The phrase “The revolution will not be televised” is most famously associated with poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron.

Quick Scoop

  • The line comes from Gil Scott-Heron’s piece “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” first recorded around 1970 and released in studio form in 1971.
  • It became a key slogan of Black radical politics and the broader civil rights and Black Power movements in the United States.
  • The phrase has since been reused in activism, journalism, and pop culture as shorthand for the idea that real transformative change happens in the streets and in people’s minds, not as a passive spectacle on TV.

In later interviews, Scott-Heron explained that the saying pointed to an inner shift: you must change your mind and actively participate; no broadcast can do the revolution for you.

TL;DR: It was said and popularized by Gil Scott-Heron, whose poem-song turned the line into an enduring political and cultural catchphrase.

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