revolutionary action movement (ram) - Michael Schwartz Library

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true aspirations for self-determination of African-Americans .
Williams'
position of the
right of self-defense had made him a symbol of revolutionary
resistance to RAM cadre . But perhaps his greatest contribution was
his vision of liberation through urban guerrilla warfare .
In the RAM documents of 1962-64, urban guerrilla warfare is not mentioned
. Rather RAM's role as the leadership in organizing a black liberation
movement and its recognition that the movement needed a political/
military structure was stressed . The Black Guard was the political/military
body which would be the
forerunner of the black liberation army, but
how the army was to function was not revealed .
In 1964, in the article We Can Win! the reliance on technology by U .S .
capitalism was given as a weakness that would be exploited by black
revolutionaries
. This point is part of the tactical disruption of the U .S . econ
omy . Also presented is the idea that blacks in the U .S . Army would defect
if black Americans were in revolutionary motion . It is in this document
that the notion that the cities would be ripe for sabotage while the guerrilla
army operated in the countryside was developed (p . 2) .
Revolutionary Nationalist , the August, 1965 issue, carried six articles
on various aspects of urban guerrilla warfare .
In this issue the
urban rebellion in Los Angeles was presented asp a model . It demonstrated
that black America was at war with the U .S . government . The National
Guard's role was to crush the rebellion, which was similar to the Army's
role during the slave revolts . The L .A . rebellion, smaller rebellions and
and acts of resistance signified to RAM that black people were learning
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through guerrilla warfare .
47 "The Next Step and the Road Ahead, L .A . Proves We Will Win the National
Rebellion Against Racist Oppression," Revolutionary Nationalist , August,
1965, p . 3 .