How to Recognize Black Power Movement Leaders

The Black Power movement began in the 1950s and had many leaders that influenced the American civil rights movement. Their role in American history is undeniable and studying their lives is key to understanding the progress of African Americans.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Read about Malcolm X, who was born Malcolm Little, an early leader of the black power movement. His involvement with Elijah Mohamed and the Nation of Islam (also known as the Black Muslims) was both controversial and frightening to many white Americans. Malcolm started as a devout seperatist but, after an enlightening trip to Africa, adopted a position of inclusive equality. When he challenged the Black Muslim leadership, he was murdered.
2. Remember that Martin Luther King Jr. was the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) that began in 1955. The SCLC called for nonviolent change and full civil rights for African Americans. They were instrumental in the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
3. Know that Robert Williams of the North Carolina NAACP was the first to use the term "black power" to promote a heightened African American consciousness to the injustices faced in their daily lives.
4. Consider that Stokely Carmichael was known to use the term "black power" throughout the 1960s during his time with SNCC and Martin Luther King. The term created controversy among both black and white Americans at the time. The book "Black Power" came out in 1967 and was written by Carmichael and Charles Hamilton.
5. Note that the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was formed in 1960 by students of Shaw University in Raleigh. The group was noted for their sit-ins at segregated lunch counters and the freedom rides to promote civil equality through non violent activism.
6. Learn how Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton were the co- founders of the Black Panther Party in 1966. The party wanted self determination, better representation under the law, more economic and educational opportunities and full employment for African Americans.