The nineteen-sixties were a time of suffering for people of the colored race.  Blacks were often questioning their relevance in this world and the values of this so called "equal" society.  Rosa Parks, W.E.B. Du Bois, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela are all famous names that are found when learning about The Civil Rights Movement. Also very important to the movement were Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. Together, they all had a hand in creating a better America for blacks. Stokely Carmichael's speech "Black Power" was given to a mostly white audience at UC Berkeley in nineteen sixty-six (Carmichael 249).  With this speech he wanted to urge blacks to work toward their independence, find their self-worth and gain a sense of nationalism; more importantly to come together as a whole.  After Carmichael presented his speech to the mostly white audience, he was able to get through to them and show that human beings just like them besides skin color were being so horribly treated.  In nineteen sixty-three, Malcolm X gave his speech "Message to the Grassroots" to the King Solomon Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan (Malcolm X 1).  In this speech, Malcolm X wanted to convince the black crowd to completely separate from the white population and to point out to them that there was a need for a violent revolution.  After Malcolm X presented his speech to the mostly black church, he got his point of fighting back and self-reliance to them. These speeches can teach the reader a great amount of information about the nineteen-sixties and the Civil Rights Movement.  The reader will understand how badly the colored race was mistreated and the idea of the unification among races.

The nineteen-sixties stand as a very hard time for blacks, they lived in a world where they were always seen as inferior.  "Black, brown, red, or yellow -a so-called Negro - you represent a person who poses such a serious problem for America because you are not wanted" (Malcolm X 1). Through the eyes of Stokely Carmichael, head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a change in the way blacks lived and were treated needed to happen.  Carmichael is greatly known in the Civil Rights Movement for using the term "black power." "Black power" in his words is defined as a call for black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community; it is a call for black people to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations ("Stokely Carmichael" 9).  The so-called "black power movement" implanted a sense of racial pride and self-esteem among the blacks.  In Carmichael's speech, "Black Power" he speaks about how the white society did not even see the black race as human beings.  In today's society it is hard to believe this statement as true that society as a whole got away with treating others so badly. 

Carmichael proves that what white men and women were doing to blacks in the nineteen-sixties was unnecessary.  This quote "No man can give anybody his freedom.  A man is born free" clearly states Carmichael's dissatisfaction with the treatment of blacks (Carmichael 249).  This quote translates to everyone that is living under the Constitution of the United States are given their own freedom, their own opportunities for life and the white race has no right in taking away another's rights.  Like Carmichael, Malcolm X also believed in the equality among the way blacks were being treated during the nineteen-sixties.  After reading Malcolm X's speech, "Message to the Grassroots" the reader learns that though both white and black men went to war it was the black soldiers who shed the blood (Malcolm X 7).  Malcolm X creates a good mental picture with this quote "this is the way it is with the white man in America, he is a wolf and you are the sheep" (Malcolm X 24).  Comparing a race to any animal is enough to see how unfairly they were treated during this time period.  Just having a different skin color should not justify the right to discriminate. 

Centuries of slavery and decades of segregation cemented a legal and political system characterized by white dominance in almost all southern states.  "The first act missionaries did, you know, when they got to Africa was to make us cover up our bodies, because they said it got them excited. We couldn't go bare-breasted anymore because they got excited" (Carmichael 250). Through the tough years of slavery and segregation, white Southerners created stereotypes about African Americans. These stereotypes ranged from unclean to unintelligent and even submissive (Sokol).  To society, blacks became either clowns or savages, having no in between (Sokol).  When the Civil Rights Movement began to move to the South in the nineteen-sixties, the white southerners were not happy.  Besides being unhappy, the white southerners were worried. They were worried because they were starting to realize that all the power they did hold in their hands was soon going to be taken (Sokol).  Soon the white southerners were going to be equal to the race they once considered inhuman and used as slaves.  Many whites feared this vision of the Southern future (Sokol).  Carmichael states in his speech, "I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people ... " (Carmichael 249).  The black race needed help, and it needed to arrive soon.  Carmichael states that failure to pass a civil rights bill isn't because of "Black Power" but it is because of the "incapability of whites to deal with their own problems inside their own communities" (Carmichael 249).  After the civil rights leaders began voicing their opinions and ideas, African Americans voiced their dissatisfaction and demanded dignity.  Black rebellion clashed so sharply with white perceptions that many people disbelieved what was happening in their own eyes (IIP Digital). 

Malcolm X believed that black people were using the word revolution too loosely and that land is the basis of all independence.   "There's no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.  [The] only kind of revolution that's nonviolent is the Negro revolution.  The only revolution based on loving your enemy is the Negro revolution" (Malcolm X 11). He brings up revolutions from the countries of France, Africa, Russia and China and that these revolutions were all carried out by people concerned about the issue of land, and that all of these revolutions involved bloodshed.  Malcolm X wanted to end oppression and white supremacy but most importantly, help the blacks defend their position in the world.  With this comes his want for a violent revolution, he was tired of the United States thinking that they can have a non-violent revolution.  In order for the black Americans of the United States to get justice and fairness they needed to "unite on an enemy of the white men" (Malcolm X 9).  The black race needed to hide their public problems from the white men and discuss their problems behind closed doors (Malcolm X 9).  With this common enemy being found, blacks would become integrated as a whole and gain the confidence to form groups that would be fighting this white supremacy.  

Throughout the nineteen-sixties, bus riding Freedom Riders, marchers, boycotters and other protesters continued their crusade for freedom and were met with fierce white and establishment resistance.  Riots, bombings, beatings and shootings were common as a growing number of civil rights protesters marched throughout the South and in many cases the North as well ("1960's Civil Rights Movement").  On August 28, 1963, the United States saw the largest demonstration ever seen in the nation's capital.  Over 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C. for a political rally known as the March on Washington.  This rally is important in the history of the civil rights movement because it was an important step for the equality of black Americans, especially in their roles in the political and economic system of the United States.  The March on Washington proved Malcolm X's point on unity, this march had cities and organizations from all over the country united as a whole.  Soon after this great protest of unity, African Americans slowly but surely earned their place in the world.  It might have taken the white southerners some time to get use to the idea but without this change in history who knows where the United States would be today. 

In order to change history, the African American population needed guidance and support to stand up against the white population.  With this came the Civil Rights Movement, a time during the 1950's and 60's to eliminate segregation and gain equal rights for all black Americans.  During this time period, leaders from all over the country would write speeches and hold conferences to unite the black population and end oppression.  Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael were two of many leaders that gave speeches during the 1960's.  Stokely Carmichael's speech, "Black Power" criticized white society and America as they fought against communist aggression but failed to fight against racist oppression.  With giving this speech to a mostly white audience, Carmichael wanted to close the gap on how these UC Berkeley students viewed the Civil Rights movement.  Malcolm X's speech, "Message to the Grassroots" was his strong desire to create separation from the whites through a violent revolution.  Luckily, today these rallies and speeches are very rare due to how far history has come.  After reading and learning from both of these speeches, someone can picture how hard life was like for blacks in the times before and during the Civil Rights Movement.  Without these speeches, black Americans may never have gained enough confidence to fight against white supremacy and overcome the many injustices inflicted on them.

