“Many Negroes see mass violence coming. Having lived in a society in which church, school, and home problems have been handled in a violent way, the majority at this point are unable to conceive of a solution by reconciliation and nonviolence. I have seen schoolboys in Arkansas laying away rusty guns for the 'time when.' I have heard many young men in the armed forces hope for a machine-gun assignment 'so I can turn it on the white folks.' I have seen a white sailor beaten in Harlem because three Negroes had been 'wantin' to get just one white' before they died. I have heard hundreds of Negroes hope for a Japanese military victory, since 'it don't matter who you're a slave for.'”
— Bayard Rustin

Annotation

Bayard Rustin, 'The Negro and Nonviolence,' 1942

Tagged: Arkansas, Stockpiling, Machine Guns, Negroes, Harlem, Japanese, Slavery, Nonviolence
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