Ed. Note: Wilbert McClendon is one of the most talented and important “grassroots” leaders in Detroit’s Negro community. He is a past Chairman of the Adult Community Movement for Equality (ACME).
We print, with pleasure, his comments on the student peace movement and invite readers to comment.
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It is my opinion and I think the opinion of the majority of Black people throughout this land, that white students who oppose the horrible war in Viet Nam are terribly phony.
For the following reasons it is my personal opinion that they are just as guilty as the people they accuse.
White college students almost always choose the wrong ways to solve things. For instance, in connection with the war, I have yet to hear a white student place the blame where it really belongs; namely on white America. I think they don’t do it because they really don’t want change’. They tend to blame things on individuals. They would rather blame the war on Robert Strange McNamara or LBJ when they know damn well that if all those individuals were to die today the war would go on. Deep within them, they know that THEY, their parents, their friends, and ancestors are to blame. And if they are so stupid as to not realize this, they should not participate in movements for change. I think they all understand that in order to end the war they must change the system and not simply attack it.
They should know from reading history that change in a system comes only through death, violence suffering and TREASON. I know of hardly any white people in America in the last few years who have suffered any of the above.
I do not believe that people do not understand that if they were serious they would not exist publicly, they would have to go underground. They could no longer call themselves pacifists. If they were serious there would be no time for LSD trips or going to school or money for mod fashions and the Beatles would surely starve to death.
To say that one is a pacifist is to say in reality that there is nothing one can contribute to change and is therefore useless because who knows of any change that came through peace. In connection with my own choice of struggle, I have chosen the freeing of me and all black people. For this I would kill, rob, cheat or die. It is time that you suffer something other than holes in your clothes from the wearing of peace buttons and get serious.
You must understand that change comes only through power and you must admit that you have no power and that nowhere in the world does peaceful power exist.
In closing I would like to say some things I think are very Important for white students who claim they are interested in ending the war and maybe you can choose more relevant means of attacking this horrible white war.
- Understand that it’s your war
- Understand that if you don’t change your tactics you will have contributed nothing to peace but only satisfied your own cowardly needs.
- Understand that the problem is not LBJ or any other person but what they represent—YOU.