
America prides itself on detaching itself from Great Britain’s stranglehold in 1776 when it was just a small group of thirteen colonies. They did not like the way they were being treated and believed that it was very unfair, thus, a war was started and a document was written. America had its freedom. Now, America is credited as being the “land of the free”, per the national anthem, but that has never been the case. America is only truly free for those who are white. The other minorities, specifically the blacks, are continuously oppressed and have been since the birth of the nation. Years and years of tyranny and unjust treatment led to an outcry for change. African-Americans became tired of the discrimination and blatant disrespect they have received over the years. They have endured such treatment since they were first brought to America, as they were intended to be used as slaves. Blacks were not given a chance. From then on, all the terrible things that transpired has built up in the black community into a rage that was ready to be unleashed. Lynching and riot reports popped up over the country, majority of the victims being black. Whites attacked black people with their words and with their bodies. Anti-black organizations emerged and proudly stood for the racism against blacks. Although the African-American community has done things over time to try and change the fate of their family and friends, those tactics had not been very effective. Powerful activists rose and took on the position of leading the African-Americans to get the equality that they wanted. They stood up for what was right and created organizations, held protests and marched. Two of the most influential African-American men wrote speeches that addressed the hypocritical ways in which America ran and how white people were the reason. These speeches were written at different times, but they convey the same message: America cannot become a better country because of the white majority. 

Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to The Slave is the Fourth of July?” also known as “The Hypocrisy of American Slavery” touches on this subject differently than Stokely Carmichael’s “Black Power”. Both speeches address a group of white people, Carmichael’s being a group of students. Both men want to show what America is doing wrong in terms of running the country. Their message is on the same path but their deliverance is what sets them apart. Frederick Douglass’ approach is more calmer and relatively nicer than Carmichael’s. Throughout his speech, Douglass uses irony and rhetorical questions to highlight the wrongdoings of America.  Douglass begins his speech by greeting them then he goes on to talk about the birth of America. He speaks highly about the freedom that America gained following their realization of the treatment they did not like, “my opinions of those measures fully accords with that of your fathers”. He goes on to describe how America was feeling under British rule, “harshly and unjustly treated by the home government”. He calls the fathers “brave men” and states that he cannot think about their success with anything less than admiration. Douglass continues to give high praise to the father but then he takes a turn. After his spiel about how great the fathers were, he shifts into the main point of his speech. He rhetorically asks the crowd of white Americans, “Why am I called upon to speak here today? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence?”. Him using a rhetorical question smoothly changes the tone of his speech. He then goes on to say that he does not share the same feelings as they do, “I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary!”. The celebrations and happiness is not passed on to the black people because it is simply a disrespectful gesture. Douglass refers to it as “inhumane mockery and sacrilegious irony” which is true because they are telling someone to enjoy what is not theirs. That is like telling someone to celebrate someone else’s new house while they live on the streets. It is like white people are teasing black people because they know that black people are not free.  They know this but many act like they do not so that there is a less chance that they will be punished or chastised for it. Douglass starts of calm and praiseful but he transitions to the subject of hypocrisy and irony. His approach was the exact opposite of Carmichaels. Stokely Carmichael gave his speech to a crowd of white students. He starts his speech normally, by addressing the crowd. He talks a bit about condemning oneself then makes the statement, “the institutions that function in this country are clearly racist, and [that] they are built upon racism”. Carmichael dives straight into his subject, no sugar coating. He goes on to ask how can everyone move past this racism and grow as a country? How can blacks, whites, and all other races move past the unjustness and unfairness and make America work? 

Carmichael’s speech speaks about American hypocrisy in a rather implied and subtle way. On speaking out the right to freedom, he says, “You may enslave a man after he is born free, and that is in fact what this country does.” He is not being direct but he is connecting it to something that everyone in the audience knows. It is a known fact how America got its start, and now Carmichaels is “bringing back memories” of the old times. He then goes on to give examples on how hypocritical white America is. He says, “I have the right to go into any public place”, “Every time I tried to go into a place they stopped me.” Hypocrisy is evident here because when the thirteen colonies were under British rule, Great Britain put many restrictions on them as well as limits. Fast forwarding, whites were putting restrictions and limits on what blacks could do. The Jim Crow laws, which said that blacks and whites could be “separate but equal” in order to “please” African-Americans is an example of restrictions put on blacks. They had separate eating areas, separate bathrooms and separate water fountains. If a black person tried to go into a “whites only” area, he was turned around and shooed. Just because whites and blacks had equal amenities did not mean that they were equal. Carmichael is pointing out the similarities in Great Britain and America without saying it, but he is still more direct than Douglass. 

While claiming that white America are hypocrites, subsequently he is blaming white America for the racism and slavery in the country. He believes that whites are the reason why racism exists and they are the whole reason why the Civil Rights movement is happening. It is not about blacks at all because “a man is born free” and whites are the ones who cannot accept that fact mainly because the color of his or her skin. Dr. Robin DiAngelo coins this as “white fragility”. White fragility is “a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves” (DiAngelo 54). Breaking this down, the “racial stress” is white people being face-to-face, or rather, being near or even just seeing a black person. Something inside their heads tells them that “Black people are subpar to white people because they have a different skin color.” Per Carmichael, “Missionaries were sent to Africa. They went with the attitude that blacks were automatically inferior”. Carmichael also talks about the fact the black people were chosen for slavery for one reason and one reason only – the dark skin. White people are afraid of a skin color just because it is not the same as theirs. They give true meaning to the phrase “fear of the unknown”. The whites fear is what creates the “defensive moves” – hence slavery, racism, and the organizations. They also like to “play the victim” and get defensive because they know what they are doing is wrong but they do not care or they truly believe that they are in the right. The truth is though, is that they cannot deal with “blackness”, as Carmichael put it, because of the notion that “anything all black is bad”. They do not know how to handle the fact that someone other than themselves can be successful and happy. Thoughts like these are one of the main reasons why America cannot get past racism because once people start to believe something, it is hard to get them to see another point of view. Whites, for some reason, have a difficult time seeing black people as a human. Even with the 14th amendment granting citizenship to blacks, it was still a hard pill to swallow. Thus, why Carmichael throws out his opinion that “every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people”. In an example mentioned above, if blacks tried to go in a certain area, they would be denied access. Black people know they could go where they wanted but white people did not. “Some boys had to write a bill to tell that white man, ‘He’s a human being; don’t stop him.’” Carmichael says. The bills, and failed bills, rebellions and riots are all because white people cannot “deal with their own problems inside their own communities”.

As said before, Carmichael stresses that “a man is born free” and that everyone has rights. Everyone has the right to do what they want, eat where they want, live where they want and act how they want to act. The problem was, white people did not know that. They believed that they, and everyone who looked like them, were the ones who had the rights. They felt that they were “God” and could give and take away rights and freedom. That is not true. The only thing whites could do was “stop denying black people their freedom”. It is not a surprise that white people thought they had the power to control black people and how they lived because the country they lived in was doing the exact same thing, only with other countries and territories. Carmichael mentions this in his speech, “We see this country trying to rule the world…this country is not God”. This is something that has been happening for years on end. America is a superpower because they go into other countries and turn them into American puppets who do what they say. That is what the whites are doing to the blacks. They want them to do what they say but the fact that black people are tired of succumbing makes white people feel uneasy and terrified. This is another reason whites resort to using “defensive moves”; they want to “protect” themselves from what they think. 

The different time frames of when Douglass’ and Carmichael speeches were given is an important factor. Douglass’ speech was given in 1852 and Carmichael’s was given in 1966. Plenty things have happened in between those time frames. The black population hit many milestones from having the first higher learning institution for black men created in 1854, to having slavery outlawed by the 13th amendment in 1865 (Black Past). Although good things happened after Douglass gave his speech, there were also events that happened that hindered African-Americans from truly being able to live peacefully. One of the biggest obstacles was the formation of the KKK in 1865. The KKK was a hate group that targeted black people and killed them. They were a “vehicle for white southern resistance” against the establishing of “political and economic equality for blacks” (HISTORY). KKK activity raised immensely during the civil rights movement, for example, in 1866, the Memphis Massacre where white people and police offices burned down house, churches and school killing 46 African-Americans (Black Past). The amendments and civil rights acts passed did not stop the poor treatment of African-Americans at all. It may have helped a bit but there were still mass reports of racial crimes going on. The Jim Crow Laws come into effect, sprouting the “separate but equal” law. During the time of Carmichael’s speech, things were still looking bad for African-Americans, so the relevancy of the events are what fueled his rage in his “Black Power”. 

Carmichael and Douglass both use the power of speeches to convey their message onto their audiences. They are both powerful leaders who are looked upon often for guidance and inspiration. Their speeches cover the same subjects but they do it differently. Douglass’ approach was one that was more so gentle and smooth as the beginning of his speech was respectful in a sense that he commended the fathers of America for freeing themselves from Great Britain’s hold. After he seemingly gained the trust of his audience, he switched from respecting to shaming. His method of speaking was effective because by speaking the same language as someone, they tend to listen more and agree with what you’re saying so that opens the way for criticism. Carmichael on the other hand, went straight into criticism. His criticism was harsher than Douglass because of the words he used and how he explained things. Douglass seemed to be careful of the words he chose to use while Carmichael spoke, uncaring to the feelings of the audience. Both leaders spoke from the heart but Carmichaels heart was angrier. Douglass and Carmichael had similarities in their speech giving, the most being repetition. While speaking, Carmichael repeated the last few words of his sentences to add emphasis and meaning to what he was saying. Douglass use of repetition was different. During his speech, when talking about the fourth of July and independence, Douglass repeatedly referred to it as theirs, the white peoples. He does this to detach himself and black people from the event which assists the point of his speech. Carmichael’s and Douglass’ deliverance techniques are similar yet different but their ideas are the same: White America is the reason the country cannot be improved. 
