Any
oppressed people must assume the maJor responsibility for
furthering their goals. They might accept help and cooperation
from outside, but they must, in the final analysis, rely on self-
organization and self-help. One of the by-products of this,
Randolph believed, would be the development of self-reliance
within the Afro-American community and the destruction of the
slave mentality. Although individual blacks within the community
could join other organizations, and while the movement itself
might cooperate with other organizations, the March on Washington
Movement itself was to be exclusively for blacks. It was a racial
movement for racial advancement.
Randolph went on to envision an organization with a challenging
action program. Millions of supporters would be divided into a
network of small block units. Each would be headed by a block
captain. This would facilitate instant, mass mobilization. At a
moment's notice, a chain of command could be activated, and
millions of marchers would be in the streets. Randolph also
envisioned repeated, gigantic marches aimed at Washington and
state capitals.
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