“Our grandfathers had to run, run, run. My generation's out of breath. We ain't running no more”(Stokley Carmichael). In Stokley Carmichael’s Black Power speech, the culture of the United States during the 1960’s had a great impact on shaping Carmichael’s speech, like his motive and the voice he uses. . With the help of Joseph Peniel’s articles “Historians and the Black Power Movement” and “Rethinking the Black Power Era” the reader has a better understanding of what is going on in the speech and what  motivates Carmichael to give his speech at UC of Berkley.  Along with the help of Dictionary of American History, “Black Power Movement” the reader is able to  gain a cultural understanding of the time period and a way it contributes to the overall speech of Carmichael’s. In order for Carmichael to create an effective speech, he uses the appeals to pathos and ethos along with a strong voice that gets his point across in the manner he is trying to achieve, which is urgent and need for action. 

The black power movement is an era in the United States history that is commonly overlooked by majority of historians(Joseph, 2008). Occurring right after the Civil Rights era because Black Power Movement activist wanted to accelerate the process of blacks to have equal opportunities as white had during the time period (Joseph, 2008). They turned away from the nonviolent era that was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr and his nonviolent ways because, they were getting tired of just how slow things were actually moving. They ended up resorting  to the only option they believed was fit enough to achieve their goals; violence, militarist tactics, and attempting to gain control of local government offices(Joseph, 2008)  A cultural view as to during the time period can be tied between Joseph’s article and Carmichael’s speech, during the time, African Americans were treated unfairly, they had rights but most were limited, they didn't have mush say. which is the driving for for Carmichael’s speech. Many historians view the movement as a compromise of “armed urban militants inspired more by rage than an actual political program” (Joseph, 2008). The outcome was mainly white backlash, rioting, and a set back to the civil rights struggle. The black power movement is an era in the United States history that is commonly overlooked by majority of historians(Joseph, 2008). 

The movement started when black power activist wanted to see if the government and America would be willing to extend equal citizenships to all blacks(Joseph, 2008). Joseph discusses the main goals of the black power movement, which was to advocate the racial separation, the allowed equal access to white institutions like public schools and colleges, and to build predominelaty black buildings to be used as places for African American political power, achievement,and as a sense of cultural pride(Joseph, 2008). Both Carmichael and Joseph discuss the goals and what needs to be done to achieve these goals. The leaders of the black power movement used a strategy of militarism to achieve the goals they sought to achieve,like creating alliances with Third World leaders like Fidel Castro and Sekou Ture(Joseph, 2008). But, this just lead to the government believing it is a dangerous move to make and is a threat to the national security(Joseph, 2008). Joseph then discusses different ways the  leaders tried to achieve their goals, but ultimately failed in the end(Joseph, 2008).  The creation of the Black Power movement created racially moved groups like the Black Panthers and the US, who are still around today(Joseph, 2008).

Stokley Carmichael was the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and he gave a motivating speech at University of California Berkley on October 1966. The purpose of his speech was to enable the student to reflect on just how slow equal rights were progressing, and on how the Civil Rights Movement is moving from a nonviolent era to a more violent era, so the process of blacks gaining equal rights will accelerate(Churcher, 1966). During this time era according to Alvah, segregation between the two more prevalent. Jim Crow laws were put into place, which were to ”racially segregate public venues, including trains, restaurants, schools, theaters, hospitals, beaches, and cemeteries. Additionally, laws and intimidation tactics prevented blacks from enjoying other rights of citizenship, including the right to vote”(Alvah, 2003). The culture during Carmichael’s time was the pushing point for African American activist. They were tired of the unfair, culturally correct treatment. They wanted to do something about it. Thus, giving Carmichael the motivation to speak out and become a motivational leader during the Black Power Movement.  He gave this speech because he felt like he needed to do something about the current situation with his race, so instead of just complaining he actually went out and gain supporters through his powerful speeches, which the most well know speech Black Power (Churcher, 1966).Carmichael’s speech was a moving, powerful and effective speech. By giving this speech he gains momentum in the movement.

In order for Carmichael to make his speech effective, he uses the appeals to ethos and pathos along with a strong voice that gets his urgent feeling across to the audience. Carmichael opens up his speech while using his sense of humor to grab the attention of the audience by referring to them as “the white intellectual ghetto of the west”(CR 313),  in hopes of appealing to the pathos, which would then draw in even more attention from the audience.  

Carmichael develops an appeal to ethos by referencing, “the officials and the white population in Neshoba County, Mississippi… could not condemn [sheriff] Rainey, his deputies, and the other fourteen men that killed three human beings. They could not because they elected Mr. Rainey to do precisely what he did; and that for them to condemn him will be for them to condemn themselves.”(314) By including this he shows just how the culture was during the Black Power movement, whites are superior to blacks, which is what he wanted to fix. If a black person would have committed the crime, he would have been immediately punished without a second thought. This quote can also be seen to support a point he makes in his speech about how the white man cannot condemn himself for the actions that happen. In order for him to condemn himself, he would “have to inflict punishment upon himself,” and man cannot because he would never inflict punishment on himself. Therefor he creates the idea that “America cannot condemn herself” for the racism that has been inflicted on African Americans. By creating this atmospehere, he portrays the idea that blacks need to rise to occasion and do something about the whole situation.

During the Black Power Movement,  racial tensions were already high since the civil rights movement just passed(Jospeh, 2009). White individuals did not want to give up their supremacy, they were too caught up in the past to realize that individuals of different races deserve to have the same amount and degree of rights as they have(Jospeh, 2009).In Carmichael’s speech, the reader notices how he uses racial examples and questions as to who to fix the problem throughout his speech, relating to the cultural time period of his speech and the things going on.  This is another cultural reasoning for what drove Carmichael to give his speech. Carmichael wanted to change how his people were viewed, treated and to have equal rights.  The Black Power movement ultimately “questioned American democracy’s willingness to expand its boundaries to include African Americans”(Jospeph, 2008). 

Carmichael has a sense of urgency in his tone, which helps shape how effective his speech actually was. Without this sense of urgency, people wouldn't have taken it so seriously. They would have no idea of just how pressing this issue actually is to the country. The urgency of Carmichael’s speech could be seen across the whole United States during this movement. The activists wanted to move out of the slow moving era of the Civil Rights movement, in order to obtain their equal rights in a more timely manner(Jospeh, 2008). They thought if they didn't use a sense of urgency or incorporated violence, things wouldn't actually happen.

Carmichael is an effective activist that worked hard to achieve the things he saw fit for his people and the country. His speeches were especially effective due to the way he used voice to his advantage, by creating a sense of urgency. He also makes the speech effective by using ethos and pathos to connect to the audience at a different level. By knowing the information that is gained from research, the reader is able to grasp a better understanding as to why he would want to include the racist examples, questions and scenarios in his speech and why he would even want to be an activist. The reader is able to get a better understanding of the speech as a whole with a deeper connection. 
