Kwanzaa Calls It Kuumba. Gil Scott-Heron Called It the Revolution.

gil scott heron singing into microphone
Via Wikimedia Commons
Briona Lamback
December 18, 2025

The phrase "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" is from a 1971 poem by jazz musician and poet Gil Scott-Heron. But it’s often been misinterpreted. Let's unpack what it actually means, according to Scott-Heron himself.

Scott-Heron once said: "The first change takes place in your mind. You have to change your mind before you can change the way you live and the way you move." Coloniality has conditioned us to view ourselves through shame.

His words urge us to take the first step toward liberation: unlearning the internalized message that our Blackness makes us inferior. "The revolution will not go better with Coke" highlights the stark disconnect between the $1.6 trillion Black consumers spend annually and our marginalized position in society.

The opening line says," You cannot stay home, brother. You will not be able to plug in, turn on, and cop out."Scott-Heron is telling us that change requires our active participation.

Gil Scott-Heron gave us more than music. He gave us a mirror, a map, and a megaphone. His work is a reminder that our Kuumba– creativity – is more than art. It’s strategy. Survival. Liberation.

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