Who Speaks for the Negro? James Forman

The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

James Forman, SNCC Executive Secretary at a Mass Meeting, Danville, Virginia — Works — Collections at SBMA | Santa Barbara Museum of Art

In 1964, Robert Penn Warren interviewed Forman and several other civil rights leaders. Below is a link to the interview audio, followed by the complete text.

James Forman | Who Speaks for the Negro?

Forman begins by describing his youth and his educational background, and he discusses when African Americans generally become conscious of their racial identity. He describes students involved in the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) as rejecting the consumer-oriented values of American society even as he acknowledges that many African American students embrace these values. Forman discusses the backgrounds and motivations of participants in the civil rights movement, and he describes SNCC’s organizational goals and the role that SNCC plays in the movement. Forman considers whether African American activists are at war with American society, discusses why more violence has not broken out among African Americans and opines as to African Americans’ responsibilities in the civil rights movement. He discusses the effects of mass action, in-fighting among civil rights leaders and groups, and non-violence as a method of protest. He also discusses the integration of public schools, the role of white people in the civil rights movement, and what…