The Black Power Movement
History Notes
WHAT LED TO THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT (BPM) -
Northern USA:
- Happened after the Civil Rights Movement.
- Problem was de facto segregation.
= Segregation that exists by practice and tradition.
= Harder to fight than de jure segregation because eliminating it requires
changing people's attitudes.
= It intensified after African Americans migrated to Northern cities during and
after WW2.
= This began a “white flight”, a great number of whites moved out of the cities to
the suburbs. (lack of services due to the tax base leaving)
● De Jure = “in law” (changed)
● De Facto = “in reality” (didn’t change)
Why White Flight:
- By 1965, 50% of the block lived in northern states. (inner city ghettos)
- They paid rent to landlords who did not comply with housing and health laws.
= Housing standards dropped.
- Schools in these neighborhoods deteriorated due to many qualified teachers
moving and funding for schools dropped.
- Unemployment rates were twice as high as those among whites.
New Leadership:
- As 60s progressed, activists came to reject the non-violent methods which king
and the SLCC advocated.
= They found it more difficult to convince whites to share economic and social
power than lunch counters and bus seats.
- They felt force was justified in the struggle to achieve equality.
- By 1965, the leading civil rights group drifted apart.
- New leaders emerged as the movement turned north.
, - Eg) Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. (black power philosophers)
Malcom X:
- Born Malcolm Little.
- He went to jail at age 20 for burglary.
- While in prison he studied the teachings of islam and Muhammad.
- He preached that whites were the cause of the black condition and that blacks
should separate from white society.
- He got big press time due to his controversial statements.
= His call for armed self-defense frightened most whites.
= He angered some other members of the Nation of Islam.
- Ballots and Bullets…
= March 1964, Malcolm broke with the Nation of Islam.
= April 1964, he started a pilgrimage to Mecca.
= He learned that orthodox Islam preached racial equality.
= He changed his views and adopted a less extreme position.
= New slogan, “ballots or bullets”.
- Assassiantion…
= Due to his split with the Black Muslims, his life was in danger.
= February 21, 1965, while giving a speech he was shot and killed.
= He was 39 years old and killed by Black Muslims.
Stokely Carmichael:
- Born in Trinidad, grew up in the US from the age of 11 and became an activist
while in high school.
- Led the SNCC and was one of the original Freedom riders.
- Inspired by Malcom X, he verbalized a philosophy of Black Power.
- Good speeches and writing.
- Helped develop independant all black-political organizations.
= Black Panther Party and Lowndes County Freedom.
- The FBI targeted him for counter-intelligence activity.
= Forced him to move to Africa where he started a Pan-Africanist movement.
Carmichael AND King:
- MLK urged Carmichael to stop using his phrase because he believed that it
would provoke African Americans to violence and antagonize whites. (it did)
- Stokely refused.
- King was planning to lead the Poor People’s March on Washington D.C but the
people had to march with him.
History Notes
WHAT LED TO THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT (BPM) -
Northern USA:
- Happened after the Civil Rights Movement.
- Problem was de facto segregation.
= Segregation that exists by practice and tradition.
= Harder to fight than de jure segregation because eliminating it requires
changing people's attitudes.
= It intensified after African Americans migrated to Northern cities during and
after WW2.
= This began a “white flight”, a great number of whites moved out of the cities to
the suburbs. (lack of services due to the tax base leaving)
● De Jure = “in law” (changed)
● De Facto = “in reality” (didn’t change)
Why White Flight:
- By 1965, 50% of the block lived in northern states. (inner city ghettos)
- They paid rent to landlords who did not comply with housing and health laws.
= Housing standards dropped.
- Schools in these neighborhoods deteriorated due to many qualified teachers
moving and funding for schools dropped.
- Unemployment rates were twice as high as those among whites.
New Leadership:
- As 60s progressed, activists came to reject the non-violent methods which king
and the SLCC advocated.
= They found it more difficult to convince whites to share economic and social
power than lunch counters and bus seats.
- They felt force was justified in the struggle to achieve equality.
- By 1965, the leading civil rights group drifted apart.
- New leaders emerged as the movement turned north.
, - Eg) Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. (black power philosophers)
Malcom X:
- Born Malcolm Little.
- He went to jail at age 20 for burglary.
- While in prison he studied the teachings of islam and Muhammad.
- He preached that whites were the cause of the black condition and that blacks
should separate from white society.
- He got big press time due to his controversial statements.
= His call for armed self-defense frightened most whites.
= He angered some other members of the Nation of Islam.
- Ballots and Bullets…
= March 1964, Malcolm broke with the Nation of Islam.
= April 1964, he started a pilgrimage to Mecca.
= He learned that orthodox Islam preached racial equality.
= He changed his views and adopted a less extreme position.
= New slogan, “ballots or bullets”.
- Assassiantion…
= Due to his split with the Black Muslims, his life was in danger.
= February 21, 1965, while giving a speech he was shot and killed.
= He was 39 years old and killed by Black Muslims.
Stokely Carmichael:
- Born in Trinidad, grew up in the US from the age of 11 and became an activist
while in high school.
- Led the SNCC and was one of the original Freedom riders.
- Inspired by Malcom X, he verbalized a philosophy of Black Power.
- Good speeches and writing.
- Helped develop independant all black-political organizations.
= Black Panther Party and Lowndes County Freedom.
- The FBI targeted him for counter-intelligence activity.
= Forced him to move to Africa where he started a Pan-Africanist movement.
Carmichael AND King:
- MLK urged Carmichael to stop using his phrase because he believed that it
would provoke African Americans to violence and antagonize whites. (it did)
- Stokely refused.
- King was planning to lead the Poor People’s March on Washington D.C but the
people had to march with him.
