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Mr. Armmand is an admirable member of the Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.
"The experience in the African American Liberation struggle from the age of 19 to 29 shaped my perception of the world and what is possible for an ordinary person to achieve as long as one believes in collective endeavor, a shared vision, and a steely determination."
After joining CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) at the age of 19, Louis Armmand and six friends organized a 5,000-person rally in Staten Island, N.Y. in support of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; their efforts helped send five busses (about 200 supporters total) to Dr. King's March on Washington (pictured left).
After the march, Armmand continued his work in the movement, managing Liberty House Cooperatives and establishing a local Malcolm X History Society. By 1968, he was also working with Co-op groups in Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia. Additionally, he earned a transfer scholarship from Mississippi State University and graduated from Yale University in 1977. From there, Armmand earned a law degree from U.C.L.A. and founded ARMMAND + Associates real estate investment trust.
In 2020, Mr. Armmand joined us at HHS and shared his inspirational journey with students.
A message to our students:
Mr. Armmand was unable to join us this year, but he wanted to leave a note to inspire students to continue pushing for a better world.
"At 17 I started college in New York City to study physics and mathematics. I had to wake up at 5 a.m., catch a bus at 6 a.m., then a 30-minute ferry boat ride, followed by a 30-minute subway ride to get to my first class at 8:00 a.m. I did that five days a week for one and 1/2 years. Then I dropped out to join the exploding Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. I worked in it for ten years before returning to college with renewed motivation and purpose. Yes, indeed, anything that advances humanity in a positive direction is possible to achieve. Most worthy things in life are difficult to achieve but greatly worth the effort. Remember that preparation, persistence, vision, and courage are the qualities that we can all develop and exercise. As the old adage goes: 'If you can conceive it, you can achieve it.'"
2020 Guest Speaker
"What was the youngest age that you remember experiencing or seeing racism, and how did you react? How do you feel racism has changed since then?
"The youngest age that I experienced racism was during the first grade in a public school in my home state of West Virginia. Since we had very dedicated and well-educated teachers that lived in the same neighborhoods as their students, we (students) didn't mind. However, I quickly noticed that our parents had to buy our textbooks, and the books were used 'hand-me-downs' from the 'white' schools. I remember thinking that something was wrong with the situation but I didn't understand the full picture until I was in the seventh grade when the U. S. Supreme Court declared public school segregation by 'race' to be unconstitutional (see Brown vs. Topeka, Kansas Board of Education, 1955).
Of course, the forms of 'racism' have changed in the United States along with everything else in society. When I was in elementary school, racial segregation was the rule in 22 of the 50 states in one form or another. Interracial dating and marriage were taboo or outlawed, even in California, as in 22 other states. Black people were still lynched from trees by white mobs until 1960 in several southern states. Today, it is the police that carry out "official" murders of Black people in the streets and their homes. We must put an end to this practice in the words of Malcolm X 'by any means necessary.'
By engaging in united, multi-racial/ethnic community organizing and education, we can win this fight!"
How do you handle individuals/groups who actively oppose your beliefs?
"First, I try to understand their motivation or basis for what they believe. Is it political, religious, prejudice, ignorance, or misunderstanding? If the person(s) is genuinely confused about my position, then I will patiently explain until I have answered all sincere questions. However, if the person/group is ideologically opposed based upon economic (class) or ethnic/racial hatred, there can be no compromise. There is a political struggle between the two beliefs. One must eventually destroy the basis for the existence of the other.
For example: During the U. S. Civil War, the key issue was whether slavery would continue to exist in the United States of America. The North and the South fought a bloody four-year war to settle the question forever, or so it seemed. The 'old' form of slavery was destroyed. But a new form of human labor exploitation took its place in the form of contract labor or 'sharecropping.' The former slaves worked the land owned by the former slave owner but shared the crop after harvest season. The landowner determined the share portion and made sure that the tenant farmer never got out of debt. Thus, slavery by another name.
When I feel down or discouraged, I think of those that came before me to create a path for the future like Malcolm X, Dr. M.L. King, W.E.B. DuBois, Mrs. Fanny Lou Hamer, Mrs. Rosa Parks, Che Guevara, and Mohammad Ali."
Best regards,
Louis D. Armmand, Esq.
(Feb. 23, 2021)
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