Black power movement Research

The term “black power movement” describes a group of black people who want to unite publicly and speak out from a position of strength. The 1960s to 1970s saw the emergence of the black power movement. The movement sought to battle for the rights of Black Americans who faced discrimination due to their skin color through nonviolent means. The time was marked by nonviolent, widespread activism for liberation from black oppression, and the Black community was connected through culture, the arts, and the written word. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to comprehend and describe the role played by the black power movement in the struggle for civil rights. The Black Power movement was introduced in 1966 by Willie Ricks, which was arguably an extension of the civil rights that was experienced in America before 1966 . The movement gave rise to fearless leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther among others who were inspired by struggle of African leaders to independence in other nations such as; Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba and Nat Turner. The leaders advocated for the basic black human rights, with many organizations in relation to black power being formed to advocate for specific rights. The arising of the black organizations was rampant in the early 1970s, especially after Malcolm X and Martin Luther. More blacks became aware and conscious of their rise. This led to more protests that brought the plight of Black Americans to light in America.

Black Movement and Fight for Civil Rights

Whereas Black movement spread all over America, civil rights movement was rampant in the southern part of America. Civil rights group comprised of both blacks and whites, while black movements was only restricted to Blacks. Black movements were focused on controlling the black communities, while the civil rights movement aimed at breaking the tradition of segregating blacks from using public amenities and Black’s right to vote. Arguably, Black movement was wholesome, which changed the overall mindset of the blacks. For example, Blacks were referred to as “Blacks” and not ”Negroes” as before .

There was significant transformation in the music industry as well, with more Blacks coming out and expression their content of being black. ”Say it Loud, I’m Black and Proud”, ”Message to a Black Man” were among the songs that expressed political expression of Blacks at that point in time . Rhythm and blues and Gospel were extraordinarily ”national anthem” for the blacks, which to date, are the genres that Blacks are best known for. From Music to mode of dressing (both hair grooming and dressing) changed drastically to a way that suited Blacks. Black students were equally not left behind. Black students in universities dressed in more African ways, they adopted African names and Black unions were formed in school to advocate for Black programs . Black programs aimed at educating Africans on their history, which Blacks believed strongly that it was the key way of equalizing Africans to Whites. Thus, the Black Movement focused on education, protection, clothing, shelter and food .

Death of Black Movement

Notably, Black movement was based on the rich history of the Blacks. Black movement heighted consciousness of the oppressed communities all over the world and played a vital role in defining their movement. Equality in the Caribbean, activism in Barbados and Bermuda were some of the movements greatly influenced by the Black movement. By mid 1970s, black movement was meant for all purpose, ranging from government oppression, assassinations, harassments, arrest to raids. Concentration of the Blacks in America later on was focused on electing Blacks to public office. With time, Black movement faded away, with a few movements witnessed towards the end of 1970s. By 1976, Black movement was dead at the time Jimmy Carter was elected to office .

Bibliography

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Journal of American History 91, no. 4 (2005): 1233-1263.

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Muse, Benjamin. The American Negro Revolution: From Nonviolence to Black Power, 1963–

1967. New York: Citadel. 1970.