The 1960s were an influential period in American history. The united states of America are known today as a global powerhouse today due to the actions of the countries participation in world war 2 and the cold war (Ehrlich, pg 295). It was a beacon of democracy and a role model to many other nations globally. Although America had accomplished of foreign affairs they were still years behind other nations in a social standpoint where it was in a state of social turmoil (Ehrlich, pg 295). Stokely Carmichael was an African American activist and he was one of the most prominent figures in the 1960s. In his speech “Black Power” where he had performed in front of white students from UC Berkeley his motives and ambitions were clearly portrayed by using his rhetoric persuade and enlighten the audience about the state of the country which was greatly dominated by oppression and racism (the Carolina Reader, pg 313). The speech was powerful where the history of the oppression of African Americans played a crucial part in it and through his rhetoric he created a movement, a grand movement to protest against the oppression which would shape a nation to what it is today. To integrate oppression and racism by white supremacy Carmichael used a distinct term which is known as institutional racism.

The 1960s as described in the introduction was a great age for America internationally but it was also dark age for America domestically due to social turmoil. Stokely Carmichael was an immigrant from Trinidad at the age of 11 and later he attended Harvard (Williams, pg 87). He later empowered the ‘black power’ movement and joined the black panther party. According to page 314 of the Carolina reader he expressed the main aspects of how institutional racism was conducted in America in the 1960s. Carmichael mentioned that the institutions in this country were built upon racism which in retrospect did give them complete freedom to do anything due to oppression and ignorance from the white people. This speech and especially this citation raises many questions on how institutional racism was brought up? why were they brought up? What were the true effects of institutional racism? And how does history relate to institutional racism? 

To understand the situation of African Americans in the 1960s one must understand the history of African-Americans in America. African Americans were first brought to America by sea to work as slaves by the white people. They were traded amongst white men as a commodity and were subjected to inhumane treatment. The white man thought of themselves to be beings of higher status due to the difference between them and the African Americans due to the color of their skin and the lifestyles they inherited. As time went on and due to globalization slavery was uplifted and African Americans were free from the shackles of ignorance. Even though slavery was out of the picture the African Americans were still in the shackles of oppression and racism. White supremacy was incorporated in many institutions and regions all around the country, and due to white supremacy, African Americans had unequal opportunities relative to white people to entities like education, healthcare, shelter, jobs, electricity, and water (Ehrlich, pg 297-298) . Since the African Americans were deprived of these sources they mostly settled in the outskirts of major cities around the United States and due to the mass scale of urban migration African American were living in confined areas which are known as ghettos. 41% of African Americans were living under the poverty line and this was just not right (Ehrlich, pg 299). Due to this intolerability of institutional racism, African Americans were in a state of unrest and there was a grand movement in the 1960s led by Stokley Carmichael to break the shackles of oppression which had shadowed America for many years.

Although Stokely Carmichael was an immigrant from Trinidad and had access to high-quality education at Harvard he was still subjected to oppression and racism. In his speeches and especially his speech on ‘Black Power’ he emphatically questioned the true meaning of the constitution where he stated it as a document which was suited for white people and not for African Americans (the Carolina reader, pg 315). He was the voice of the ‘black power’ movement and directly questioned the government and condemned their actions. He later became the prime minister for the black panther party which was a party built on annihilating the concepts of white supremacy and institutional racism (the Carolina reader, pg 313).

After conducting the research and looking back at the passage I realized that all my questions I had raised were all answered. It can be said that institutional racism was brought up due to the ignorance and inhumane hate of white men as they thought of African Americans as inferior beings due to the pigmentation of their skins and lifestyles. Due to this mentality of white supremacy which were passed down from generations African Americans were still thought of as beings who grow problems in their countries and Stokely Carmichael stated that African Americans were not the main problems of the country but the mentality of white men were the main reasons why America was suffering from a social crisis. Through institutional racism and unequal benefits the African Americans had to endure due constant backlash they were getting paid less compared to the white men with same jobs, they were forced to live in ghettos with sub-par living conditions and infrastructure and African Americans were given substandard health care and the average age of death was lower compared to the white men. These variables contributed to Stokely Carmichael's frustrations and all the frustrations of African Americans which made Carmichael's actions more understandable as America were in a state where change was desperately needed.

To conclude this paper, I would like to tell you what this passage tells us what history can’t.  History does not tell us the pain African Americans were suffering but this speech does, history does not tell us the true reasons why African Americans were treated so unfairly but this speech does. History does not tell us the true effects of institutional racism but this speech does, and history does not tell us the strength of black power but this speech surely does.
