

The Black Lives Matter Movement is an ongoing social topic whose purpose is to create equality for African Americans in the United States. In the articles “Generations of Struggles” by Elizabeth Hinton and “The Class Politics of Black Lives Matter” by Barbara Ransby the authors present and argument about the importance of the unity of the citizens of the United States. Some say that African American communities are different than other particularly white dominant communities in the United States. Others say that we should live in one unified country and the line has to be drawn somewhere. Leaders need to stand up and fight for what they believe is right, but in a peaceful manner. Most of the movements to this date have been very aggressive, so aggressive that lives have been taken which is not acceptable. These two articles alter the interpretation of Stokely Carmichael’s piece, “Black Power”, because they are relevant topics but written from different stances. 

To begin, the Black Lives Matter Movement began in 2013 and is a movement against violence towards African American citizens. It originated after Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American boy, was killed by a police officer. The reason this was such a large topic in the news was because the police officer that killed Mr. Martin was not held accountable for the crime he committed. The Black Lives Matter Movement is supposed to be a nonviolent movement however, there have been other fatalities caused by this movement.  

The article “Generations of Struggles” by Elizabeth Hinton describes the importance of the different generations facing the ongoing problem of Black Lives Matter. “History tells us that it takes, and that it will take, generations of striving, organizing, and mobilizing to fight for the kind of world that we want to see (Percy Green II, 2016).” The Black Lives Matter movement is too large of a problem to seize in a single year. Therefore, over multiple years the African American communities are going to have to continue to stand up for what they believe is right. It is important that every generation lets it be known what they are fighting for. In other words, it is up to the African Communities as a whole to overcome this problem rather than a single individual expressing ideas to overcome the problem. During the period at which this article was written, there have been incidents where African Americans have been killed by United States Police Officers for no apparent reasons.

“I just can’t make it, ’cause I wasn’t born in the United States (Carmichael, 1967)”, states Stokely Carmichael about some of the limitations himself and other African Americans face in the United States. Throughout Carmichael’s essay, “Black Power”, multiple examples are used to show the difference between a white and black man’s freedom in the United States. “No man can give anybody his freedom. A man is born free. You may enslave a man after he is born free, and that is in fact what this country does (Carmichael, 1967).” African American’s hold many stereotypes in this country such as a higher risk of poverty and being less educated. Although the majority of the time these stereotypes are falsified, they are still tied to the African American community as a whole. He later addresses that it is in the hands of the youth to overcome this problem and it isn’t just one generation’s job to fix, it is the next couple of generation’s. “We have developed a movement in the black community. The challenge is that the white activist has failed miserably to develop the movement inside of his community (Carmichael, 1967).” The solution to the problem is now in the hands of the youth. According to Carmichael the solution is to convince the white communities why the Black Lives Matter movement is important. Not only is it important to the African American population but to the entire population of the country. During the period at which “Black Power” was written, African American’s were fighting more for freedom in the United States rather than fighting for their lives. In other words, they were fighting just to get the same rights that white folks had in this country and now they feel they are being discriminated because the color of their skin – and even being killed.

In relation, Barbara Ransby’s article, “The Class Politics of Black Lives Matter”, claims that the Black Lives Matter movement is something bigger than what it sounds. It is about more than just the black lives; it is about the lives of every minority in the United States. Ransby believes that this movement has the potential to change history in the United States by creating equality between all citizens. In order for this change to happen, there has to be leaders step forth. These leaders need to be accepted by folks in the white communities in order for this movement to be successful. However, it is going to take everyone’s cooperation for the equality of the citizens in this country. “The insistence of Black Lives Matter on the value of all black lives, especially the most marginalized and oppressed, is nothing less than a challenge to all of us to rethink, reimagine, and reconstruct the entire society we live in (Ransby).” The problem with creating equality is that the government has too much say about what goes on; and the citizens not enough say. The government in the United States is a huge barrier to the Black Lives Matter movement and it needs to be regulated less for the solution to be met, according to Ransby. The minorities along with the youth of this country are the key to the success of the Black Lives Matter movement. The goal of this movement from Ransby’s perspective is to create equality for all the citizens of the United States. 

Along with Barbara Ransby, Stokely Carmichael agrees that every generation has to contribute to the problem in order for the solution to be met. “And [the youth] must begin to move to build new institutions that’s going to speak to the needs of people who need it (Carmichael, 1967).” We need to educate ourselves so we can spread the education with others and hopefully solve this ongoing problem. This problem needs to be solved because “it is we [Black Americans] who are the janitors, the porters, the elevator men; we who sweep up your college floors (Carmichael, 1967).” In reality, these men and women are working just as hard, if not harder, than most white folks. Although it doesn’t reflect in their pay, they are still working just as hard. These citizens need to be able to have access to the same resources the White Americans have to get educated and go out and obtain a “successful” job. It is all in the voices of the minorities and the youth to make change in this country. Although both texts are written at different time periods, both agree that the equality of all citizens needs to be reached for peace to be met over this societal topic. 

The similarities of these articles outweigh the differences. Stokely Carmichael’s, “Black Power”, Elizabeth Hinton’s, “Generations of Struggles”, and Barbara Ransby’s, “The Class Politics of Black Lives Matter”, all discuss the inequalities of minorities in the United States. These include limited access to resources that White Americans have, a lesser ability to find well-paying jobs, and a higher risk of living in poverty. The only answer to overcome the Black Lives Matter movement is to have the youth and minorities of this country stand up and make their voice heard. Although all three texts are written at different time periods, the overall message of all three are well related and hope that one day there is equality between white folks and minorities in the United States.
