Juneteenth Spotlight: Famous Black Orators

Historian Howard Zinn once said “the most revolutionary act one can engage in is to tell the truth.” In the case of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, being a straight talker came with political consequences. The daughter of working-class Caribbean immigrants, Chisholm was unafraid of controversy. The “unbought and unbossed” leader was an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War and a vocal supporter of civil rights and women’s rights. Her bold campaign for president in 1972 would forever alter the nation’s view of what a presidential candidate could look and sound like.

Before the audacity of hope, a lyrical reverend intoned, “Down with dope, up with hope.” The Rev. Jesse Jackson had Barack Obama’s soaring rhetorical skills but couldn’t quite get his 1984 or 1988 presidential campaigns across the finish line. In 1988 — some 20 years before Pres. Obama shook the world — Jackson was leading in early primary results, appearing on Time and Newsweek covers, and it seemed he just might make history.

It’s still considered one of the great American political speeches. “My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total,” Barbara Jordan thundered. Jordan, a Black congresswoman in a pink suit and thick glasses, acknowledged that when the Constitution was drafted she wouldn’t have been included in its solemn promise. But on July 25, 1974, she delivered her endorsement of the nation’s supreme legal document while defending Congress’ right to seek the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

Public debates almost always disappoint but one exception comes from the archives of 1965 — a debate between William F. Buckley Jr. (the very grandfather of modern conservatism) and James Baldwin, one of the 20th century’s most important writers, who happened to be Black and gay. In that debate, Baldwin captivates a room full of fancy white Englishmen when addressing the question: “Has the American dream been achieved at the expense of the American Negro?”

Sometimes oratorical fireworks are the best way to celebrate the Fourth of July. Frederick Douglass, famous for his heroic journey from slave to statesman, was also a gifted orator. And on July 5, 1852, Douglass attempted to convince a large crowd in Rochester, New York — gathered to celebrate Independence Day — about the hypocrisy of slavery. Douglass did not mince words. “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine,” he would tell those assembled. “You may rejoice, I must mourn.” And he was just getting warmed up.

Black nationalist Marcus Garvey had a broader geographical impact than most people realize, and a speechmaking past you might not know about. Garvey gained fame as a leading advocate of Pan-African politics, arguing for a permanent haven on the African continent for Black people from around the world. In 1921, he captivated a West Indian audience in Panama with a laudatory speech. “Two years ago in New York, nobody paid any attention to us. When I used to speak, even the policemen on the beat never noticed me,” he said of the sudden rise of Black consciousness. Garveyism would inspire the creation of later Black nationalist movements, such as the Nation of Islam.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was such a gifted orator that he delivered multiple historic speeches at the Lincoln Memorial. On the same spot in Washington, D.C., where six years later he would give his iconic 1963 “I Have a Dream” address, King delivered a demand to America’s leaders: Give us the ballot. King was the headline speaker at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, and it was the charismatic preacher’s first national audience. Though far less well-known than his “I Have a Dream” address, his “Give Us the Ballot” speech was no less eloquent, and perhaps even more consequential.

Words and deeds can live on in curious and beautiful ways. Take the final speech of civil rights activist Malcolm X, given at Barnard College in 1965. Although just fragments of text, video and memory remain, “The Black Revolution and Its Effect Upon the Negro of the Western Hemisphere” connected the struggle for civil rights with a worldwide struggle against oppression, in a speech delivered before an almost entirely white audience. Malcolm X’s home in Queens had been firebombed days before, and his wife and four kids were in hiding, but he persevered, saying he’d “rather be dead than have somebody deprive me of my rights.” Three days later, on Feb. 21, he was assassinated in Harlem.

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One of the 20th century’s most influential freedom fighters, Nelson Mandela emerged from nearly three decades in prison to become South Africa’s first Black president and help his country transition to a post-apartheid era. He could also give a good speech. OZY CEO Carlos Watson remembers how, as a summer intern for the Detroit Free Press more than three decades ago, he went to a Detroit stadium to listen to the newly-freed Mandela speak. “All around me, people buzzed with excitement,” recalls Watson. “I remember one young woman saying she thought of his visit as her generation’s chance to see Martin Luther King.”

As the clock struck midnight on March 6, 1957, Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah led his fellow citizens in welcoming the independent nation called Ghana, the first Black African nation to shake off the yoke of colonial rule. The band played the new national anthem, and fireworks and dancing filled the night. The beloved Nkrumah, with his infectious smile, used his independence speech to proclaim his vision for Africa, arguing, “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of the African continent.” Unfortunately, Nkrumah would later declare himself president for life and institute one-party rule in the new nation. While visiting China in 1966, he was deposed by a coup.

Malcolm X called him the greatest Black man ever to walk the continent of Africa. Just six months after becoming the first prime minister of the newly independent Republic of the Congo (later called the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Patrice Lumumba was shot down by a firing squad in 1961. In one of his few speeches as prime minister, the wiry intellectual had spoken ardently about the oppression and humiliation suffered by the Congolese people at the hands of their Belgian colonizers. That speech and his refusal to acquiesce to Western interests helped spark the events leading to his death.

Few presidents have had the oratorical abilities of Barack Obama. His talent, as shown during the 2008 campaign with his “A More Perfect Union” speech about racial tension and his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, helped him overcome the challenges of his historic candidacy. During his second term, Obama described immigration as an issue where “the differences are dwindling; where a broad consensus is emerging; and where a call for action can now be heard coming from all across America.” As with so many challenges facing the U.S. and the world, the struggles for racial equality and just immigration policy continue today. Yet it is clear that Obama and the historic orators who preceded him all helped to change the very course of history.

Which great leaders of today — whether local, state, national or international — might you add to this list?

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