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STRUGGLE==EDUCATION          CAMPBELL 

question "Who are we?" in political terms. We would then be clearly defined political beings in a political condition struggling to change that political condition. All of our activities would stem from this understanding. We would then use all forms of political weapons consciously.

Unfortunately, many of us who entered the "civil rights" phase of our struggle entered on the assumption that we were American citizens within the state organization. That was and is an incorrect political assumption. In my opinion we are not American citizens but are colonials of the United States. Our struggle then should be one against colonialism. The struggle against colonialism is a qualitatively different type of struggle. It has qualitatively different goals. Because we did not know clearly who we were in political terms our objective was vague, diffuse, and individualized.

Let me add one other thing here. A group of people, if they are present at the birth of a new state are either citizens then and there, or-they are not. If you are present and you do not become a citizen at that instant, then you have a qualitatively different kind of political relationship to the new state. That relationship is fixed historically. Only great and profound political changes within that state organization will change that political relationship.

In 1776 our political relationship to the new state organization called America was as slaves. Slavery as our political relationship to this new state predated its birth by 157 years. It continued under the new state until 1863-an additional period of 87 years!

Our political relationship to the state changed in 1863 not only because of our movement but because of the political and economic antagonisms between two parts of the state organization. The resolution of that political question was accomplished through war. War was and still is "politics by other means."

Being colonial subjects means that we are also vulnerable to the political traps of Neo-colonialism. This is our central danger today and this entire area is in critical need of urgent study.

the basic question raised by the war of 1776

We have been taught that the war fought in 1776 was the American Revolution. I think we should question that. I think that the American Revolution has yet to be fought. What was fought in 1776 was a war which raised and resolved a basic political question-it was a step forward in man's evolving political consciousness. The evolution of man's political consciousness is an area of rich study. 

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-14 12:09:37