Open Mind Roundtable (October 15, 1961)
Moderator: Eric P. Goldman, Guests: Mr. Monroe Berger, Mr. Kenneth B. Clark, Mr. Richard Haley, Mrs. Constance B. Motley, Mr. Malcolm X Mr. Goldman : In the years since World War II, unquestionably the most dramatic and most important development in internal American affairs has been the upward lunge of the Negro. In no uncertain terms these 20 million Americans have been making themselves heard. As the agitation and as the advances have gone on, observers have more and more joined in one type of comment. They’ve been saying there is a new Negro in America, a new mood, a new emphasis in the programs and demands of the Negro. Today we’re going to inquire into statements of this kind, and, I hope, in the course of the inquiry, we will answer candidly such questions as, What does the Negro really want today? Is he, to any significant degree, dissatisfied with the leadership of organizations like the NAACP? And is he really developing a new identity, both in terms of his inner reactions...