Stokely Carmichael’s “Black Power” speech is a very moving speech that addresses the struggles African Americans faced during the Civil Rights movement. Stokely was always a leader in the movement to end segregation, including his position as Chairman of the SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) as well as the Prime Minister of the Black Panther Party. Mr. Carmichael’s speech perfectly demonstrates his leadership position by talking about how he and all the other African Americans must take the initiative to end the mistreatment. Carmichael explains that in order for African Americans to progress in modern society they must find a way to break down the racial barriers between the white and black community. The biggest key to integrating whites and blacks together is that the two races must find some way to eliminate racism. Stokely Carmichael talks about how a group of people must stand together and devote their lives to ending segregation. He did not specifically talk about it, but black women had a huge influence in the civil rights movement. They were the group that ended up having the biggest impact on the civil rights movement. They were the silent yet efficient African American Women. Deborah F. Atwater highlights this in her editorial “The Voices of African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement”. Stokely also hits hard on the idea that African Americans must make it clear that segregation is not constitutionally right. His idea was that if the general population accepts that segregation is unconstitutional then it would be much easier to achieve integration. Columbia Law Review addresses this issue in their monthly newspaper titled “Constitutionality of Race Segregation”. The group says that no matter the race, gender, and ethnicity it is within the constitutional right to discriminate against another person. Stokely Carmichael disagrees with the constitution on this because he believes that no one should be subject to segregation regardless of his or her skin color. He thought that the constitution needed to be changed.

Stokely Carmichael’s speech revolves around him saying that he needs others to rise up, be leaders, and join him in ending segregation. He talks a lot about how African Americans are discriminated against and that it is unfair, but his end goal was to find other people who would take charge and join him in the fight against segregation. He says that there is no point in complaining about the unfair treatment if nobody is willing to act out against it. That is when the silent but powerful African American Women came in and took a stand. “…she made significant contributions to the civil rights movement. Her goal of making sure that all African Americans became first-class citizens was a major part of her rhetorical and ethnic legacy. Using techniques learned from the Highlander Folk School and persuading all who would listen to her, she enabled many African Americans to secure the right to vote.” (Atwater p.541). This is Atwater examining the long lasting affect that Septima Clark had on the Black Civil Rights movement. Clark did exactly what Carmichael was looking for from the black community; she emerged as a leader. Clark stood out as a teacher, an activist, and she spoke publically moving people with her words. She developed followers who then emerged as leaders themselves in the fight against segregation. Clark did what Carmichael was asking for in his “Black Power” speech and took her own initiative to spread the word about the immorality of segregation. A leader is defined more so by the attitude in which he or she leads with, not so much the strengths he or she has. Leadership does however come in different forms. “Elliot also discusses the dynamic of charismatic leadership in movements versus group-centered leadership. Baker, who favored group-centered leadership, helped to form two major Civil Rights organizations: the South Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.” (Atwater p.541). This exemplifies what Carmichael explained in his speech, that leadership can come in many shapes and forms, but it needs to exist in some form within the black community. Women held large roles in the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement even though they may not be given the credit. Women were often responsible for setting up peaceful protests that would quickly spread the word about the mistreatment. Many women also took on huge leadership roles and without their efforts segregation would have stayed for years more.

The second biggest point that Carmichael addressed in his speech was that segregation should be unconstitutional and is immoral. One cannot segregate another from living in a specific neighborhood or going to a specific school simply because that person is a different skin color, and that should be unconstitutional. “… there is discrimination, there is a denial of equal protection of the laws, as that phrase has been interpreted by the Supreme Court. The Court permits difference of treatment provided all in a class are treated alike and provided also the classification is on reasonable basis.” (Columbia Law Review p.148). This is essentially the Supreme Court saying that it is all right to discriminate as long as the person doing the discrimination has a reasonable reason for doing so. The Supreme Court itself is saying that it is acceptable to deny someone equal rights because they are different than you and you can do so within the rules of the constitution. Stokely knows that this is wrong and speaks about it many times in his speech. Stokely often talks about how any bills that give black people more rights are created solely for the white person. He says that black people are born with the same exact rights that white people are born with except the white people choose to take some of the black communities rights away from them. Then when they pass a bill to give black people the right to vote the white people simply need the bill so that they know black people now have the right to vote. The black people already knew that they had the right to vote, therefore the bill is irrelevant to them and it was made specifically for the white people. So Stokely believes that he already has the right to not be discriminated against, but the white people have not yet made a bill yet so they too could know black people shouldn’t be discriminated against. The bill is for the white man, but the white man has not yet created it. “In plain fact, a negro who is eager and financially able to live in a white neighborhood, but is forbidden by law to do so, is denied the possibility of obtaining accommodations equal to those available to the white man… the constitutional rights of the negro are unaffected.” (Columbia Law Review p.151). Not only is this saying that African Americans can be discriminated against, but it is saying that simply because a man is African American his constitutional rights can be stripped free from him at any moment. If an African American man can afford to live in a white neighborhood and have the right to live there under the constitution their rights can be taken away to prevent them from living in a white neighborhood, simply because they are black. Stokely Carmichael is trying to bring these oppressive tactics to life. He wants everyone to know that under the constitution it is okay to discriminate against African Americans. Stokely wants the black community to realize that even though they have constitutional rights the few rights they do have can be stripped from them only because they are black.

What Stokely Carmichael did in the efforts for Civil Rights was revolutionary. He established himself as a leader and a preacher of sorts. He would speak to people to spread the truth and gain support towards the movement to end segregation. In his “Black Power” speech he spoke repetitively about how the black community needed people to rise up and become leaders of the movement in order for the movement to actually make it off of the ground. Many women stood up and took lead in the efforts against segregation, which led to more support and more recognition nationwide. Stokely also wanted his audience to understand that African Americans should have more constitutional rights than they did have. African Americans should be treated equally under the law. 
