of Justice
and liberty and equality.
This portion cheered by the audience,
Randolph declared:
THE failure to go to the so-called COM
mon, working Negroes wherever they are {:
IN the saloons and poolrOOms, the shacks
and novels, and if, perchance there be,
the cutters, to impress them with their
Importance, necessity and common kinship
in the struggle for power to strike down
Jim crow in America is the greatest blum
der Negro leadership has made The divi-
sion and chasm between the uneducated
and educated, the poor and relatively COM
Portable Negro, has bred suspicion and dis
trust on the part of the former and a
cynical, patroniZing attitude on the part
OF the latter toward each other. This in
ternal racial condition of disunity has been
and still is the best invitation to victimiza-
ton and exploitation of the Negro people"
Mass Action
Turning to the policy of mass action
which Is his program, Randolph advocated
mass action Tin the form of parades,
strikes, picketing, demonstrations in huge
public meetings, mass petitions, kilograms,
and letters as the most effective strategy
for a minority.
This is labor's weapon" he recalled.
Strikes and picket lines have raised the
worker from slaves and serfs to free
workers."
The workers have met the challenge of
power centralized in the hands of a few,
with national and international unions
and federated bodies" he went IN, and
thrown their economic, financial and moral
weight back of strikes and picket lires
along the far flung industrial battle front.
That the Negro must also create and
build great mass movements for offensive
| and defensive struggle, in our modern
| world of mass production, mass consump-
| ton, mass labor struggles, mass political
| demonstrations, mass religious and educa-
tional efforts, is written in the stars of
his destiny.
CONCLUDED NEXT WEEK.