James Forman's Black Manifesto, 1969
TO THE WHITE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES AND THE
JEWISH SYNAGOGUES
IN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA
AND ALL
OTHER RACIST, INSTITUTIONS
Black Manifesto
We the black people assembled in Detroit, Michigan, for the National Black Economic Development Conference are fully aware that we have been forced to come together because racist white America has exploited our resources, our minds, our bodies, our labor. For centuries we have been forced to live as colonized people inside the United States, victimized by the most vicious, racist system in the world. We have helped to build the most industrial country in the world.
We are therefore demanding of the white Christian churches and Jewish synagogues which are part and parcel of the system of capitalism, that they begin to pay reparations to black people in this country. We are demanding $500,000,000 from the Christian white churches and the Jewish synagogues. . . .
We do not intend to abuse our black brothers and sisters in black churches who have uncritically accepted Christianity. We want them to understand how the racist white Christian church with its hypocritical declarations and doctrines of brotherhood has abused our trust and faith. An attack on the religious beliefs of black people is not our major objective, even though we know that we were not Christians when we were brought to this country, but that Christianity was used to help enslave us. Our objective in issuing this Manifesto is to force the racist white Christian church to begin the payment of reparations which are due to all black people, not only by the church but also by private business and the U.S. government. We see this focus on the Christian church as an effort around which all black people can unite.
Our demands are negotiable, but they cannot be minimized, they can only be increased and the church is asked to come up with larger sums of money that we are asking. Our slogans are:
ALL ROADS MUST LEAD TO REVOLUTION
UNITE WITH
WHOMEVER YOU CAN UNITE
NEUTRALIZE
WHEREVER POSSIBLE
FIGHT OUR
ENEMIES RELENTLESSLY
VICTORY TO THE
PEOPLE
LIFE AND GOOD HEALTH
TO MANKIND
RESISTANCE TO
DOMINATION BY THE WHITE
CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES AND THE JEWISH SYNAGOGUES
REVOLUTIONARY
BLACK POWER
WE SHALL WIN
WITHOUT A DOUBT