smash-pacifism-zine

King and the SCLC were well
paid for their collaboration. According to
Haines, the SCLC's funding rose from
$10,000 in 1958, to $193,000 in 1961, to
$728,000 in 1963, and then to $1,643,000
by 1965 (Black Radicals and the Civil
Rights Mainstream, p. 84).
These increases in funding
correspond to the years of increasing
Black revolt, culminating in the 1964
'War on Poverty' funding and the Watts
rebellion of 1965.
“In 1966-67, SCLC was awarded
$109,000 from the Department of
Education; $61,000 from the Department
of Labor; and more than $500,000 from
the Office of Economic Opportunity.”
(To Redeem the Soul of America, p. 367)
Nor was government funding limited to the SCLC.
After 1964, increasing amounts of money were pumped
into reformist organizations in order to expand their
influence within Black communities, and, at the same time,
to begin buying off as many activists at the grassroots level
as possible.
“The period from 1964 through 1970 saw a vast
expansion of federal welfare efforts, much of which was
aimed at the urban black poor. The most significant aspect
of this expansion was the declaration of a War on Poverty
and the creation of the Office of Economic Opportunity.”
(Black Radicals and the Civil
Rights Mainstream, p. 145)
Some of the programs under the
'War on Poverty' included Job Corps,
Neighbourhood Youth Corps, Head Start, a
Community Action Program, educational
programs, and other similar initiatives.
Reformist organizations were contracted to
run these programs and services. One of the
main recipients of this funding was the
National Urban League (NUL).
The National Urban League was
founded in 1911 by wealthy Blacks and
white philanthropists. It focused on housing
and unemployment, and was essentially a
social service organization. Although involved in some
legal work on housing and locating jobs, the NUL was not
an active component of the civil rights movement, although
it participated. Described as one of weakest and most
conciliatory of all the civil rights organizations, the NUL
was also the main beneficiary of government and corporate
funding that began flooding the movement during the
1960s:
“The greatest portion of the increased income came
King with Nobel peace prize, 1965.
Fred Hampton, Black Panther
killed by police, Dec. 1969
from 'big money' sources: government
agencies, corporations, and
foundations. From the beginning, the
NUL was quite dependent upon grants
and donations from such foundations as
the Rockefeller, Ford, and Rosenwald
funds... Between 1961 and 1970,
however, foundation contributions to
the NUL increased from $62,000 to
over $5 million. Somewhat less
dramatic was the increase from
$70,000 in 1961 to $1,973,000 in 1970.
Governmental funds, however, made
up the largest part of the League's
windfall. During the mid-60s the NUL
became a 'contractor' for social
services... The first governmental funds
in 1966 amounted to only $294,000 but by 1970 they had
skyrocketed to nearly $7 million...”
(Black Radicals and the Civil Rights Mainstream,
p. 92)
Nor was this pacification program carried out by
government and 'charitable' foundations alone. Major US
corporations, headed by powerful members of the ruling
class, were also involved:
“In the North as well as South, business interest in
civil rights and other black concerns lay dormant until the
crises of the 1960s... Through its Commerce and Industry
Council, the League brought white business leaders into
advisory positions in the organization; large firms such as
General Motors, General Electric, Ford
Motor Company, Standard Oil, and US
Steel participated.'”
(Black Radicals and the Civil
Rights Mainstream, p. 107)
Ultimately, the Black rebellion of
the 1960s was not only drowned in 'baby's
milk,' it was also drenched in the blood of
hundreds of Blacks killed in riots, police
shootings, and racist attacks. This deadly
repression was part of a broader
pacification effort that involved 'urban
renewal' projects—the destruction of
ghetto apartment blocks and the dispersal
of their residents to other areas more
easily policed.
At the same time, the state handed out millions of
dollars to reformist leaders and directed them into the
ghettos as part of the pacification effort. For their part,
reformists willingly played the role of social reformer and
collaborated in the state's effort to stop any movement
towards radical social change. This collaborative and
counter-revolutionary role remains an inherent part of
reformist movements to this day.
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