We cannot jump from A to Z
as some thought."
Throughout history almost all social transformations have been the
result of shifts in basic power relationships. The attempt to build
political and economic power on a nationwide basis within the black
community is a relatively new phenomenon. Reconstruction had attempted
to do it earlier, but it was destroyed before it could be tested.
Almost all other black economic and political involvement has been
dependent on sizable white support. This was true both of the policies
of Booker T. Washington and of the Civil Rights Movement. In fact,
this meant a reliance on white power and on white conscience. The new
spirit of black pride and self-reliance along with the new voting
rights has already created pockets of black political strength in many
Northern cities and in parts of the rural South. It is also being
reflected in the Congress with the election of more blacks and with
their creation of the Black Caucus, presently consisting of thirteen
black congressmen. After submitting a list of their demands to
President Nixon, their spokesman, Representative William Clay, D-Mo.
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