Oppression, this is the word that resounds in the back of the heads of the African-Americans in the 1960s. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the face of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King practiced peaceful protest and influenced the black community to practice non-violence. He was well known for the love and passion he spread through the United States of American until his untimely assassination. The culture of the time was extremely biased against the black community and many laws were in place that held them down below all other citizens. Black Power then became a calling, practiced by the Black Panther party, that helps unite the black community of the United States. Fredrick Douglass published his autobiography and was actively involved in the abolitionist movement. Black authors then decided to step into the light of day and take on the judgement of the world in order to promote the abolishment of racism in the United States. The activity against racism in the 1960s was unparalleled by any other movement in history. In “Black Power,” Stokely Carmichael uses historical reflection and aggressive diction to express the feelings of the African-American community towards the United States as an entire entity.

Stokely Carmichael references many historical figures in the black community. Some of these historical figures are leaders of the civil rights movement and some are African-American philosophers. These figures were Martin Luther King Jr., Fredrick Douglass, and the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee. All of these people and groups helped the United States government to desegregate and to treat people of color fairly. In a passage Stokely Carmichael writes, 

“I look at Dr. King on television every single day, and I say to myself: ‘Now there is a man who’s desperately needed in this country. There is a man full of love. There is a man full of mercy. There is a man full of compassion’” (324).

Dr. King is mentioned several times in this essay and he is known generally as the face of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King preached about nonviolence but Stokely Carmichael becomes more aggressive as this essay goes on. The contrast between their two viewpoints is vivid and displays the change that is taking place in Civil Rights. The black community would always protest nonviolently but the whites would respond to them with violence and oppression. So Stokely Carmichael is sounding a battle-cry for the black community to “move.” This movement, a seizing of power, would be central to changing the role of the black community in America. Carmichael is contrasting the fact that Dr. King has made serious progress with non-violence but it is time for the black community to get up and take what is theirs. The SNCC was formed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and they played an important role in the freedom rides aimed at desegregating buses. The SNCC is referenced multiple times and the author states, “But I think what you have in SNCC is an anti-racist racism. We are against racists” (Carmichael 319). What exactly is “anti-racist racism?” The racism is not directed at white people on purpose but it is there because the blacks have to be that way in order to “move.” The call for this “anti-racist racism” to work is that the white people stop working in the black community. Carmichael says that the blacks need to do the work themselves and they need to be seen in positions of power. In the essay Carmichael quotes, “Fredrick Douglass said that the youth should fight to be leaders today” (318). Fredrick Douglass is seen as a role model; his autobiography is such a substantial piece of literature in the realm of American Racism. Carmichael agrees with Douglass on this viewpoint and talks about being a leader today instead of a leader tomorrow. The black community cannot afford to wait to start fighting against institutional racism. Black Power needs to be secured today so that they can end racism as fast as possible. At this point in the 1960s black people were being killed over the smallest things.

Aggressive diction is used in a way that it progressively becomes more aggressive. Carmichael starts out in a fairly formal manner and as he continues the essay starts to reflect the diction of the black community in America. The progression of the aggressive diction reflects the manner in which the Civil Rights Movement in America has progressed. It started out peaceful and the longer it has taken the more aggressive the black community has become. This is out of mere frustration with the white community. The government made laws in order to teach white people how to behave with black people. The author often calls for a separation of blacks and whites and how the whites need to accept that they are the racists. Whites are racist because they need the government to make laws in order for them to treat the black community correctly. The system and whites will always be racist until they can treat the black community equally without the use of laws. Carmichael states, “This country is a nation of thieves. It has stole everything it has, beginning with black people, beginning with black people” (320). He calls out the institution of America and how it achieved its power. The burden of the country was bore on the back of the black community and the rewards were given to the whites. Carmichael refers to the African-Americans as “Black” throughout the whole essay. The reason he does this is because he is black and proud. Black used to be a term used in harsh ways to make a person of color feel worthless. Carmichael wants to capitalize on the phrase and he then coined “Black Power.” In order to achieve black power, aggression must be used to “move” the community. Black Power is not racist nor is it something that is purposefully thought of to harm whites. It is the independence from the white community that the blacks need to achieve in order to be truly free. Carmichael shows how bills are passed in order so that white people will stop discriminating people of color. Black Power would give blacks an equal playing field with the white community. The problem is that the blacks have to do everything through the white community and that is why they must achieve Black Power, in order to save themselves.

In conclusion, Stokely Carmichael uses these two elements because they reflect cultural undertones that are significant to Black Power. The historical references to people and groups from the civil rights era are symbolic to how the people fought for change. Dr. King was one of the most successful in his pursuit of freedom from the oppression from whites. Although he practiced non-violence, he was assassinated by a white man. The message Dr. King spread was amplified by this assassination. The SNCC was influential in the young black community and made a difference in many different protests. These black youths are the face of the growing civil rights movement and are called to be the leaders of tomorrow. Fredrick Douglass was a leader of the abolitionist movement and calls the black youths to be leaders of tomorrow. The aggression of racism has now progressed and there is a need for the blacks to obtain power. Without black power the momentum of the 1960s Civil Rights movement will be lost. The black community has a necessity to move and make the people around them move. Representatives of the black community need to take public office and give the black community a voice in the working of the government. This Power must be obtained by the black community to free them from oppression. The oppression that has been long overdue for change because of its negative effect on the black community and world. Thus coining the phrase, “Black Power.” Carmichael is trying to rally the black community in order to push for a change and help “move” a nation that is so resistant to change on this topic.
