Historical and cultural background knowledge is vital to reading and comprehending certain texts.  When reading Stokely Carmichael’s speech “Black Power,” the meaning is evident but can be difficult to relate to without fully understanding the inequalities that African Americans face on a day-to-day basis.  This being said, research on black inequality helps give this speech a deeper meaning.  Articles such as; “Toward a New Legal History of Capitalism and Unfree Labor: Law, Slavery, and Emancipation in the American Marketplace,” written by Matthew A. Axtell, and “The Impact of Slavery on 20th-and 21st-Century Black Progress,” written by Ronal W. Walters, contribute to the historical context within Carmichael’s speech.  By looking at history, culture, and present day experiences, it is seen that even after the civil rights movement, blacks are often times perceived as not being treated equally, and that changes need to be made within our society to improve the equality of people among all races.  

“Toward a New Legal History of Capitalism and Unfree Labor: Law, Slavery, and Emancipation in the American Marketplace” is an informative writing that provides the background and history of a slave’s life as well as what they had to go through to get to the step of emancipation.  Forced separation of families and mistreatment, both physically and emotionally are just some of what was endured by African American slaves prior to being given their rights and freedom.  This work has motives similar to those of “Black Power” and it mainly focuses on unfair capitalism for blacks during slavery, emancipation, and even after the civil rights movement.  Axtell and Carmichael have thoughts that were alike in the ways of both believing that African Americans deserve better treatment than what they often times receive.  Axtell mentions several cases of personal experiences where slaves were treated terribly and were harmed.  For example, during an interview with a former slave, the African American that was mistreated referred to his master as “known for his harshness toward his slaves (Axtell 270). This is something else that Carmichael wanted to express with “Black Power.”  He also believed that because of everything that the white population put blacks through during the slave trade, they should not be the main ones discriminating against most of their population now.  This could mean that he felt that if anything, whites should be the people that are trying to fix the way society feels about equal rights among all races.  The main idea that both of these two men were expressing is the struggles of poverty and capitalism for African Americans due to past slavery experiences.  This article relates closely with “Black Power” and was it was useful to use as a comparison in the way that neither author believed that blacks are treated fairly. 

Researching and learning more, in-depth information about how slaves were treated, their emancipation, and the effects that almost immediately followed, plays a large role in knowing how to interpret the speech, “Black Power” like Carmichael wanted the audience to take it.  The audience may feel that if they had a better and a little clearer understanding of what slaves went through during the slave trade and their emancipation, they would have more empathy for Carmichael’s feelings and be able to understand the anger he has projected in his speech.  More knowledge on this controversial topic would help any reader see the viewpoint of everyone that shares Carmichael’s beliefs and feels as if most African Americans are treated unequal and worse than other races.  Knowing that he has a personal experience with slavery and inequality, helps readers to be able to relate to him more.  Now that research has been done on what it was like for a black person in that time period, the frustration that is seen within Carmichael’s speech, is more clear and can be better understood by the audience.  

“The Impact of Slavery on 20th-and 21st-Century Black Progress” is a journal that was also found when trying to relate research to “Black Power.” This reading includes many similar main ideas that Carmichael was expressing in his speech.  Both men agree that African Americans are not treated equal in several aspects of society.  Walters makes it evident that even today, the crime rate and poverty levels among the black population remain higher because of a significantly lower income and educational level when compared to other races.  He also goes on to explain how these particular factors influence college and career availability as well as renting a home instead of owning a home within race specific neighborhoods.  It is often times seen that blacks feel that their freedom is challenged among society and just being in public among other races can lead to controversy.  Carmichael and Walters both believed and expressed that blacks were granted their civil rights but their freedom still has boundaries.  These boundaries were present immediately following desegregation and are still apparent within our society today.  Finding another reading that expresses main points that Carmichael did, was beneficial to a further understanding of the true meaning. 

By supplementing “The Impact of Slavery on 20th-and 21st-Century Black Progress” with “Black Power,” the reader can see how the struggles of black Americans are perceived by different people.  This can lead to a more objective view of how serious this controversial struggle is, even in today’s time.  Carmichael’s feelings towards inequality for African Americans were evident, but this journal allowed the audience to feel a deeper connection with what was said during the speech.  Having done additional research, the historical facts about slavery and black inequality expresses the struggles that they have faced for several decades and still potentially face in present times.  By reading literature from multiple authors, all audiences, regardless of race, can see the point of view presented and understand that there are indeed circumstances when inequality is present across racial lines. 

Reading “Black Power” for the first time, it was obvious for the audience to see that Stokely Carmichael was upset about something and that he was trying to get others to see and understand exactly what he was saying.  After learning additional historical and cultural context, and also getting to read someone else’s view on present day experiences, his message became more clear.  Carmichael was generally hurt and angry by everyone’s actions and mistreatment towards the majority of people of the black race.  He was not only angry, he wanted change, and he wanted society to become better and finally give African Americans the freedom they so deserved and were told they would be given several decades ago.  At first, the reader may be unsure why he felt that the rights and laws written were more for the white population than for the black population but after looking at background research and comparison of other writers, it can be understood better that he wanted the whites to change their way of thinking.  Carmichael truly feels that the problem is with acceptance and once that situation is changed for the better, then so would equality.  Taking historical and cultural background knowledge into consideration and comparing it to how African Americans are still treated today in society, helps make an audience member of Carmichael’s, Walters’, and Axtell’s pieces of work on slavery and post-civil rights, believe that some changes need to be made within how races treat each other. 
