Dick Gregory lecture for Black Experience Week at the University of Iowa, February 16, 1970
Speaker 1: The broadcasting service of the University of Iowa in cooperation with the Department of English and the Afro-American Studies Program at the University presents a series of programs on Afro-American Culture. These programs are presented as background material for the course Afro-American Literature. Today, we present part one of a lecture given at the University of Iowa, February 16th, 1970 by Dick Gregory as part of Black Experience Week.
Ray DeFlito: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is [Ray DeFlito], Chairman of the Speaker's Committee of the Union Board. In conjunction with the Black Experience Week, we are indeed pleased to present to you this evening, Mr. Dick Gregory. Introducing Mr. Gregory this evening is the former executive of the Columbia Broadcasting System, and now a Doctoral candidate in Mass Communication Mr. Charles Spellman. May I present to you Mr. Spellman. Thank you.
Charles Spellma...: I find it indeed a pleasure to have Mr. Gregory with us this evening. It's always a pleasure when we can have someone of his character and of his background to come to the University of Iowa. In conjunction with that, I won't say much, except I would like to show you Mr. Gregory's new album. It's entitled Dick Gregory, The Light Side, The Dark Side. Just about everything you hear here tonight, you can buy and purchase or what have you... steal. But it can be obtained on this album. Yeah. Right on.
Charles Spellma...: It's interesting the problems that we're confronted with today, we don't have the facilities or the governmental kinds of functions that provide Black people with the kinds of inroads to solve the problems that many white people say that are ours. In this early decade of the seventies, I'd like to say that you can look forward to seeing the new nigger. I don't think we'll be burning down many homes anymore, especially not our homes. I don't think you can look forward to people going around acting like they're blame idiots, but you can look forward to a conservative bunch of underground, strong stirring Black minds getting themselves together. [crosstalk].
Charles Spellma...: We will ride on henceforth and forevermore. And I think it's important to our cause. It's important that Mr. Gregory has sacrificed more than $8 million to pursue the course he is pursuing. It's important to recognize that when people talk about how much it would cost to solve this problem, here's a man who has cost nearly $8 million, and he continues to fight for justice, freedom, and equality. But most of all, he like all of us want human dignity, nothing more, nothing less. Aretha Franklin says, "Just a little respect will go a long way." And that's what Mr. Gregory is all about. A little respect, a little dignity, a little freedom. My man, Dick Gregory.
Dick Gregory: Hey, I would like to say thank you and very much. I was flying in town from New York yesterday on my way into Des Moines, I had some things I had to do there before I come down here, so I figured, being tonight, I had to fly in. I was going to stay up late. I didn't mind staying up late because I knew when I got on the plane, I'd be able to get me some sleep. So I get on the plane and I go back to my seat. And there's a white cat sitting next to me. So naturally, I check him out.
Dick Gregory: He was a pretty mellow old cat. And let me say this, I always haven't had to check out white folks. This is something new. About 10 months ago, it happened in Chicago, downtown in the Loop one night about 10:00 in the evening, walking down the street minding my business, whistling my little tune. This white cat walking toward me. When he see me coming, he jumped all the way off the sidewalk into the gutter. And as I approached him, scared of death, he said, "Mr., you're not going to bother me, you're not going to hurt me. Are you Mr.? I said, "No, boy."
Dick Gregory: So then I informed him, I said, "I'm Dick Gregory, dedicated and committed to nonviolence." Oh, that steadied his nerves. He said, "You mean you are the Dick Gregory?" I said, "That's right. My man." He said, "You mean you don't carry no gun or no knife?". I said, "No gun or no knife." He said, "You mean you don't do no cutting or shooting?" I said, "No cutting or shooting." He said, "You mean you're really dedicated to non-violence, boy?" I said, "Yassir." He said, "Well, stick them up, nigger."
Dick Gregory: So, ever since that day, I've been kind of checking out white folks. So like I said, I get on the plane and sit down, this white cat sitting next to him. I check him out and he was a really pretty mellow dude. So I doze on off and go to sleep. Well, about 15 minutes after I go to sleep, this white cat decides he wants to strike up a conversation with me. So he did it the usual way. "Wake up boy." And I wake up. I wanted to find out we haven't got anything to talk about. You know, he wants to discuss Negro progress in America. Well, I tried to inform him I didn't want him to discuss Black progress in America today because there's too few people in America that really understand what areas we made a tremendous amount of progress in. A lot of people think we made tremendous progress in jobs and housing and education. No. You know the biggest breakthrough for Black folks in the history of this country happened a few years ago in the state of Texas. We got our first colored hurricane. Beulah.
Dick Gregory: So I guess when you stop and think about it little by little, we're doing all right. Especially if you know where to look, like television. We're really, we're really doing all right on television. Every time you turn the channel today, you see something Black. And it's about time. I'm so damn sick and tired of looking at that white dove fly through that white lady's kitchen. Every time I turn on my set, there she go... "Oh Marge, there's a white dove in your kitchen." If I could turn my set on one time, and hear my Black sister screaming, "Beulah baby, there's a Black crow on the biscuits.
Dick Gregory: So like I said, little by little, we... Last year, if you was watching television [inaudible] they gave us the first Black cowboy. Did any of you see that? What's the name of that...? The Outcast. Damn right. You can tell by the name of it it was us. Next year, they're fixing to give us another Black cowboy so the first Black cowboy will have someone to kill. No, I don't mean it like that. No, they let the Black cowboy kill the white cowboy every now and then, but you see whenever it becomes the Black cowboy's turn to kill a white cowboy, the script writers really got to go through some changes. You see, they have to dirty up this white cowboy so bad that when the Black cat gun him down, everybody will accept it.
Dick Gregory: And then one day I was looking at that series. One night, the Black cowboy killed the white cowboy. This white cat had just finished raping a blind paraplegic Salvation Army worker. Right? So little by little, we... Traveling around the country a lot, I have a lot of newsmen that interview me and it seems like all the newsmen always ask me the same question. "Mr. Gregory, why do you think there were no riots in the Black community last summer?" Now how the hell I know? But I can't say that. See if I said, they'd say I'm militant and impudent, so I have to tell him whether I know or not. So he said, "Mr Gregory, why do you think there were no riots in the Black community last summer?" "Mr. gentleman, there were no riots in the Black community last summer because all the Black leaders was in Ireland serving as technical advisors."
Dick Gregory: Well, they had some riots in Ireland. Them Catholics and them Protestants boys they be doing their thing. Yeah. They fight six days out the week and the seventh day, they all go to church and pray about that day. You know when you stop and think about it, it makes no difference who's rioting or where the riots are being held, all cops react the same way to riots. Have you noticed that? Catholics and the Protestants is battling like hell, and the Irish police is blaming it on outside agitators. Billy Graham and the Pope.
Dick Gregory: And have you ever just stopped to think how many religious hassles is going on in the world today? Think about that. Catholics and the Protestants is fighting like hell, the Arabs and the Jews is fighting like hell. Sometimes it kind of makes you wonder what great secret the atheists have that makes them act so God-like. Because the right wingers in Ireland is blaming all the violence on Irish extremists. Like [H. Rap O'Bryant], [Eldridge McCleaver]. I don't know how many Irish Catholics we have in the house this evening, but if we have any Irish Catholics that have some loved ones in jolly old Ireland, and you planning on writing them any time soon, tell them brother Greg said if they really want to have a smashing victory and overcome against the Protestants, they should start acting more like Black folks. They should quit all that damn looting and burning, pull their self up by the bootstraps, go on out and get them some jobs. They got to learn how to be patient. They moving too damn fast. Damn right. Tell them, "Harlem wasn't built in a day, baby."
Dick Gregory: Let me tell you youngsters what a pleasure it is to be with you this evening. I guess I can truthfully say that I spent about 98% of my time today on college campuses. And for a reason. Simple reason is that you young folks in America today is probably the most morally dedicated, committed group of young people that's ever lived in the history of this country, bar none. And I hope you youngsters don't have to continue to read these old right-wing cracker controlled newspapers to find out who you are or what you're all about. Because the average established newspaper in America is not morally sound enough to even to discuss you young kids with yourselves. What did they call you? Hippie yippie, bearded, irresponsible, smelly kids, whatever the hell that means. My reaction to that has always been because you have a beard, why does that mean you have to stink? They don't say nothing about Abraham Lincoln. He didn't only have a beard, he was ugly too.
Dick Gregory: As I travel around the country speaking with young folks, very embarrassing to me that not only do I have to say to you young folks in America that at all the problems confronting America today, you young folks will have to solve. The embarrassing thing is I have to say to you youngsters that not only do you have to solve all the problems confronting America today, but for the first time in the history of America, you youngsters got some other problems. You'd have to solve problems that you had nothing to do with creating. But the embarrassing thing to me is not only do you have to solve these problems that you had nothing to do with creating, but you see for the first time in the history of America, you young folks is in a tremendous situation because not only did us old fools not solve the problems confronting America today, but for the first time in the history of America, we've used up all the tricks.
Dick Gregory: And when you wonder why you youngsters react the way you react, hell you've got to react that way because there's no more tricks. I remember when I was a kid, my mother, my father, the whole community got together and taught me, "One day, you're going to grow up boy. And when you get big, a white man going to call you a nigger, and don't get mad because God don't like no ugly." It's a good trick because it did work. One day I did grow up, and a white man did call me a nigger, and I didn't get mad because God don't like no ugly. You know, I got seven little Black kids in Chicago tonight. And me and my old lady ain't teaching them nothing. And I can damn sure bet you, if a white boy ever slip and call one of them a nigger, he's going to surprise him.
Dick Gregory: And so I say, you youngsters tonight, you have all the problems and no tricks. And I particularly feel sorry for the young white folks in America today, because many of yours mothers and fathers is beginning to write a check for you that's going to bounce on you in 20 and 30 years from now. And I know how sad that is. Like most Black folk put down through the years, Black folks have written checks for us that they knew damn well was going to bounce. Well, I'll tell you one thing. Black folks in America today is writing checks for these young Black kids. Checks that America might not never cash, but it damn sure won't be because it was a bad check. And so I say to you youngsters today, you have all the problems and no tricks. And I say to you white kids in America, it's going to be a mighty bad check. Things has changed today. Hm.
Dick Gregory: Oh, 10 years ago had I worked for Henry Ford, making them automobiles and a white boy called me a nigger and I punched him dead in his nose, I have no doubt Henry Ford would have fired me. Henry Ford got to be very careful about what type of white folks he bring into Ford plant today because he know damn good and well if one of them slipped and called me a nigger today, I just might burn the plant down. No more tricks.
Dick Gregory: Ole' Kirk, the Governor of Florida found out it wasn't no tricks last week when he rushed all the way up to the Supreme Court, trying to block integration of schools. He had a damn good petition. Wasn't nothing wrong with that petition. "Why not make the other States integrate if you're going to make us integrate in the South?" Would have been a hell of a petition had he carried it to the Supreme Court a year ago, and not when he carried it, because the whole world knew what he was going there for. Had he carried that a year ago, everybody in the world would have looked at him as a statesman instead of a chump. And the Supreme Court grabbed him on the wrist and slapped his hand said, "White boy, get the hell on out of here. You know ain't no more tricks. Get on out of here boy. Go on down there and integrate them schools before we put you in jail."
Dick Gregory: Understand that good now. That wasn't Thurgood Marshall, that slapped him on the hand, that was them boys said, "Come here boy, get out of here. No more tricks now. You done sucked on this old titty for 16 years and there aint no more milk in it now. So get on out of here."
Dick Gregory: No more tricks. Number one continent today on the face of this earth is Mother Africa. Not for the reason most Black folks want to believe. Africa is the number one continent on the face of this earth because of the natural resources she got down in the ground, and any country planning on being a world leader in the 21st century, got to get in there and steal. That's what makes Africa the number one nation on the face of this earth. It's a different game today, different ball game. If you just been looking at the events in Africa, you know something's happening over there that's mighty strange. Newspapers ain't told you what's going on, but you know something's going on in Africa. The Pope went to Africa for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church. You think he's going for religious reasons? First time in the history of America, the Secretary of State's in Africa right now getting insulted by them niggers, he just smiling and [inaudible].
Dick Gregory: Mark my word. In the not too distant future, the president of this country is going to have to go to Africa. Africa's the number one continent on the face of this earth. When that Biafra War was over, you should've knew something was strange. All the white countries on the face of the earth was down on their knees, begging them. "Please let us give you some goods." And them niggers said, "Take your stuff and go to hell." And they kept begging, "Please. Oh please let us give it to you."
Dick Gregory: Now, you know... You got enough intelligence to know it is not in white folks' makeup to constantly beg niggas to help them. You know better than that. And then finally, when them Africans got tired of America, [inaudible], and they said, "Okay Nixon send us something." And that damn fool sent 10,000 blankets to Africa. Out of all the things the Africans might need, blankets aint one of them. 10,000 blankets was well needed right here in America up on your Indian reservation since that fool got some blankets to send somewhere.
Dick Gregory: So, I say your mamas and daddies is writing you a check that's going to bounce. What happened in Nigeria was very important. Because the Nigerian government said they never would have won the war had it not been for the Russians giving them them big anti-aircraft guns and jet planes. It's very significant because it means for the first time the Russians got a foothold in Black Africa. Now I don't intend to stand here tonight to and make you believe I think the Russians is any less racist than America is. The difference is Russia aint got no Black folks. So America's going to have to do a whole lots of things man now she's in competition with the Russians in Black Africa, and it's all going to be in our favor. I would dare say that if we still have elections in this country eight years from now, that both-
Dick Gregory: Both major parties will have a Black candidate as vice president. Not because they think anymore of us, but because they got to impress them Black folks in Africa. It's a different day today. You see what's happening down in Mississippi is very sad. Them ignorant white folks down there say, "Before I send my kids to school with them niggers, I'll keep them home." Now who the hell they think they're going to hurt? Maybe I feel extremely sorry for them white kids because I have seven kids at home and when you're talking about kids, ain't no such thing as color. I look at them five, six, seven, eight, nine year old kids on television, listening to them ignorant parents talking about if... They'll send them to private schools. And if you know anything about Mississippi, Mississippi is one of the few States in this country where white folks can't even afford to eat right, less alone talk about going to private schools. And that's the one state where the army ought to go down there with fixed bayonets and make everybody in the state go to school 24 hours a day
Dick Gregory: But them parents is writing a check for those kids. Vicious check. Them little kids I looked at a couple of days ago down there, five years old, going to the back of one of them old church buildings. They got buildings they condemned, they opened them up using them for schools. And the sad thing about it is you have a five year old kid 15 years from now, it's going to be 20 and not one college on the face of this earth, including Mississippi colleges will permit them to go to school. That's the sad thing about it. And their mamas and daddies that's writing that bad check for them, when that check come due, most of them will be too old and a lot of them will be dead to even help rectify.
Dick Gregory: So I say you youngsters got a big job. You got all the problems and no tricks. Of course Dick Nixon shows us the state of this nation better than anything. Dick Nixon looked around in a country with 200 million citizens, and out of 200 million citizens, he had to pick one citizen that was ethically honest and morally sound to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. And out of 200 million citizens, the most ethical cat he could come up with was a Haynesworth. And then got on nationwide television and said, "Haynesworth is the most honest man I know." And he wasn't lying.
Dick Gregory: So the folks got together and rejected Haynesworth, gave Nixon one more time. This stinking degenerate. He reached all the way down in the barrel of scum and came out with a degenerate that few people knew existed on the court system, and held him up and said, "Here is... Carswell" And a lot of people running around saying, "Picking Carswell was an insult to Black folks in America." Picking Carswell was an insult for normal decent human beings all over the world. And all we're saying is thank God in America today, Black folks is strong enough that we don't have to worry about no one man deciding our faith and destiny, be he the President of the United States, or a Supreme Court justice. Don't make no difference.
Dick Gregory: And to be honest with you, I'm damn glad Nixon's the president myself and I don't say just being funny. I'd rather have Nixon in than Humphrey, than LBJ, than any of the Kennedys. Because you see Black folks will do all right under Nixon. You see, it's something about Black folks' mentality that we can... we don't have no trouble with a dumb white cat. Because Nixon beyond a shadow of a doubt is the dumbest white man that's ever been in the white house. We couldn't deal with them slick folks. God damn, Nixon get on television and say in front of everybody, "I'm going to do everything I can to slow up integration of schools", and, "We integrated more schools in the last two months than we did in 15 years with them other slick boys." Bring me all the Nixons you can find baby. I'm just sorry we can't find us about 50 of them Dick Nixons, and groom them, and run them for governor of every state in the union. Because once we got them in, we would own this country in two weeks.
Dick Gregory: So I say to you youngsters, you have all the problems and no tricks. Did you hear Nixon's address to the nation on his Vietnam policy? A lot of young folks I know got upset over that speech. And I don't know why anyone with normal intelligence would've got upset. If you know Dick Nixon, you know what he's capable of doing and you know what he's not capable of doing. And that speech he gave on Vietnam was capable of Dick Nixon. Only thing I say about the speech, I felt it was a sad speech. Because you see, he addressed his Vietnam speech to all of us fools in America that's too old to go to Vietnam get our brains blowed out. Until you young have got to go die every day, he just said, "Be cool, baby." Then had nerve enough to say to all of the folks that supported his Vietnam policy, he asked all of them to turn their automobile headlights on in the daytime.
Dick Gregory: And they did. That'll let you know their mentality level. Turning on your automobile lights in the daytime ain't going to kill no Vietcong baby. All you're going to do by turning your head lights in the daytime is sell a whole lots of battery for somebody. And you know what I really don't understand today? These old right wing patriots, Black ones and the white ones. These old poor folks always wants to hog all the patriotism. And the sad thing about the patriots in America today is in the early days in America, the patriots was always on the side of the oppressed today. Today, the patriots in this country is on the side of the oppressor. Very sad. Everybody running around, talking about the American flag, want to stick it all up on their car window and [inaudible]. If George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and them cats would have been busy wrapped up in the flag, we'd all have a British accent today. And the sad thing about America is 99% of everybody that got one of them flags on is a pure mark of bigotry and racism and stupidity.
Dick Gregory: Damn near one person out of every hundred you see with the flag is a beautiful American. And if you ever live to implement that constitution, you don't have to be hung up in the flag. It will show more beautiful than anything else.
Dick Gregory: All these old do nothing to Mary's, old stinking, slimy American Legion, they ought to have their ass up on the Indian reservation, trying to get that brother his equal rights. He's running around here, meddling around where... about you kids trying to exercise your freedom of speech and freedom to demonstrate. That's the only thing the American Legion's upset over. I was sitting with some youngsters that got all upset because you young kids went to the moratorium in December reading off the names of the dead. And I asked the young fool, "What you upset about boy?" Hell, for you young patriots going to hog all the patriotism, you all ought to get you a list and read off, not the name of the dead. The names that will never be dead in Vietnam like the DuPonts and the Fords and the Kennedys and the Gettys and the presidents of AT&T.
Dick Gregory: [Dean Ross's] son's been out of college for five years and he haven't left Washington DC yet. Now I wish I was young enough to get drafted. See when I got my induction notice, I'd hurry up and fly to Washington DC and handcuff myself to Dean Ross's balls. And then I'd get on nationwide television and let all the fools know whatever's wrong with Dean's boy is also wrong with me. You see little David Eisenhower's picture in the paper two weeks ago? That's a freakish looking little cat, ain't it? Little David Eisenhower looked like that cat on the cover of mad magazine.
Dick Gregory: But you know what? That's the first time I had some respect for little David. [inaudible] David ain't as simple as I thought he was. Yeah. You see him on the front page of all the papers with his up in the air joining the Navy Reserve? Ole' David ain't going nowhere now. Yeah. And Nixon standing right next to him just laughing. Yeah. All them cats' got a stone trick going while all you fools rush off and get your brains blowed out. Them cats got a thing going. No, I ain't going nowhere the DuPont go. Yeah. Yeah. "Where are you son?" "I'm right behind Mr. Rockefeller. When he go, I might consider getting close enough to him to push him on the way." No, I ain't going no way. Let the cats' kids that manufactured a napalm, let them get over there.
Dick Gregory: No, you youngsters got a big job. You have all the problems and no tricks. Dick Nixon down in the white house on tricking after he got in, there's no more tricks. Yeah. You know Nixon ain't got in legitimate. You look at Nixon on television to look at him, you know damn good and well he don't look like he the president. And if you look at those last two Supreme Court nominees he pick, he don't even think like he the president. I know some slimy mafia, syndicate, hoodlums, that if they had a chance to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court, they would be ashamed to trade the type of people that Nixon got.
Dick Gregory: But once you understand how Nixon got in the white house, then you understand what's going on. See in this country, white folks play a lot of games. But ain't no more games. I go down to Mississippi and listen to a Mississippi politician make a speech and everybody admits it's a racist speech. I come to Iowa, or Chicago or New York and listen to them politicians make the same speech, we say, "It was a conservative speech." I go down to Mississippi tonight and get jumped on by the white folks in Mississippi, everybody will say, "Dick Gregory was attacked by the white racist redneck crackers in Mississippi". I go to New York and get jumped on, everybody say, "Dick Gregory stirred up the whitey backlash". Oh, we play game in this country. You see, them games white folks played got them so upset now. When we yell, "Black power", oh everybody got scared. What is that? You know damn good and well what that is. You ever had a box of baking soda in your house?
Dick Gregory: All we did was kind of tone the muscle down and took that old hammer out of his fist. That scares everybody. Black power. Why? Because it's white folks in this country that dirtied up the word Black, it's white folks in this country that misuse power. And when we came and got two little innocent words, "Black power", scare them to death. Had we said, "Brown strength", oh yeah, they'd have been... Oh they'd been greeting us everyday, "Brown strength brother, brown strength. Brown strength, brown strength. Brown strength my brother." No, no more tricks. All the tricks is catching now. Angel food cake is white devil food cake. It's Black. A little bitty lie is a white lie. You ever seen a tornado? You can't get nothing no Blacker than a tornado until it decides to clean up the white lady's kitchen, then it's a white tornado.
Dick Gregory: Yeah. They done tricked all the way down, but ain't no more tricks now. That's how Nixon got in, on trick. White folks in this country decided that it ain't safe to be open bigots anymore because niggers done got too evil. And now white folks are trying to trick and hide bigotry under conservatism, but it ain't going to work. See, it don't one nickel to be a bigot, it costs a little money to be a conservative. And you can not be a conservative for the same price you could be a bigot. The white folks in this country got to looking at Dick Nixon and trying to stop this thing, and they said, "My God, maybe I can slip it under him." So white folks went out and voted Republican that ain't never voted Republican in their life. And they didn't vote Republican because they thought Nixon had any good philosophies, they voted Republican because they was trying to hide that thing underneath conservatism and it ain't going to work.
Dick Gregory: Because the average white man in America haven't got enough money to survive four years of a right wing conservative administration. Watch and see what's going to happen in this country in the next six months, we're going to reach an economic low unparalleled in the history of America. And let me tell you something, baby, between now and Nixon's time is up, because Nixon ain't going to go in no more baby. This silent majority is going to be the most vocal group you ever heard from in the history of America.
Dick Gregory: Yeah, that silent majority. See that silent majority ain't nothing but a bunch of damn fools. And they got a damn fool to lead them. And they had silent majority done done something to themselves they would never permit a Black man to do, they just voted their dinner out their pot. Watch it. Dig what's going to happen in this country. Week before Christmas pan American Airline laid off 200 pilots. How many of them you think was us? Last week, Pan-Am just laid off 3000 employees. How many of them you think was us? Chrysler company six weeks ago laid off 40,000 white collar workers. How many of them you think was us? Last summer, Nixon cut back a billion and a half dollars on highway construction. You ever been on the highway in the summertime to see a nigger holding anything on that old red flag?
Dick Gregory: Yeah. You voted that trick into office, now you try to live with it. I just came out of Detroit two days ago. last week alone, they laid off 141,000 workers. They got so many people unemployed in Detroit they had to bring in a special check writing machine baby so they can give him them checks on time so there won't be rioting. That's right. Yeah. Them union leaders, bunch of bigots, sick degenerates, but they had enough [inaudible] to running around telling them all them fool workers, "Don't, you all mess around with this Wallace boy, and mess up your dinner", and they didn't listen and their dinner's messed up now. Talked to a friend of mine Friday that told me his cousin just called him from Washington DC. Been on the same job since 1942. Went to work Friday and the job didn't exist no more. Not funny, baby. 28 years on the same job. Mm-hmm (affirmative) You put that trick in, now you live with it. Nixon getting ready to cut the budget. He gives more money to the ABM and cut education.
Dick Gregory: Yeah, I bet that'd be the last game your mamas and daddies are playing, but that game going to get them in trouble. Salesmen are going to get their commissions cut back, executives are going to lose that bonus, and before Nixon get through, I wouldn't be surprised if IBM stock was selling for 50 cents a share. Look at Chrysler company, three days [inaudible], just cut back their cheapest Plymouth, $150, cut it off of it. Things is happening. And America's too dumb to see what's going on. Dick Nixon keeps getting on television saying, "Things is looking up." He must be smoking pot or something.
Dick Gregory: The average worker in America today, his income is the same it was in 1947. He's just too dumb to understand. they upped his income and up the prices, but it's equal to 1947. Let me tell you something. You young SDSs and hippie yippie dippies think you're going to tear the country up? You better do it quick because when Nixon get through with your mom and daddy, they ain't going to have nothing left for you to tear up. You ain't see no revolution, these old fools. See, you will revolt over changing... You'll revolt over implementing a good system. Your mom and daddy will tear this country apart when they find out that money they got ain't in the bank no more.
Dick Gregory: Yeah, you ain't seen no revolution, baby. Nixon's going to wipe out the middle class and going to put this thing dead down into a worker's revolution, baby. And you youngsters better get out the way. Yeah. Because while you're around there they're talking about what you're going to do, your mom and daddy do it. That's right. They'd do because they ain't playing [inaudible]. This is the last trip they're going to go for. No more tricks. No more. Many of you sitting out there laughing and giggling, "I won't be back here next semester." That's right. And those of you who'll be back next semester, many of you won't be back next September, because that economic pressure, going to be so much on your mom and dad, "If you look like you want to go to school, hell I'm going to jump on you." And this good old state here, this good old Nixon state here. When he get through sticking these farmers in the trick [inaudible]. Yeah, you ain't seen no riot. Them farmers... There's some simple folks in this state here. Some simple folks here. Yeah.
Dick Gregory: Your state legislator, every time he's in section, it's the biggest joke in the world. They don't even know... This legislator here is so dumb, they don't even be in consistent with the rest of the white folks. Hear the white folks in Washington DC is getting ready to push through a no-knock bill where the cop don't even have to knock and you all getting ready to push through bill kill anybody come in your house. I don't know. No you have all the problems, no tricks. That old trick trial just ended up in Chicago. Chicago Seven. You should have known what was going to happen because you sit by and let it happen to Bobby Seale. You should've known whatever gonna happened to him, it going to happen to everybody else. The only difference between Chicago and Nazi Germany, Hitler, Hitler was too decent to fake people out with a trial. He just went on and said, "Look, I want everybody to know I'm a bastard."
Dick Gregory: Understand it good. Understand it good. While the jury is out deciding if the people are going to go to jail or not, the judge done already put them in jail. It don't make no difference what the jury said, they're already in jail. You hip to it? Hm. Yep. That's a hell of a trial. Because what happened you might not think is going to have any effect on you, but that judge just gave every lawyer in America... Every lawyer in America is going to be very careful about how he defends your rights now. You hip to it? You see they be bullshitting and telling you it don't affect them. Like the news media's trying to tell you Agnew didn't have no effect on him, but the greatest march ever held in the history of this country, the December moratorium, not one television network covered it. Don't tell me Agnew didn't have no effects.
Dick Gregory: And when Dick Nixon decided he going to go see old chump football game and decide who's the number one team in the nation, all the networks want to go down there and see fun and games. Yeah. Well I hope we get a president in office one day that every Saturday, instead of going to see football games, he'd go to the problem areas like up on the Indian reservation, and the poverty stricken folks in America, and let the TV cameras go there and expose what's really going on in this country.
Dick Gregory: That's a very important trial what happened in Chicago. Very, very important. Bobby Seale. Irregardless of what you feel about the Black Panthers or Bobby Seale, that was really not the issue. The issue is in an American courtroom, a defendant have a right to defend himself. Bobby Seale came to Chicago and said, "Judge, your honor, my lawyer is being operated on in San Francisco. Would you postpone my trial till a later date?" Judge said, "No, you got to trial boy." He said, "Then judge, your honor, may I defend myself?" Judge said, "No, use that lawyer." See the weird thing about that trial is Bobby Seale was indicted with seven other people, five of them whom he'd never met and didn't know.
Dick Gregory: Said, "Use their lawyers." "I don't want to use the lawyer of strangers." And so, Bobby Seale was denied the right to defend himself. This old white boy in California, this Manson boy who is accused of killing the Tates and all them other folks, he walked in this old racist white court and said, "Your honor, you know it's my right to act as my own lawyer. Judge said, "Sure enough it is boy, go ahead, that's your right." Nobody said a damn thing about it man, that's what we're talking about. This is what we talk about. 21 Black Panthers is in jail in New York city. Been in jail for the last year with bail set at $100,000, alleged that they was conspiring to blow up places. Them white kids that got busted in New York last summer that blew up the RCA building, and caught them with dynamite fixing to blow up another building, they didn't allege, they caught them in the act. Their bail was set at $20,000. This is what we're talking about. This is what we're talking about.
Dick Gregory: And so, Bobby Seale trying to defend himself. If I killed Jesus Christ right up here tonight in front of all you, and go to trial in America... We ain't talking about Russia or Germany, in America, it is my right to defend myself all the way. Everyone of you in this room watching me kill him. Because Bobby Seale tried to defend himself, he was shackled to the chair, mouth gagged and hands cuffed. And the strange thing about that, if a defendant in an American courtroom can get shackled to the chair, hands cuffed, mouth taped with worldwide press standing in there looking, what do you think is happening in these courtrooms in America where ain't nobody watching?
Dick Gregory: And the interesting thing has had that trial not been going on in Chicago, USA, had that trial been going on in Moscow, Russia, and you picked up the paper one day and turned on the television and read or heard where a defendant in Moscow, Russia trying to defend himself, ended up shackled to the chair, hands cuffed, mouth taped, You would have snubbed your shoulders and say, "That's communism for you."
Dick Gregory: Well that trial didn't take place in Moscow, Russia. It took place in Chicago, USA. Now Bobby's in jail somewhere, which is really no big thing. I've been to jail many times, and a lot of you decent folks' going to go to jail before it's over. You know I done stand on the highest mountain in the world and yelled to the top of my voice with pride and dignity, "Dick Gregory is a convict.", but with equal pride and dignity, I can proclaim Dick Gregory may be a convict, baby, but Dick Gregory is no criminal. To be a convict, all that mean is to be convicted in an American court. It takes more than one of these sick degenerate racist courts to make a criminal out of me.
Dick Gregory: And the sad thing about it is the folks in this system that's making convicts out of all us decent folks, they are the criminals. But they're not the convict because they never been convicted yet. And the one big mistake they're making, they're making so many decent folks for the first time convicts... For the first time in this country in the not too distant future, there's going to be enough of us convicts to convict these criminals.
Dick Gregory: So I say to youse, "No more tricks." All the problems. Look what's happening to the Black Panthers in America today. A lot of Black folks feel they're being killed because they Black. Well I don't believe that. I know I cross a lot of Black folks saying, "America's fixing to start practicing genocide. America's always practiced genocide. You don't believe that? Ask the Indians. Only difference now is America's fixing to expand her groups. And that's hip. We sit by for years and watch what they do to the Indians. You watch it that long, it's supposed to happen to you. Them Germans proved that. All them good Germans stood over there and looked at them Nazis do them things, and one day they looked around and all them bombs was falling on Berlin and it didn't say, "For bad Nazis only."
Dick Gregory: You sit and watch something long enough, you won't have to watch it no more, it'd be up on you. You white folks did that in this country. 20 years ago, we cried and begged to white folks, "Please do something about these syndicate hoodlums that's pushing narcotics in our Black community. And all them little kids is using narcotics", and nobody gave a damn about niggers using narcotics. Now we look around and you didn't realize the same slimy, syndicate hoodlums that would push dope to Black kids, if you didn't stop it then they'd push it to white kids? Now you live with the problem and be as grand about it as we was when it was our turn. Yeah. Narcotics haven't even been in your neighborhood a good two years yet and you're crying like a baby.
Dick Gregory: And if you check the Bureau of Narcotics, the latest statistics, narcotic addiction in the Black community done decrease 42% in the last five years. And I'll tell you something else, when Black folks was using narcotics, as much as we was using it 10, 15, 20 years ago, it was always the poor uneducated family that's kid was hooked on narcotics, never the educated Black folk that was out of the poverty line. Now, it's you white folks' turn. The hillbilly ain't using no narcotics, them white boys up in the Appalachian ain't using no... it's the best homes you white folks can produce is the ones that turn out all them dope fiends today. When it comes to narcotic, your best is equal to ours.
Dick Gregory: Because I can understand why my Black brother believe the Black Panthers is being killed because they're Black. And again, I say, irregardless of what you feel about the Black Panthers, let's put the Black Panthers with the bad folks in society. Let's put them up here with the Ku Klux Klan, the White Citizens Council, the syndicate mafia and the minute men, and the only reason we can't leave them there is because the Klan and the mafia ain't getting killed in their bed in the middle of the morning. So we don't even treat the Panthers like we treat bad folks in America, so we got to take them down from there.
Dick Gregory: A lot of people believe the Black Panthers' getting killed because they're talking about arming and self-defense. No, this country ain't scared of violence. This country's so violent if she could find a way to package and sell revolution, she'd advertise it on the 6:00 news. I was talking to Fred Hampton the Black Panther that was killed in Chicago with Mark Clark right before Christmas, and I was telling brother Hampton about six months ago before he got killed, I said, "You know, Fred, they're going to kill boy." He said, "I ain't worried about them pig [inaudible]." I said, "Fred, folks who're going to kill you will kill the police." A lot of people get uptight about the police being called pigs. Let me say this here. I've never have called the police pigs and I never will call the police pigs, but I don't see nothing wrong with it.
Dick Gregory: I guess I would never call the police pigs because of the wisdom I have and understand the policeman's situation in America. Police is nothing but the poverty enforcer. Police is controlled by the same vicious system that's misusing everybody else. And that same cop that would have to bust SDS's head open for demonstrating, they better not touch the Shriners when they come to town for their convention and get sloppy drunk from town to town. That's what we're talking about.
Dick Gregory: Well, for those of you in America that get upset over the cops being called pigs, and the power structure being called pigs, I say to you read your Bible if you read it. Any of you good Bible readers in here? You read it? You familiar with Mark chapter five? Then you'll find out why the police is called pigs. You know what I'm talking about? And those of you that don't, please read it. When Christ was going through the wilderness one day and this cat runs out and said, "My Lord, I'm in trouble. I'm infested with demons." You know the story? "These demons control me and they make me do bad things." Mark chapter five. Read it tonight When you get home. He said, "These demons makes me do bad things. Would you help me Lord?" He said, "My name is [Legiont] and I am of many."
Dick Gregory: Legion was the Roman police. "Lord, I'm infested with demons. They make me do bad things. My name is Legiont and I am of many." And the Lord said, "Yes, I will help you." And if you read on through Mark chapter five, where he reached in and pulled the demons out of him and cast it in the belly of swines. You want to know where it comes from? Read Mark chapter five. Then it says the pigs went on over the mountain and killed themselves. "My name is Legiont, I am of many." This ain't nothing new. They used to call the German soldiers Nazi swines. They didn't call Hitler a swine. Because Hitler was that thing, the soldiers was infested with that demon and they made him do bad things. So the soldier was called the Nazi swine, not Hitler. While we're talking about pigs, you youngsters is lucky enough to have a movie on campus. The 16, 17, and 18. It's called In the Year of the Pig. By all means, see it. In the Year of the Pig.
Dick Gregory: And so as I told Fred Hampton he was going to be killed. And I tried to explain to him why he was going to be killed. I say to you tonight, the Black Panthers are not getting killed because they're Black, nor because they're talking about violence, talking about getting guns. No. Do your own research. Remember when the Black panthers first broke on the scene? You remember when you first heard of the Black Panthers out in California? You remember? When they kicked their self into the state house? Remember that? With them guns? You don't remember that? Not one of them got killed, did they? And not one of them went to jail, did they?. Now if you follow the Black Panther's history, as long as they was talking about getting arms and defending yourself, didn't nothing happen to them. When the Black Panthers had their problem is when they start talking about feeding poor hungry Black folks in the Black community. That's when they started getting wiped out.
Dick Gregory: And I tried to tell Fred Hampton that it's not Black folks' job to feed Black folks in America, that's white folks job. When nigger try to feed white folks, they feed them too much. They feed them enough to free them. It's no accident 44 million people in America go to bed hungry every night in a nation that pays farmers billions of dollars not the plant. Last year alone, this country paid farmers $200 million to plant grass.
Dick Gregory: 44 million people go to bed hungry every night. In the state of Mississippi, this government pays Senator Eastland $16,000 every month not the plant, but it pays a baby $8 a month in Mississippi to live on. So I say to you youngsters tonight in America, if you believe the Black Panthers are getting killed because they Black, if you believe the Black is getting killed for any other reason than feeding folks, then I'll tell you what you do. You white folks get together and form an organization and go down to Appalachia talking about feeding poor hungry white folks and see if they don't kick your door open in the middle of the morning and blow your brains out. I don't even have to tell you that. They just finished doing it to Yablonski. Yablonski's no Black Panther. All he was talking about was feeding poor hungry white folks in Appalachia, and trying to teach them this tricky degenerate system that keep them from eating, and he, his wife and daughter got killed as they laid in bed sleeping. Now tell me they were Black Panther.
Dick Gregory: You got all the problems, no tricks. Let me say to you youngsters this evening, I did not come here to impress you, but only to inform you. And when I leave here this evening, I couldn't care less about what any of you in this audience thinks about Dick Gregory, because I'll always have the one consolation of knowing that whenever we wake up, this year, next year, 20 years from now, you'll always be able to say is, "At least brother Greg didn't lie to us." And that's the big problem confronting you youngsters today. 24 hours a day, this system lies to you. And when you catch us, we call it a generation gap. The number one lie we tell you youngsters today we say, "The number one problem confronting America today is the problem of air pollution." Number one problem confronting America today is the problem of moral pollution. It's moral pollution that keeps your air polluted.
Dick Gregory: The same degenerate thinking that keeps Indians on the reservation keeps smoke in your skies. These old foods, these old sick degenerates, Rockefellers and DuPont, you know what they think air pollution is? You home folks burning your leaves in the evening in front of your house. The number one problem is moral pollution. This is the most morally polluted, degenerate, insane nation on the face of this earth bar none. And whether you like or not, you young kids have the all important job of giving America her sanity back. And I hope you youngsters do not make the same mistake these old right-wing crackers make. They're so damn busy running around eulogizing this country. "America, the beautiful", when any old fool know eulogies are for dead things. Thanks to you youngsters in America today, America is not quite dead yet. And I beg you youngsters do not eulogize this sick nation, but examine this country and find out where the cancer is and cut it out.
Dick Gregory: America the beautiful. Hm. Let me tell you something. If you run across anybody anytime soon that believes America is a beautiful country with your Indian brothers still locked up on that reservation, tell them I said they're sick, sad, insane and out of their damn mind. And as long as one Indian is up on that reservation, this will never be a beautiful country. While you send your army 10,000 miles away from home to guarantee some foreigner, he can live free from communism, who in the hell is going to guarantee you Indian brother, he can live free from you? And all these old sick fools in this country that's worrying about the communists overthrowing this country from within, let me tell them something. The FBI and the CIA is not only too slick, but they're too dirty to let anybody overthrow this country from the within, other than themselves.
Dick Gregory: And all these sick foods in this country that's worried about world-wide communism, the greatest deterrent we have in America against worldwide communism is not an army, it's not a big missile, it's not a big air force. The greatest deterrent we have against worldwide communism is called the United States Constitution. Why don't you implement that?
Speaker 1: That was part one of a lecture given at the University of Iowa, February 16th, 1970, by Dick Gregory as part of Black Experience Week. The second part of this lecture will be heard tomorrow at this time. This series of programs on Afro-American culture is presented by the broadcasting service of the University of Iowa in cooperation with the Department of English and the Afro-American Studies Program at the University as background material for the course Afro-American Literature. This has been a recorded presentation of the broadcasting service of the University of Iowa.