For me, the theme of the convention in Washington was not a new Constitution but organization for survival, and from that time on, we began to refer to the Party community programs as survival programs. The whole idea of the community programs had been developed by Bobby Seale while I was in prison, and his brilliant organizing methods had helped to establish them. The Breakfast for Children program was set up first. Other programs—clothing distribution centers, liberation schools, housing, prison projects, and medical centers—soon followed. We called them “survival programs pending revolution,” since we needed long-term programs and a disciplined organization to carry them out. They were designed to help the people survive until their consciousness is raised, which is only the first step in the revolution to produce a new America. I frequently use the metaphor of the raft to describe the survival programs. A raft put into service during a disaster is not meant to change conditions but to help one get through a difficult time. During a flood the raft is a life-saving device, but it is only a means of getting to higher and safer ground. So, too, with survival programs, which are emergency services. In themselves they do not change social conditions, but they are life-saving vehicles until conditions change.

Obviously this campaign had been planned well in advance. The perpetrators were only waiting for a propitious time to carry it out