Black Power And The Civil Rights Movement

In the United States, these concepts were achieved through Jim Crow laws as well as the implementation of Ghettos. The inherent white supremacy that was present was constant and maintained through the perpetuation of cultural inferiority among African Americans, violence, and economic deprivation. The Black Power movement definitely took on a rather aggressive stance when it came to goals and defining the movement. They believed that without self-determination in the African-American community, the attempt to integrate inevitably became an issue of white supremacy and its effects rather than an issue of equality and rights for the black community. The overarching goal was liberation from racial colonialism however, it seems that the Black Power movement sought to emphasize that without self-determination, the goal to integrate becomes an aimless and insignificant feat. With this in mind, it could be said that the Black Power movement reiterated that the Black Community must be guided by their own determination to succeed rather than necessarily the idea that racial liberation would come to them by waiting and not acting. This was intertwined in one of Stokely Carmichael’s critiques of Martin Luther King Jr’s movement. Although he respected the man greatly, he emphasized that King’s argument was flawed because the United States did not have a true conscious, unlike King noted. As the United States had no conscious, it could be said that integration was not necessarily achieved fully through NVDA. The Black Power movement steered the issue away from whether or not African Americans should be nonviolent but rather projected the idea of whether or not white Americans can acknowledge the hundreds of years of racial violence that occurred towards African-Americans. The main political

Black power is the result of provoking a century’s worth of submission, struggle and suffering. For many, America was considered divided between the whites and blacks, which caused protest from the African Americans due to the racial inequality. For the past century, blacks have led passive protest with little or no change to their well being. Black power aims to change that, one of their core ideology is that Blacks must unite without the help of whites to face racism while not standing idle and using any means necessary. Black power stems from the influences of Pan-Africanism and Black empowerment while also going against the core ideas present in Civil Rights Movement like the nonviolence movement.

The civil rights movement was one of the main elements that were responsible for agitation and protest that greatly expanded in the 1960s. This social movement “originated among black Americans in the South who faced racial discrimination and segregation, or the separation of whites and blacks, in almost every aspect of their lives” (“Protests in the 1960s,” 3). There was constant racial

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

Through the rise of groups such as the Black Panther Party, violence became increasingly prevalent. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense calls upon the American people in general and the black people in particular to take careful note of the racist California Legislature which is now considering legislation aimed at keeping the black people disarmed and powerless at the very same time that racist police agencies throughout the country are intensifying the terror, brutality, murder, and repression of black people (Document F).” As a result of the lack of movement on the bill previously proposed my Kennedy to remove segregation, many African-Americans began to give up on this method of peaceful protest. “All of these efforts have been answered by more repression, deceit, and hypocrisy (Document F).” This is because as it appeared to them, it was not working and had no effect on the government. Instead, they discovered a much more direct approach which, was assured to catch the eye of the government. This method was violence. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense believes that the time has come for the black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late (Document F).” Through violent “black power” groups such as the Black Panthers, the previously peaceful Civil Rights movement began to take on a new

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.

The Black Power Movement is a social movement because it was seeking to change the societal belief that while blacks and whites were legally equal, blacks were still treated as inferior in

Imagine it is the 1960’s: conflict in Vietnam had sparked widespread protest at American college campuses, people all over the country were reading the The Feminine Mystique and fighting for increased equality among the sexes, and the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak. African Americans throughout America were uniting for the common cause of equality, however differing ideology and beliefs regarding how equality could be achieved divided them. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X rose as prominent leaders in the fight against racial inequality, the latter typically credited with the development of more violent methodology which excluded white involvement and conceived the movement of “Black Power.” The Black Panthers, members of a political party formed by college students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, are typically associated with the idea of black power and the legacy of Malcolm X despite the fact that he had died a year prior to the party’s founding. While the idea of black power is easily and mis-conceivably associated with the idea of black supremacy and violence, The Black Panther Party primarily sought a spot for African Americans next to that of whites, not above. The Black Panther Party, despite its violent appearance and legacy, made a positive influence on American history through its platform based on equality, human rights, and patriotism.

However, with the introduction of sharecropping and the powerful Jim Crow system, blacks were segregated and once again lesser citizens under the law. They were beaten, lynched, and lived in constant fear of overstepping their bounds set upon them by the white southerners. Over time, resentment grew and out of this resentment came the Civil Rights movement. It was the culmination of decades of resistance starting as early as WWII and carrying on through the Cold War, as both provided opportunities for Americans to reflect upon the hypocrisies in the US’s political agenda. While progress was made, a lack of support by the federal government severely hampered progress and the movement came to the realization that confrontation was the only way to move civil rights forward. Through the use of mass demonstrations and careful use of the media, the movement gained support which eventually led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights

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)

Violence also proved to be unproductive because it only caused more resistance and chaos in time of confrontation. Violent protests such as riots ended up damaging the Black Community. African Americans resulted being the victims of these riots, and as a result the most affected by the violent confrontations. Moreover, the use of violence created stiff race relations between the African Americans and White. Demonstrating that the violence method was ineffective for the civil rights movement is the fact that the “Black power movement faded almost as quickly as it appeared” (Ware 161).

What comes to mind when you think of the Black Panther Party? Do you even know who the Black Panthers really were? They helped transform the lives of many African Americans in the U.S and helped empower the community. The Black Panther has a huge background of history, goals, and beliefs. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale from Oakland, California founded the Panthers in 1966. Initially, they were an African American self defense force and were highly influenced by Malcolm X’s beliefs. The Panthers had many goals such as;freedom, protecting blacks from police brutality, and helping African Americans obtain a jobs. Despite the negative stereotypes of the Black Panthers as people who ran around with guns, fighting police, they were a major group during the Civil Rights Movement because they practiced self defense, established revolutionary socialism, and stimulated Malcolm X's influence. In the following I will discuss the successful changes the Black Panther Party, had on the African American community during the civil rights movement.

The movement, using the slogan “Black Power,” followed the teachings of Malcolm X, an African American leader who died the same year and who promoted that African Americans separate from white society in favor of forming their own community. The Black Panther Party, a militant organization that viewed themselves as soldiers warring against the white hierarchy, arose from such ideals. Despite the challenge that “Black Power” proposed to the nonviolent movement, civil rights activists continued persevered in finding the end of black discrimination legally. They found success in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which both contributed to legally naming minorities as equal citizens, as well as protecting the same from discrimination. Although the strength of the civil rights movement dissipated after the 1960s, activists continue to make efforts to end entirely the racial discrimination within America’s economic and social policies.

The Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power movement were two monumental movements advocating for the rights, liberties, and equalities of African Americans in the 1960’s. While both had similar interests and long term goals for African Americans, these movements, their leaders, actions and influences were vastly different than one another. The Civil Rights Movement which largely credits their accomplishments to the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr based and grounded itself on moral principles that were distinguished by the importance of non-violence (HistoryNet). The Black Power Movement aligned itself and defined its actions by leader, Malcom X. Malcom X, like Dr. King, pushed for the rights of African Americans and drew a wide following. However, he differed from Dr. King, in that he did not condemn violence, especially when he believed it was in self-defense, for him this was a justified action to fight against the oppression the African American faced by white supremacy (History.com). The stance on violence is the essential and most critical division of these two movements in their principles and actions. In addition, this dividing stance would result in differences in the way they were perceived by established society. Although, they would have differences with each other, in the end, this would not be enough to stop either from focusing on their long term goal of improving the rights, liberties, freedoms and equality of African Americans.

In conclusion, The Black Power Movement was an attempt to address plain issues that the leaders did not address and it gave people the ability to vote, Integration, affirmative action and equal rights in the work place. It instilled a sense of racial pride and self- esteem in ‘blacks’ and how to fight for what we wanted and what was right and also not to back down until we get it. In the Black Power Movement t the people of nation united and showed that they cannot be intimidated by just anything. This also helps future leaders of the country to see what was done in the past and what