The movie, “Men of Honor” stated, “History is made by those who break the rules.” During the 1960’s, everything was segregated, whether it was bathrooms, graveyards, or schools, facilities and institutions were placed into one of two categories, white or black. The Civil Rights movement attempted to create equality throughout the country. The history of America proves that racism has always been a part of our society. Just as George Burson said in his article, “The Black Civil Rights Movement,” “To understand the civil rights movement two things must be kept in mind. First, the United States population has always had strong racial elements in it…” (Burson 1). The Civil Rights movement fought to try and break from the control of white people.  Many brave men and women during the movement stood up against the unjust treatment of African Americans. One of these brave men was Stokely Carmichael, author and speaker of the “Black Power” speech. “Black Power” was given at UC Berkley in 1966. It exposed much of the racial hypocrisy in the nation. Using multiple sectors of society, it described the hardships that African Americans were facing, and uncovered the nation’s inequality. “Black power” was a powerful speech that described racial divide in America during the 1960’s. It pointed out the extensive hypocrisy, blatant racism, and segregation of the nation in numerous societal categories.

The civil rights movement in America was a long time of struggle and oppression for African Americans. It was composed of social movements that attempted to end the discrimination and segregation of African Americans. All across the country there were major civil resistance campaigns. People held marches, sit-ins, boycotts, etc. in order to try and gain their complete freedom in the nation. There were numerous people who stood out against the evils of this country and fought for their civil rights. From Martin Luther King Jr., to Rosa Parks, each African American who battled against segregation made a difference in the fight. Jacob U. Gordon explained in his novel, “Black Males in the Civil Rights Movement”, the civil rights movement in America produced, among other things, many black national leaders. They all practically agreed on a common freedom, justice, and equality for blacks. (Gordon 43). Black people eventually ended segregation, in 1964, the civil rights act was finally passed, which banned discrimination based on race, sex, or national origin in employment practices, and ended racial segregation in schools, the workplace, and public facilities. African Americans were far from reaching a complete separation from discrimination, however.  

Stokely Carmichael addressed numerous problems in America regarding civil rights during his speech.  One of his main points was that nobody can give another man his freedom.  Carmichael addresses the issue, “…we must dismiss the fallacious notion that white people can give anybody their freedom.  No man can give anybody his freedom.  A man is born free.” (Carmichael 314).  African Americans understood that they should hold the key to their own freedom, and fight for it.  That’s the only way that African Americans will gain that freedom.  A great example of this is shown in Greg Burson’s “The Black Civil Rights Movement.”  Burson speaks about the “Separate but Equal” law upheld in “Plessy V. Ferguson”.  It was the idea that institutions such as schools and bathrooms are allowed to be segregated, however, they must be equal. (Burson 39). However, these institutions were not equal.  The black institutions were in considerably worse condition compared to the whites’:  “Yet the black facilities were not equal:…. They were not allowed to swim in the public swimming pools, attend the local movie theater (or were segregated in the balcony) , or use the public library.” (Burson 36).  This point proves the fact that African Americans weren’t going to receive the freedom they want from whites.  They would have to go and achieve it themselves.  As long as white lawmakers were in control, they couldn’t rely on whites to hand them their freedom.

As Carmichael’s speech progresses, he develops this idea that society’s issue isn’t African Americans, but whites instead, because white people refused to change due to their beliefs.  It was a sense of hypocrisy, in the fact that white people had to be told not to do something to a black person.  The laws were always written so that white people were told what they could and could not do to black people.  As Carmichael explained, “Every time I tried to go into a place they stopped me. So some boys had to write a bill to tell that white man, “He’s a human being; don’t stop him.” That bill was for that white man, not for me. I knew it all the time.” (Carmichael 315).  Carmichael was basically describing the process to freedom for black people. These laws weren’t exactly written for the black people though, they were made to tell the white people what they can and can’t do as far as black people were concerned. Black people were made the secondary people in these laws. However, white people were still set in the thought process that blacks weren’t equal.  They still believed that because their skin was white, that they had control over black people. This created a huge problem in society, because black people were trying to gain their rights, but white people were still set in the mindset that black people were lesser. Which was a large part of Carmichael’s speech, he believed that society wasn’t progressing due to black people, it wasn’t progressing due to white people not being able to drop their racist ways. A great example is that of the northern whites.  Burson explains, “But as northern blacks began to demand equality through affirmative action, and school integration as well, many northern whites began to oppose the movement.” (Burson 36). The civil rights movement was really confined to the southern states, however when northern Black people began to demand the same rights being fought for in the south, such as school integration, northern whites opposed it, just as the southern whites had. (36). This is a clear example of how whites were the issue of America. Black people were doing everything they could in order to try and gain their freedom, but when it disturbed the current flow of the nation, and white people in general, they immediately were opposed to any new ideas. Stokely Carmichael’s speech provided a very interesting point on the segregation in the nation. White people were the problem of the country, the racism shown toward people with black skin set the country back quite a bit, and didn’t allow for much progress for a while.

Stokely Carmichael’s speech provided an argument for multiple sectors of society at the time. He spoke on institutional, economic, and political discrimination. Stokely Carmichael’s speech was basically divided into numerous parts; in which he spoke on the main problems of the nation. As far as economic ideals are concerned, Carmichael believed that many of the nation’s economic institutions would crumble without blacks and their labor. Carmichael states, “Now we have to articulate that we therefore have to hook up with black people around the world; and that that hookup is not only psychological, but becomes very real. If South America today were to rebel, and black people were to shoot the hell out of white people there-as they should, as they should- then Standard oil would crumble tomorrow.” (Carmichael 323). Carmichael explains the hypocrisy behind American bigotry and how it gets in the way of their ideals. America wants to continue to thrive with these big corporations, yet the African American people have the power to completely overturn those who have control of these large companies. Carmichael was basically telling these large corporations to watch out who they oppress, because it could backfire on them.   

Carmichael’s speech had many different parts to it.  Another part of his speech spoke on institutional segregation, the institutions he discussed eventually permitted  black people as well as whites due to numerous black efforts. He talked about the clear segregation of many institutions at the time. In education facilities, public facilities, and communities, segregation was prevalent. Jacob U. Gordon wrote about a situation where four black students entered a Woolworth store and sat down to order. This was the beginning of the sit-in movement. Gordon describes, “…they were refused service because they were black, but continued to sit at the counter until the store closed.” (Gordon 52). African Americans found numerous ways to try and fight against each type of segregation in the nation. Gordon also spoke on MLK’s bus sit-in, which was one of the most famous protests of all, when blacks refused to use the bus system for transportation. 

Lastly, Carmichael touched on the political discrimination in the country and foreign affairs. He spoke about how white men were the only elitists of the country. He spoke about the war in Vietnam and its discrimination. “Any time a black man leaves this country, gets shot in Vietnam on foreign ground, and returns home you won’t give him a burial in his own homeland, he’s a black mercenary, a black mercenary.” (Carmichael 320). This is another example of hypocrisy, black men go to war for the nation in order to defend the rights of whites back at home, but when they die, they don’t get the same burial as a white male would. They view black people in the army as objects who they pay to kill, rather than heroes.  

Through the efforts of the civil rights movement, black people eventually received equal rights.  Stokely Carmichael’s speech pointed out many of the horrors of the racist America during the Civil Rights movement. His speech was seemingly a motivator for the men and women of the Civil Rights movement. Today however, it can be argued that black people are still not seen as equal in the eyes of whites in the country. Numerous institutions are still fighting in order to try and end racism. Although racism will never completely dissipate, the nation needs to come together and fight against the discrimination the country is currently facing.
