The Black Of Black Studies 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

Being there was no legitimate definition of the course it was not taken seriously at Universities. Many question surfaces such as the value of Black studies and its use. Black studies were designed to create the next generation of scholars through transfer of knowledge for not just African American students but for all. To suggest Black Studies is only for black students is to set meaningless limits upon a discipline with limitless potential. All students should be encouraged to partake in Black Studies programs. An understanding of the black experience is authoritative in a nation where the Afro-American composes a meaningful minority and there is an increased importance upon a united but culturally diversifies

“The Black Studies Program: Strategy and Structure” was published Fall of 1972 in The Jounal of Negro Education. It’s contents are a relection on the years before when colleges and universitys were allowing African Americans to attend , but did not provide curriculum about or for African Americans.

The Black Arts Movement is famously described by Larry Neal, in his essay “The Black Arts Movement” as the “aesthetic and spiritual sister of the Black Power concept” (Neal 272). Led, in some ways, by Malcolm X and advocated by the Black Panthers for Self-Defense, the Black Power Movement can be viewed as a distinct break from earlier civil rights movements. Black Power encouraged the improvement of African American communities rather than the fight for integration and acceptance according to white standards. The Black Power Movement cultivated racial dignity and self-reliance, and also revived an interest in cultural heritage and history. Furthermore, the movement recognized that “standards of beauty and self-esteem were integral to power relations” and sought to cultivate confidence within the black community. (Hiltz and Sell). In addition to sharing an ideological basis, The Black Arts Movement and Black Power Movement merged even further, because the BAM allowed for “concrete expression” of many of the “political values inherent in the Black Power concept” (Neal 272).

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

In some ways I agree that the Black power Movements of the 1960’s achieved nothing for the Black people because 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. However in some ways I disagree because the Black Power movements in the early 1960s coincided with the peak of success for the Civil Rights campaign such as the freedom cities of 1966 or the Free D.C. movement.

Black Movements In America is written by Cedric J. Robinson, who is a professor of Black Studies and Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Robinson traces the emergence of Black political cultures in the United States from slave resistance in the sixteenth and seventeenth century to the civil rights movement of the present. He also focuses on Black resistance which was forged from a succession of quests such as The return to Africa; escape and alliances with anti-colonial Native- American resistance; and eventually emigration. This is a historical primer whose subject matter is well-indicated by the title. The Narrative focuses on the chronological poles of robinson 's ranging, chronological and compelling narrative of movements in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries maroon societies, and urban community organized during the 'late ' years of black power movements.

Over the course of the years that Black Studies has been a separate functioning entity, there have been different ideological and political reasons for why Black studies is needed in institutions of higher education. Scholars such as Nathan Hare, John Henrik Clark, John W. Blassingame and Devere E. Pentony have given their own varied rationales as to why they believe Black Studies is a necessity within these institutions; if it is even one at all. Each of these men have different opinions on this topic but they do share one similar perspective. The historical importance of black people should be taught and made a fundamental component of Black Studies because in institutions of higher education, where the populations are predominantly white, staying connected to the black culture can be difficult. Getting educated about it enables students to stay connected to their roots and use it to improve their future. Many black people grow up unaware of who they are and where they come from because in the current education system black people have been pushed to the side or spoken about very briefly. Students do not understand the struggles of African American people, so therefore having courses that educate them about the history of blacks, will spark understanding of black people as a whole and there might be a change in black and even possibly white communities.

Two important figures in history who were well known for educating African Americans and who also changed the way the U.S education system worked were Booker T. Washington who focused on having education for real life jobs and not asking for equality from whites. He just focused on getting help from whites and accepting their place on earth. And W.E.B. du bois who focused on the exact opposite things that of booker t Washington. Du bois focused on a strategy called gradualist strategy. The gradualist political strategy focused on blacks being book smart to get anywhere in life.

Dubois influenced African Americans to set a goal to reach a liberal arts education. Dubois believed that African Americans only earned their rights through education, not through the social sciences. The education of African Americans served purposes to the bettering of the African race and to lessen the knowledge about African Americans in the white race. Through education, Dubois wanted to eliminate ignorance about African American people and educate the world about the contributions to society that African American people could potentially make. It was these reasons stated above, that were expressed into social factors and other reasons which led Dubois to becoming one of the leading activists and revolutionary thinkers of his time, in particular in the area of contradicting politics and academic research.

The final movement took place at San Francisco State College and was organized by the college’s Black Student Union in 1966. They demanded that Black Studies become a department offered at their school and they were dedicated to achieving it. After two years of strikes, demands, and negotiations the movement was successful and San Francisco State College became the first to offer a Black Studies Program and Department. (Karenga)

Thesis: Even with the creation of Black Studies as an academic discipline, the culture and influence of white dependency still seem to block people of color’s mental potential, and inherently their ability to progress as a group.

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

Though this movement existed throughout the 19th century, it spread quickly until it reached its peak between the 1950's and 1960's. It was aimed at getting black Americans (Africans) the rights and privileges of equality and citizenship without racism. This was done through large campaigns of nonviolent demonstrations, negotiations, civil disobedience and all legal means. The movement was focused in the south, where there was considerable disparity in education, health care, economics, and so forth.

During this decade, the Civil Rights movement continued to gain momentum. The black community was continually persecuted and discriminated against by prejudice white individuals and figures of authority. Blacks everywhere struggled to end discrimination. They demanded the right to vote, to receive quality education, and to become respected individuals in the community which shunned them. (Sitkoff 35) Students, in particular, played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1960's. Many college students were outraged by