Che addresses the UN General Assembly, December, 1964 -- Che Photo #19

Che addresses the UN General Assembly, December, 1964 -- Che Photo #19

A photo from when Che gave his famous speech to the  19th General Assembly in New York. Che denounced American imperialism and lies and length and quoted from the anti-imperialist Second Declaration of Havana.

It is also remembered for such trenchant moments as when Che said:

The United States intervenes in Latin America invoking the defense of free institutions. The time will come when this Assembly will acquire greater maturity and demand of the U.S. Government guarantees for the life of the blacks and Latin Americans who live in that country, most of them U.S. citizens by origin or adoption.

Those who kill their own children and discriminate daily against them because of the color of their skin; those who let the murderers of blacks remain free, protecting them, and furthermore punishing the black population because they demand their legitimate rights as free men — how can those who do this consider themselves guardians of freedom? We understand that today the Assembly is not in a position to ask for explanations of these acts. It must be clearly established, however, that the government of the United States is not the champion of freedom, but rather the perpetrator of exploitation and oppression against the peoples of the world and against a large part of its own population.

From a collection of Soviet archival photos of Che. The Left Chapter will be doing a daily series of these often unusual Che photos from this archive over the month of February -- some with quotes and history.