Who Speaks for the Negro? Adam Clayton Powell

The Enigmatic and Charismatic Politician

Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, PPOC, Library of Congress, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

While a college student, Adam Clayton Powell passed for white. He evolved to become America’s most outspoken Black leader in Congress. In 1964, Robert Penn Warren interviewed him. The link below contains the audio of the interview; the full text follows.

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. | Who Speaks for the Negro?

Powell discusses the state of organization, strategies, and prospects of the civil rights movement, as well as its leadership. Throughout the interview, Powell refers to his own work in the 1930s as well as his legislation and other activities in Congress. He expresses a strong belief in nonviolence. He believes in integration rather than separatism. He discusses the role of demonstrations, expounding on when they are good and when they are bad, and their potential dangers. Prompted by Warren, he discusses Gunnar Myrdal's theory of how Reconstruction could have been handled better, including compensation to slaveowners for the loss of their slaves. Powell discusses economic and employment issues facing African Americans and the intersection between race and class. He disapproves of white leadership in the civil rights movement, mentioning in particular that in the NAACP. He discusses the state of liberalism in the U.S. in general. He emphasizes…