The term “Black Power” associates with Stokeley Carmichael. Stokeley was leader of civil rights in the 1960s. In fact, the term was famous before Stokeley used it in the period. Willie Ricks used it as a phrase to rally the masses against the discriminatory practices dominant against the black people. Stokeley used it in the March against Fear. The rally’s objective was to enable black people to stop living in fear of discrimination and prejudice in the society. In most cases, blacks were victims of racial segregation.
The society treated them differently from the rest of the society basing on the color of their skin. The term Black Power asserted that black people are not inferior beings in the society. The phrase initiated positive response from the society. Ricks had no idea that the crowd’s response would be so good. He suggested that Carmichael should use the phrase in all the speeches he delivered to the crowd.
However, there was confusion from the first time the phrase emerged. Some of the African Americans thought that the phrase targeted the white people. The whites managed all the resources in the society. Whites dominated the society at that time. Most of the political power lay in the hands of the white people. The phrases acted like retribution to what the whites held in their hands while the blacks had little to show. Some African American made the phrase an opportunity of airing out their grievances. They wanted to elevate the status of all black people in the society. The black people would stop using the phrase since all their objectives fall into place as time passed. Consequently, the inflammatory phrase ceases to exist since it carries potential threats to political peace. Inflammatory statements cause civil wars and political unrest. The neglected groups cause unrest as they seek to be on an equal platform with the dominant group.
Black power implied that African Americans had the power to advance themselves within the discriminatory American society. On the other hand, there were African Americans who believed that the phrase centered on the advancement of African Americans only. It had no meaning to the rest of the society. Those who supported the phrase did not want any integration with the whites in the society. They preferred better status for the African Americans based on what they believed to be right. They avoided the influence of the whites. The division made Black Power more of a belief among the black people and not just a phrase.
Black Power is equally bad as racism. If African Americans dominate the society, the truth will alienate them from the Whites in the society. The alienation results from a lack of trust between the two sections of the community. According to Martin Luther, Black Power is not a healthy phrase. Nothing that tends to affect the unity and co-existence of the society is worth holding onto when it comes to the society.
Luther’s criticism is extensively diplomatic. He believed that the phrase was unfortunate as its implication rallied on the rise of Black Nationalism. The supremacy of Black people is similar than the dominance of the white people. Both perspectives have a negative perspective. It is the duty of all people in the society to ensure that resources and power accrue equally. Color, whether Black or White, is not a basis for the allocation of either resources or power.
Integration and Civil Rights
Black Power fails to keep pace with the nationalistic objectives of civil rights and integration. Nationalism aims at unifying the whole society and ensuring that there is no discrimination basing on any societal differences. Black Power favors the dominance of Black people at the cost of sidelining the Whites. The phrase is racist as it leads to the divisions in society based on differences in the skin color.
Many activists including Martin Luther King Junior believed that the slogan was not a wise choice for the masses. Most activists attempted to change the meaning of the phrase. They argued that many African Americans might be powerless in the society. However, they have the power to accumulate political, social, and economic power to achieve their objectives. The slogan originated because of disappointment and despair. The feelings dominated the thinking of many African Americans due to the bad treatment they received from the society, compared to the white people.
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference and other organizations emphasized their rejection for the slogan. As a result, the movement grew weaker as most African American found it relatively divisive. Consequently, the slogan shifted popularity form the common African American citizens to those who took part in armed nationalistic and revolutionary movements. The most popular movement was the Black Panther.
The shift in the popularity of the movement indicated that there was controversy in the way majority of African Americans interpreted it. There were those who advocated the movement yet they did not understand clearly, what it stood for in the society.
Bibliography
Carmichael, Stokely, and Charles V. Hamilton. Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America. New York: Random House, 1967.
