H. Rap Brown, born as Hubert Gerold Brown, is a figure whose words reverberate through the annals of American history. As a prominent civil rights activist and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 1960s, Brown’s impassioned speeches and fearless advocacy were instrumental in shaping the course of the civil rights movement. His eloquence and unyielding commitment to justice made him a formidable force in the fight against racial oppression and inequality.
Throughout his life, H. Rap Brown’s words served as a rallying cry for those seeking liberation and equality in a society plagued by systemic discrimination. His profound insights into the nature of power, oppression, and resistance continue to inspire generations of activists and advocates striving to create a more just and equitable world. In the following collection, we present a selection of H. Rap Brown quotes that encapsulate his indomitable spirit and enduring legacy.
The first responsibility of the Muslim is as teacher. That is his job, to teach. His first school, his first classroom is within the household. His first student is himself. He masters himself and then he begins to convey the knowledge that he has acquired to the family. The people who are closest to him. H. Rap Brown
We happen to be the vanguard of that revolutionary struggle because we are the most dispossessed. H. Rap Brown
To be successful in struggle requires remembrance of the Creator and the doing of good deeds. This is important because successful struggle demands that there be a kind of social consciousness. H. Rap Brown
When you understand your obligations to God then you can understand your obligations to society. H. Rap Brown
There’s no such thing as second class citizenship. That’s like telling me you can be a little bit pregnant. H. Rap Brown
So black people all across this country are uniting. They must unite, and they must organize themselves. H. Rap Brown
You see, the poverty program for the last five years have been buy-off programs. H. Rap Brown
The only politics in this country that’s relevant to black people today is the politics of revolution… none other. H. Rap Brown
An old African leader says about leadership, he says that leadership should never be shared; it should always remain in the hands of the dispossessed people. We will lead the revolution. H. Rap Brown
They cannot divide us by saying that you’re middle class or you’re lower class. H. Rap Brown
If America don’t come around, we’re gonna’ burn it down. H. Rap Brown
There has to be a social commitment, a social consciousness that joins men together. On the basis of their coming together, they do not transgress against themselves and they do not transgress against others. H. Rap Brown
Everybody in the black community must organize, and then we decide whether we will have alliance with other people or not, but not until we are organized. H. Rap Brown
Revolution comes when human beings set out to correct decadent institutions. H. Rap Brown
Attack those concepts such as ‘third world.’ Think about it. If we look at it in terms of numbers, then people of color are the majority in this world. We should be the ‘first world.’ H. Rap Brown
To be successful in struggle requires remembrance of the Creator and the doing of good deeds. This is important because successful struggle demands that there be a kind of social consciousness. There has to be a social commitment, a social consciousness that joins men together. H. Rap Brown
Yes, politics IS war without bloodshed; and war is an extension of those politics. H. Rap Brown
You’ve got to stop dividing yourselves. You got to organize. H. Rap Brown
My name is Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, the former H. Rap Brown. I am a devoted servant of Allah, and an unwavering devotee to His cause. For more than 30 years, I have been tormented and persecuted by my enemies for reasons of race and belief. H. Rap Brown
We talking about revolution because that’s the era that you’re caught in. H. Rap Brown
The only thing that’s going to free Huey is gun powder. H. Rap Brown
Look at the newborn baby. It struggles to breathe after living in the womb. And yet, growth comes as a result of struggle. Even when we talk about jihad. We need to attach consciousness to struggle. This struggle has to be both individual and collective. H. Rap Brown
There is no such thing as a black middle class. H. Rap Brown
Class structures are a luxury that we cannot afford. H. Rap Brown
But black people fall for that same argument, and they go around talking about law breakers. We did not make the laws in this country. We are neither morally nor legally confined to those laws. Those laws that keep them up, keep us down. H. Rap Brown
Black people must address itself to the causes of poverty. That’s oppression in this country. H. Rap Brown
In terms of the revolution, I believe that the revolution will be a revolution of dispossessed people in this country: that’s the Mexican American, the Puerto Rican American, the American Indian, and black people. H. Rap Brown
And understand: class differences will not save you. H. Rap Brown
See, justice is a joke in this country, and it stinks of its hypocricy. H. Rap Brown
One of the lies that we tell ourselves is that we’re making progress; but Huey’s chair’s empty. H. Rap Brown
The man does not beat your head because you got a Cadillac or because you got a Ford; he beats you because you’re black! H. Rap Brown
I say violence is necessary. It is as American as cherry pie. H. Rap Brown
No such thing as a Dixiecrat. H. Rap Brown
See, it’s no in between: you’re either free or you’re a slave. H. Rap Brown
The poverty program was not designed to eliminate poverty. H. Rap Brown
I seek truth over a lie; I seek justice over injustice; I seek righteousness over the rewards of evildoers, and I love Allah more than I love the state. H. Rap Brown