The Civil Rights Movement was a significant event in not only America’s history but the rest of the world as well because it was one of the few first steps that helped minorities achieve equality in modern society. One text from this unit that examines this movement is the speech given by Stokely Carmichael at the University of California Berkeley in which he discusses how the Civil Rights Movement is only going to become successful if the white community actively tries to help minorities get the rights they seek. This was a very important speech because it helped encourage people from other cultures and backgrounds to come together and achieve equality for all, not because they wanted to but because they knew it was right. This speech given by Carmichael helped shape the period because it helped usher in a national and united desire to help bring change and unity to a country that for a time seemed so divided on the issue of civil rights.

The speech given by Stokely Carmichael was so powerful and meaningful not because he made good points on why equality was necessary, but he was delivering this speech to a group of college students and graduates, and these individuals would be the ones who would have the opportunity to shape the United States in the future. Carmichael preached the importance of achieving equality for the black and minority communities, but also stated how it would only be possible if the white community shared a similar desire in achieving equality for all. During his speech Carmichael states, “How is the white community going to begin to allow for that organizing, because once they start to do that, they will also allow for the organizing that they want to do inside their community” (Carmichael 325). It is clear that Carmichael understands that the change he is looking for is not attainable unless the white community takes action with him, as he knows how much influence they have in the American political, economic, and social institutions. By calling for the white community to take action he felt that this would create the push the black and minority communities needed to reach racial equality. This was clearly an idea that proved itself to be accurate as Krissah Thompson examined in her article that by adding the white protesters to the March on Washington, this allowed for those in Washington to finally realize that social change finally needed to happen.

In the article “In March on Washington, White Activists were Largely Overlooked but Strategically Essential” by Krissah Thompson, Thompson delves into how during the famous March on Washington was so successful. This event was significant because it helped give the Civil Rights Movement a significant push towards their goals of racial equality, and the participants in the march were not only blacks and minorities, but also members from the white community. This was extremely important to the Civil Rights Movement because without support from the white community, the March might not have been as successful because the high-ranking officials in Washington D.C. may not have viewed the movement as groundbreaking or important. This is why members of the black community understood that they needed support from the white community as it would help Washington understand that this was a movement that not only was important to minorities, but to white people as well. Thompson wrote about how it was not easy for white people to take part in the March as other white folk were actually condemning them. For example, Thompson wrote about how a white activist, Eric Kulberg, asked his boss for the day off from work in order to participate in the March, and his boss responded with, “What are you, a n----- lover or something?” (Thompson). This made the movement that much more important as the white community was willing to divide against itself in order to create the change they believed was necessary. This was clearly a significant step forward for the Civil Rights Movement as Diana Zentay, a participant in the protest, stated how with the presence of white people “showed us in one day what the whole United States could be” (Thompson). This proved to be such a significant step as it was a slight preview into the more inclusive society the United States is today. As a whole, by adding the “perfect” amount of white participants, as Thompson states, to the March on Washington, it not only made the event that much more promising, but also allows for historians to wonder if the March would have been as successful if the white community decided to not get involved.

Stokely Carmichael was not just an activist for the Civil Rights Movement; in fact, in 1967 he was actually named the Prime Minister of the Black Panther Party. This was an extremely controversial group during the Civil Rights Movement, because while Martin Luther King Jr. was preaching the importance of using non-violence, the Black Panthers used what they referred to as “Black Power” in order to achieve their goals of equality. This was because they felt that the nonviolent actions used by King’s campaign would take far too long to achieve anything significant, so the Black Panthers decided to use violent methods in order to achieve their goals (Carson). Their willingness to use violent methods helped them gain support from the young black community, who were reluctant to wait any longer for black equality to finally be integrated, and allowed them to challenge political and police power in order to achieve social equality (Carson). However, it was because of this violence that they actually became increasingly unpopular and were sought after by the FBI and other government organizations due to their violent methods. Carson states in his encyclopedia, “attracting the attention of local police and the FBI, the group declined as a result of deadly shootouts and destructive counterintelligence activities that exacerbated disputes between Panthers and other black militant groups” (Carson). When Carmichael finally took on the role of Prime Minister of the party, he tried to change the reputation of the organization so it would become more appealing to other communities. This is why during his speech given at the University of California Berkeley he stressed the importance of getting the white community involved, as this would help further the movement and bring about change much quicker. However, he still believed in the idea of “Black Power”, which is why he decided to lead the Black Panther Party, and he used this ideology to help achieve the goals of the Civil Rights Movement and also help guide the United States towards a more inclusive future. 

The Civil Rights Movement was an extremely pivotal time in American history, as it ushered in a new era of equality in the United States while simultaneously dividing the country. However, the end result would help bring true equality for all peoples, no matter what color their skin was. For Stokely Carmichael to emphasize the importance of breaking down racial barriers and working together to help build a better world and society, this helped modern society to start looking past someone’s skin color and instead on the fact that everyone is human and should be treated equally. Krissah Thompson also helped emphasize this ideology in her article, as she discussed that by having white support at the March on Washington, it helped the US government realize that this was a movement that everyone, not just minorities, felt was important and should be addressed. While the Black Panthers may have used methods that many may view as brutal or unjust, it helped show how determined the black community was to achieve equality. Furthermore, the idea of Black Power similarly helped give the entire Civil Rights Movement a strong push it needed to help reach its ultimate goal. Overall, the events of the Civil Rights movement helped shape the United States of America into the modern and inclusive society it is today, and simultaneously proved to the rest of the world that change can be achieved as long as the right steps are taken. 
