Critical Insights Into American History

Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘Dream’ is not possible under the ‘nightmare’ of capitalism. The system of capitalism is based on the exploitation of labor, and racism is required to divide and weaken the working class. As Malcolm X said, “Racism is profitable. If it was not profitable, it would not exist.”

The previous Civil Rights Movement offers valuable lessons for today: if we don’t let them divide us; if we keep our politics independent of the Republican and Democratic Parties and the Government; if we rely only upon our own power in the streets, in the schools, and at work; if we take up the struggles of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the many other heroes of the movement, we can win. — Roland Sheppard

If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation—they want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will. — Frederick Douglass

The press is so powerful in its image-making role, it can make a criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. — Malcolm X