With this new self respect and new sense of dignity on the part of the Negro, the South’s negative peace was rapidly undermined. And so the tension which we are witnessing in race relations today can be explained, in part, by the revolutionary change in the Negro’s evaluation of himself, and his determination to struggle and sacrifice until the walls of segregation have finally been crushed by the battering rams of surging justice.
This highlights the need for liberated thinking before liberatory action. I like how it frames action as the inevitable outcome of a revolutionary change in sense of self. That new self demands expression and recognition. Revolutionary consciousness demands revolutionary action.