“But why? They were doing all right.” “Sure they was -- as long as you people was fighting for 'em. But the minute y'all stopped, they started throwing folks out on the street.”
It was as though he had chosen—how had he put it the night he fought with Ras? -- to fall outside of history. I stopped in the middle of the walk with the thought. “To plunge,” he had said.
My mind flowed. It was as though in this short block I was forced to walk past everyone I'd ever known and no one would smile or call my name. No one fixed me in his eyes. I walked in feverish isolation.
What we want is not tears but anger. We must remember now that we are fighters, and in such incidents we must see the meaning of our struggle. We must strike back. I want each of you to round up all the members you can. We've got to make our reply.