The Artist Must Elect To Fight For

I Learned That Along With The Towering Achievements Of The Cultures Of Ancient Greece And China There Stood The Culture Of Africa, Unseen And Denied By The Imperialist Looters Of Africa's Material Wealth.

Sometimes Great Injustices May Be Inflicted On The Minority When The Majority Is In The Pursuit Of A Great And Just Cause.

Through My Singing And Acting And Speaking, I Want To Make Freedom Ring. Maybe I Can Touch People's Hearts Better Than I Can Their Minds, With The Common Struggle Of The Common Man.

Every Artist, Every Scientist, Must Decide Now Where He Stands. He Has No Alternative. There Is No Standing Above The Conflict On Olympian Heights. There Are No Impartial Observers. Through The Destruction, In Certain Countries, Of The Greatest Of Man's Literary Heritage, Through The Propagation Of False Ideas Of Racial And National Superiority, The Artist, The Scientist, The Writer Is Challenged. The Struggle Invades The Formerly Cloistered Halls Of Our Universities And Other Seats Of Learning. The Battlefront Is Everywhere. There Is No Sheltered Rear.

You Want To Shut Up Every Negro Who Has The Courage To Stand Up And Fight For The Rights Of His People, For The Rights Of Workers, And I Have Been On Many A Picket Line For The Steelworkers Too.