
For decades, civil rights leaders fought for equality for African Americans, but there were two different types of protest that existed, peaceful and militant. Civil Rights Movement leaders like Stokely Carmichael talked of the injustices that African Americans have faced for decades, like segregation and inequality, which is the reason why there was a change in strategy from nonviolent to militant. Throughout Altbach’s article “’Black Power’ and the Civil Rights Movement,” he explores the changes that happened throughout the Civil Rights Movement and why African Americans and supporters of the Black Power Movement decided there needed to be a change. In a biography about Stokely Carmichael by Jennifer Wallach, she showcases more information about him and why he believed in the strength of the Black Power Movement. In Stokely Carmichael’s 1966 speech “Black Power,” we can better understand the background for why he stood up for the Black Power Movement when other leaders in the Civil Rights Movement feared the effect it would have on their fight for freedom. Stokely Carmichael’s background influenced his participation in the Black Power Movement because he was outraged with the stagnation of change in the lives of African Americans.

When we know the history behind Black Power and Stokely Carmichaels’ support of it, it becomes easier for us to understand why there needed to be a change in strategy for the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael tried to change the injustices and create equality for the oppressed throughout the nation by creating and joining civil rights organizations. Both of these leaders were a part of a civil rights organization called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, where they took part in events like freedom riding and peaceful marches to try and create change for African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of nonviolence and his commitment to it in the face of oppression from the whites. The only issue was that the peaceful Civil Rights Movement did not create enough change in society; it only helped to make legislation such as voting rights and equal education. However, it did not help to close the race gap between whites and blacks enough for some African Americans. African Americans demanded more and did not want to face discrimination any longer. The next strategy was that of Black Power, a more militant approach to the Civil Rights Movement that would create a larger audience to hear their calls for equality. Stokely Carmichael believed in this next approach of more militancy within the Civil Rights Movement, and he was willing to help lead the cause in order to create a positive change in racial discrimination that African Americans desperately needed. With the knowledge of his rights, the organizations he became a part of throughout his life, and his frustration with the lack of change in the lives of many African Americans, Stokely Carmichael proved to be well suited to create change for the Civil Rights Movement. Stokely Carmichael was an activist who made Black Power popular among many African Americans. Since he was young, Carmichael took part in many organizations that fought for equality and the rights of African Americans. He became a part of the Nonviolent Action Group as well as being one of the first freedom riders that travelled on integrated buses into the South to challenge their segregation customs. All of his background allows us to see why he chose to take part in the Black Power Movement and why he so strongly believed in its necessity. Stokely Carmichael was a dedicated activist, and he was conscious of the injustice and the realities that many African Americans faced within the United States. He believed in taking action instead of standing in the background. This becomes obvious when we find out that he was arrested over thirty-two times throughout his participation as a civil rights activist during the 1960’s (Wallach 1). In order to make the Black Power Movement successful, they needed a strong and brave leader that was willing to stand up for thousands and that is was they got with Stokely Carmichael. 

In Stokely Carmichael’s speech “Black Power,” he addresses his complaint that “every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people” (315). Carmichael asserts that the civil rights bills, which allowed for changes like equality in voting and desegregation of public schools, were created to inform those who oppressed African Americans of the rights that they deserve. He argues that himself and other African Americans knew that they had the right to be in the same public spaces as whites and vote, but most of the accused oppressors did not follow what the new laws mandated. Whites unwillingness to accept the fact that African Americans were equal is one of the many reasons that Stokely Carmichael dared to support the Black Power Movement. He does not support the idea that the failure of the civil rights bill is the fault of Black Power or the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, instead he recognizes it as a problem within the white community. They failed to accept the realities and legislation that guaranteed blacks the rights they deserved and fought to obtain, thus the Black Power Movement evolved into a necessary transformation for the Civil Rights Movement. Carmichael saw this failure and recognized that “a new society must be born,” which would be the Black Power Movement he so boldly stood behind (Carmichael 318). Stokely Carmichael’s passion for civil rights activism pushed him to force change in the brutal and negative ways that whites treated African Americans even after the legislation that called for their equality. 

In Stokely Carmichael’s speech “Black Power,” he delves deep into the history of black suppression in order to get across why he believes in the need for the Black Power Movement. Through Altbach’s article about Black Power and the Civil Rights Movement, the history of Black Power and the frustrations that evolved from stagnation of change in the Civil Rights Movement is clear. Black Power resulted from “a conviction that Negroes must be more self-reliant” in order to reach the equality they so rightfully deserve (Altbach 234). African Americans were no longer willing to wait for the rights that they had been fighting decades for. Instead of focusing on the violence that ensued from the new militancy strategy, Altbach looks at the background information of why this happened. African Americans were repeatedly promised change from leaders of civil rights groups and politicians but were let down each time. Stokely Carmichael was a man who was part of the transformation into militancy among civil rights organizations. He took a position of leadership in SNCC and recognized the need to change their strategy in their fight for equality. He believes that “wherever America has been, she has not been able to make democracy work” because it has not functioned well in other territories under their control like Puerto Rico and the Philippines (Carmichael 315). African Americans did not see the democracy that the United States promised to everyone. Altbach’s article follows along with Carmichael’s beliefs that there was failure in the nonviolence movement. By explaining the frustrations that many blacks faced across the country with discrimination and injustice, the reader is better able to understand the mindset of Black Power leaders, such as Stokely Carmichael. The Black Power Movement was followed by many African Americans, because they saw the change that was being produced by it. This was in reaction to the nonviolence movement, which was slow in benefiting the African American community. They wanted equal rights now, not another century from now.

The Black Power Movement evolved around leaders like Stokely Carmichael who supported the movement. Blacks changed as a community by accepting the idea that they were lesser than whites to demanding equality and an end to racial discrimination. Although the rioting created from the Black Power Movement was effective, most still viewed it as a negative act that should only be used as a last resort. Some civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. believed that it should never be used because it threatened the effectiveness of their peaceful protests for equal rights. He feared that the Black Power Movement would not create the type of change that the Civil Rights Movement wanted. Stokely Carmichael argues against this belief in his speech that they had to create a more effective course of action like Black Power because the nonviolent movement failed “to get off the college campuses” and motivate actual change in the black community (Carmichael 319). The acts of rioting came about because many African Americans were discontent, alienated from society, and felt powerless because of the segregation that existed between whites and blacks. The failure of the system to work for African Americans and their isolation from society caused explosive reactions within the black community that resulted in aggressive behavior like the riots that became more popular with the movement to Black Power. The Black Power Movement created radical change in the black communities where they began to take action and control over their lives.

Stokely Carmichael’s speech “Black Power” shows a different side to the history of Civil Rights and the Black Power Movement than most would expect. By understanding Stokely Carmichael’s activism background, readers can get a better view as to why a radical change towards militancy evolved within the Civil Rights Movement. In the eyes of most Americans, the Black Power Movement was a dangerous and unnecessary strategy to get attention, but when we explore it in depth, there are multiple reasons as to why leaders of the Civil Rights Movement supported Black Power. The rights of African Americans were ignored for decades and the nonviolence movement failed to create the needed change in the social aspects of the discrimination towards blacks. Without the support of strong leaders like Stokely Carmichael, the Black Power Movement might have ceased to exist and thus the progress of African Americans would be stagnant. Stokely Carmichael did not fear the effects that the Black Power Movement might have on their fight for freedom like the leaders of the nonviolent Civil Rights Movement did. He feared more about the effects of stagnation that the peaceful Civil Rights Movement would have on the lives of every African American.
