Black Political Thought And Activism

Originating in the North, this movement took on a more radical stance: one that maintained racial separation and aimed to form a separate Black identity and encourage self-reliance and independence from whites (Source I). The Black Power Movement aimed to end institutionalised racism in the Northern states and call for social justice while improving the living conditions of Black people in urban areas who were living in poverty and often subjected to police brutality, although it can be noted that segregation laws were not in place in the North. (Source L). A prominent leader of the Black Power Movement was Malcolm X, who considered the Black Power Movement to be supportive of a nationalist ‘Black’ revolution which mainly focused on the accumulation of land and, as a result, independence as opposed to the ‘Negro’ revolution based on the Civil Rights Movement which focused on integration between races (Source

The emergence of the Black Power movements in the early 1960s coincided with the peak of success for the Civil Rights campaign - the legislation of 1964-65. Thereafter, the focus of campaigns had to move the practical issues related to social and economic deprivation, and the ability to exercise the rights that had been gained. By 1968 little had changed, and it is therefore easy to claim that Black Power movements achieved nothing, and in fact had a negative impact on black Americans.

During the early 1930’s through the mid 1960’s there were many different approaches African American’s took for achieving social changes, and the Civil rights they deserved. Many great African American leader’s such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcom X, and James Baldwin contributed towards the betterment of blacks living in America. Aside from individual African American leaders there was also groups that fought for black civil rights such as The Black Power Movement, Black Panthers, and Civil Rights Activist. Other events that transpired during this time period had also effected the civil rights movement in America. For instance: The altercation with Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white male ultimately led to The Montgomery Bus boycott protest,

For one, African American leaders in the ‘90s to the ‘20s attempted to end the disenfranchisement of African Americans, done through poll taxes and literacy tests, by advocating their cause in the more sympathetic North. Later, in the fifties and the sixties, these same goals, enlign poll taxes and literacy tests, were once again fought for by African American leaders, through advocacy and agitation. This shows a major similarity as they wanted to achieve the same things. Furthermore, during the nineties to the twenties, leaders of African Americans sought to end segregation in the South, as caused by Plessy v. Ferguson. Similarly, African American leaders from the fifties to the sixties also fought for the end of segregation, in cases such as Brown v. Board of Education. This shows a significant similarity in that both time periods’ leaders attempted to achieve the goal of ending

By the 1950’s and 1960’s, a breaking point was reached and blacks were tired of being mistreated. Many Civil Rights groups began to form, like the SNCC, and leaders, like Martin Luther King Jr., began to rise. As document 5 shows, these groups goals were to use peaceful protest and civil disobedience to demonstrate the societal unrest that is occurring and the need for political action. Upset at the racial injustice instigated by “Jim Crow Laws” and racism, these groups, through demonstrations such as the Greensboro Sit-ins, the Montgomery Bus Boycotts and the March on Washington, brought to public attention to the African Americans’ dreams of to finally getting the rights they were promised with emancipation. This could be further demonstrated by the “I Have a Dream” Speech. In this speech, given in March of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. discusses a future for America that lives by the standard that all men are created equal. This outside resource, along with various other movements, lead to further public outcry. As document 6 shows this grew to a point to where political action needed to be done. To Kennedy and his successor (Lyndon B. Johnson), this was a huge moral issue that couldn’t be ignored or else the nation would tear itself apart. This ultimately lead to the passing of the acts like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act. These acts were a major victory and largely paved the way to future equality for African

During the late 1960s black power began to arise and take a sudden increase. The Black Panthers and the Students for a Democratic Society began to organize ghetto dwellers into a revolutionary army to overthrow capitalism and to put an end to "Jim Crow" and the harsh situations that came with it. (source 5)

Considering the fact that the Vietnam War was going on the period which civil rights

The years of 1945-55 saw limited progress in improving the status of African Americans to an extent; however, during this time period there was also an increased amount of progress for the African American community in improving their status. There were many key factors, which contributed to improving the status of African Americans, such as the work of key civil right parties, for instance the NAACP and their approach to increase grass-roots activism, and their increased membership shows their wide support. In addition to this, there was also help from economic and political victories which demonstrated a fundamental shift

In “The Black Panther Platform: What We Want, What We Believe,” Huey Newton and Bobby Seale use intersectionality and contradiction to criticize several structural obstacles that facilitated unfair treatment of black people. Some of these injustices included inequalities in basic necessities like housing and education, the economic exploitation of black people in a capitalist society, and military, judicial, and police targeting of black people. Hegemonic ideologies had been dictating the lives of black people for centuries, and the Black Panther Party was a revolutionary socialist party founded in 1966 during the Civil Rights Movement that sought to promote the counter-hegemonic movement in favor of civil liberties. The ideologies that the

Throughout the 1960’s, the widespread movement for African American civil rights had transformed in terms of its goals and strategies. The campaign had intensified in this decade, characterized by greater demands and more aggressive efforts. Although the support of the Civil Rights movement was relatively constant, the goals of the movement became more high-reaching and specific, and its strategies became less compromising. African Americans’ struggle for equality during the 1960’s was a relentless movement that used change for progress. In essence, the transformation of the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960’s forwarded the evolution of America into a nation of civil equality and freedom.

Black power was a movement that had evolved from previous generations, which displayed struggles to acquire change and equality for black people in America. It was a very moving time for America where white people witnessed African Americans coming together and organizing movements against the government. Individuals such as Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Williams, Rosa Parks and many other influential individuals, who paved the way for a new generation to bring forth change to the black community. This was a period where laws and regulations such as Jim Crow, segregation, and voting discrimination became illegal and therefore overturned. This was the opportunity for African Americans to fight back and speak out to bring forth social changes to their communities as

Civil rights or black power, which of the two approaches was the dominant one in the twentieth-century African American struggle for racial and social equality? For Rhonda Williams the answer is, without a doubt, the latter one. In her book Concrete Demands, she argues that black power and not civil rights strategies were the dominant force in twentieth-century African American activism. That said, it is important to note that Williams differentiates between “black power” and “Black Power.” While the latter one stands for a specific historical period of ideologically informed activism that left an indelible mark on African American politics and culture, the first one, black power with small letters has been central to African American political

Black power is a political slogan that was aimed to promote the ideas of the black racial group. There have been mixed views on weather it weakened the civil rights movement or strengthened it, this involved many factors. Some of the thing’s that weakened the movement was the use violence, organisation and leadership and the CORE ideas and the message of the black power. However some people disagreed that Black Power weakened the movement as other factors like the Impact of the Vietnam War and the failure of Kings campaigns for the reasons like the difference between the north and south.

Due to the lack of a definitive definition of the term “black power” whites interpreted it as an “expression a new racism” (Rustin 430). In contrast, blacks thought of “black power” as a signal to whites that blacks would not tolerate the treatment that they had received. The Black Power movement created tension in which Rustin believed the movement “diverts the (civil rights) from a meaningful debate over strategy and tactics, it isolates the Negro community, and it encourages the growth of anti-Negro forces” (Rustin 430). Thus, this tension would prohibit the progression of the civil rights movement.

The movement of the 1960s and 1970s that helped with black racial issues and autonomy was the black power movement. This was especially important to blacks because they finally felt like the public would notice their treatment. The main reason for these uprisings was because of the police mistreatment and abuse, but white people blamed the black power militants. White people were usually on each others side, and black people were usually on each others side, there was no agreement. Even though black power organizations were posted on the front page of newspapers, they still cold not catch the eyes of the white folk. They also could not end the poverty or racism that stretched throughout the country, but this time helped with future protest