Black Civil Rights - Black Power
WHAT WAS BLACK POWER?
- Not just a political slogan – it symbolised a broad‘cultural transformation’.
- Black Power included a number of different loosely-defined ideas.
- Many of these ideas had been outlined by Malcolm X during the 1950’s.
POLITICAL LEVEL
- Develop independent action – free of white control
- Economic self sufficiency
- Develop black entrepreneurs
- Establish black cooperatives
- Gain black control of black education
INFLUENCE
- During the 1960’s Malcolm X and the Black Muslims were the best-known exponents of Black Power
- Soon after other Militant groups appeared
- SNCC (student non-violent coordinating committee)
- CORE (congress of racial equality)
- Black Power influences became apparent by 1968 with the founding of the American Indian Movement (AIM) – became known as red power
- Ideas also having an impact on Mexican-Americans – Brown Power
- The idea of Black Power was an important step on the path to overt militancy
BLACK PANTHERS
- They developed a program that was clearly influenced by Black Power ideas
- Freedom, full employment for all, an end to robbery of Black people, housing, education, black exemption from military service,end to murder by the police, freedom for blacks in jail, fair juries and land entitlement.
- Developed the idea of armed patrols on the ghettos to keep an eye on the white police
- Not just a political slogan – it symbolised a broad‘cultural transformation’.
- Black Power included a number of different loosely-defined ideas.
- Many of these ideas had been outlined by Malcolm X during the 1950’s.
POLITICAL LEVEL
- Develop independent action – free of white control
- Economic self sufficiency
- Develop black entrepreneurs
- Establish black cooperatives
- Gain black control of black education
INFLUENCE
- During the 1960’s Malcolm X and the Black Muslims were the best-known exponents of Black Power
- Soon after other Militant groups appeared
- SNCC (student non-violent coordinating committee)
- CORE (congress of racial equality)
- Black Power influences became apparent by 1968 with the founding of the American Indian Movement (AIM) – became known as red power
- Ideas also having an impact on Mexican-Americans – Brown Power
- The idea of Black Power was an important step on the path to overt militancy
BLACK PANTHERS
- They developed a program that was clearly influenced by Black Power ideas
- Freedom, full employment for all, an end to robbery of Black people, housing, education, black exemption from military service,end to murder by the police, freedom for blacks in jail, fair juries and land entitlement.
- Developed the idea of armed patrols on the ghettos to keep an eye on the white police
BLACK POWER 10 POINT PLATFORM AND PROGRAM
1 - We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our black and oppressed communities. -
2 - We want full employment for our people.
3 - We want an end to the robbery by the capitalists of our black and oppressed communities.
4 - We want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings.
5 - We want decent education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.
- 6 - We want completely free health care for all black and oppressed people.
- 7 - We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people, other people of colour, all oppressed people inside the united states.
- 8 - We want an immediate end to all wars of aggression.
- 9 - We want freedom for all black and oppressed people now held in u. S. Federal, state, county, city and military prisons and jails. We want trials by a jury of peers for all persons charged with so-called crimes under the laws of this country.
- 10 - We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people's
community control of modern technology.
Did Black Power help or hinder the Civil Rights Movement?
- BP influenced Martin Luther King
- Gave the Black community a sense of pride and confidence in their race (music, literature etc)
- Inspired other minority groups to follow the Black example and campaign in a more militant fashion.
BUT........
- Black Power brought division to the movement
- By accepting violence. Black Power supporters undermined King’s policy of maintaining peace
- Never clear what Black Power’s political aims were.
- Gave the Black community a sense of pride and confidence in their race (music, literature etc)
- Inspired other minority groups to follow the Black example and campaign in a more militant fashion.
BUT........
- Black Power brought division to the movement
- By accepting violence. Black Power supporters undermined King’s policy of maintaining peace
- Never clear what Black Power’s political aims were.
Activity 1
Freeze fram photos. Looking at these photos - you need to think about what each person may be say or thinking. If you are in a classroom environment it is a great idea to act out the photos. The teacher will then point at each student who is acting a part of the photo and ask what they are thinking, the student then replies what he is thinking pretending the are someone from the photo.
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