Chapter 21 Black Power From Slavery to Freedom 9 th ed

Chapter 21 Black Power From Slavery to Freedom 9 th ed.

Black Powers Antecedents The Heritage of Appeals to Self-Reliance A. Phillip Randolphs March on Washington Movements (MOWM) racial exclusivist mandate Black self-determination and self-reliance Separatist strategies often seen as necessary prerequisite to eventual integration 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2

Black Powers Antecedents Malcom X Nation of Islam led by Elijah Muhammad Preached personal and group empowerment of racial separation NOIs black-owned businesses and self-help programs offered security to disaffected blacks Rejected all names that might imply a connection with whites Advocated total racial separation 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3

Black Powers Antecedents Malcom X most vocal opponent of civil rights movement Believed nonviolent resistance to be unmanly and dangerous Believed black pride and black manhood responsible for raising him out of his criminal life Message to the Grassroots 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4

5 Malcolm X speaking at Rally

Black Powers Antecedents Activism in the South In South, perspectives on civil rights tactics diverse; receptive climate for black power Gloria Richardson refused to accept nonviolence over self-defense Paramilitary Defense Units Deacons of Defense and Justice unofficial police system Worked in cooperation with nonviolent movement Protected civil rights activists Typically military veterans 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6

Black Powers Antecedents Armed Revolution Robert F. Williams Simultaneously advocated nonviolent protest with idea that violence must be met with violence Equated black manhood with protesting inequality but also protecting self and others from white mobs Radio Free Dixie; The Crusader Black Panther Party played influential role in radicalizing black college students Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7

Black Powers Antecedents Internationalizing the Struggle Malcom X internationalized the African American freedom struggle Linked it to anticolonial movements; attempted to forge ties with African nations Bandung 1955 Bandung Conference of Asian and African peoples followed closely by African Americans 29 leaders discussed political self determination, national sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference, and equality 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8

Black Powers Antecedents Malcolm and the Dark World Malcolm X made two trips to Africa in 1964 Hajj Meeting of Organization of African Unity (OAU) OAU was model for Malcolm Xs newly formed Organization of African American Unity Nonreligious group; separate from Nation of Islam Submitted memorandum to OAU members requesting they bring before the UN a violation of African American rights Also sought aid 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9

Black Powers Antecedents American authorities disturbed by comments subsequently made by Africans on UN floor After African trip, Malcom Xs opinions on whites shifted and he began to rethink his ideas on race The Assassination of Malcolm X Malcolm X killed by black assassin on February 21, 1965 Unable to develop new ideas gained in Africa or his visions for the newly formed OAAU 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10

Proclaiming Black Power Stokely Carmichael Makes History At freedom rally during Meredith March, cried out the words black power transforming history Chosen to lead SNCC Reflection of SNCCs new militancy Carmichael believed independence from whites would enhance blacks ability to integrate Emphasized self-worth, self-love, and self-respect, and control of black institutions and communities Eventually disenchanted, he moved to Guinea 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11

Proclaiming Black Power The Black Panther Party Founded in Oakland in 1966 Gained notoriety after Huey Newtons manslaughter conviction of a policeman Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice Ten-Point Program: What We Want/What We Believe Defined black Americans as an oppressed, exploited colonial population Quoted anticolonial revolutionaries 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12

Proclaiming Black Power Black nationalism a male-centered culture Believed American racism targeted black manhood for destruction Nationally circulated newspaper the Black Panther contained brash and profane rhetoric FBI COINTELPRO investigated Panthers Killing of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14

Proclaiming Black Power Revolutionary Nationalism versus Cultural Nationalism US under Maulana Karenga representative of ideology of cultural nationalism Promoted alternative value system Contentious relationship with Black Panthers Fatal shootout in 1969 on UCLA campus Muhammad Ali Member of Nation of Islam Convicted for violating Selective Service Act 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15

A Dissident Youth Culture Three trends in African American higher education in second half of 20 th century Number of blacks at predominately white institutions grew dramatically Graduation rate higher at historically black institutions Introduction of Black Studies programs Activism that formed part of larger student movement Campus Activism Orangeburg Massacre Kent State 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16

A Dissident Youth Culture Black students made demands of academic establishment: courses in black history; hiring of black faculty Number of black professors, administrators increased Affirmative action The Afro Symbol of the black-power era Nina Simone To Be Young, Gifted, and Black 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17

Black Artistic Power Political Activists On Guard for Freedom, black-nationalist literary circle based in New York The Umbra Workshop Magazine Umbra a race-conscious perspective; departure from white literary establishment Harlem Writers Guild John Oliver Killens; Maya Angelou Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones) Black Arts Repertory Theater 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18

Black Artistic Power The Cultural Side of Black Power Ideologues of Black Arts Movement linked politics and art as a way to reinterpret aesthetic values Black Fire (1968) creative pieces drawn from contemporary writers The Black Aesthetic (1971) traced development of theories of independent black culture using contemporary and historical writings; sought to establish long tradition of writing 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19

Black Artistic Power The Black Arts Movement Black is beautiful Growing rejection of cultural assimilation, integrationist-oriented civil rights organizations Sought to develop foundation for creation of new African American art Proclaimed a cultural revolution; Rejected the universal Enthusiastic for free jazz; John Coltrane Artistic movement constantly in flux Roots 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20

Black Artistic Power Blaxploitation Movies Realization of filmmakers of lucrative black consumer market Shaft; Superfly Controversial mix of gangsterism, drugs, sex, and violence roots of Hip-Hop Graphic Arts Romare Bearden collage David Driskell artist and scholar Elizabeth Catlett linocuts: Harriet Faith Ringgold storytelling quilts 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 21

Black Artistic Power Women Writers 1970s, black women writers began writing about sexism and the insensitivity and abuse they had suffered Revisited richness of African American womens writing and themes In Search of Zora Neal Hurston Provided look at black experience through the gender lens The Color Purple Alice Walker won Pulitzer Prize 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 22

Black Feminism Report by Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan concluded that the black family was the fundamental source of weakness of the black community Clearly blamed female-headed households for tangle of pathology within black community Negative characterization of black women 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 23

Black Feminism Reaction to the Moynihan Report Michelle Wallace Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman (1979) Black women uncomfortable fit in both black- power and feminist movements The Black Women (1970) In Search of Our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose Womanism 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 24

Black Feminism Womens Organizations Black women in need of organization that acknowledged racism in womens movement and sexual discrimination in black power movement Created five explicitly feminist organizations, all committed to eradicating racism, sexism, poverty Third World Womens Alliance; Black Women Organized for Action; National Black Feminist Organization; National Alliance of Black Feminists; Combahee River Collective 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 25

Black Feminism National Black Feminist Organization met in small groups for consciousness-raising discussion Eleanor Holmes Norton; Shirley Chisholm Third World Womens Alliance Most radical; linked African American womens struggle with womens movements in Asia and Africa Free Angela Davis campaign None of these organizations were still active in 1980s but were successful in putting into perspective issues of poverty, health, employment, and family 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 26

Social and Political Realities Between 1949 and 1964, unemployment rate of blacks doubled that of whites 80% held jobs at bottom of economic ladder; discrimination made it impossible to find housing July 1964 riots beginning in New York Riots in the Cities: Watts August 1965, racial tension exploded in Watts after arrest of young black man for reckless driving 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 28

Social and Political Realities Underlying cause of Watts riots demoralization of Los Angeles black population 1/6 crowded into area four times as congested as the rest of the city Couldnt afford housing elsewhere; more than 30% of wage earners were unemployed Newark and Detroit 40 racial disturbances in summer 1966 1967 violence in Newark and Detroit Assassination of MLK spurred riots across country; belief in conspiracy 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 29

Social and Political Realities The New Black Political Power Almost 50% of black population outside South by 1970 28% in central cities of 12 largest metropolitan areas Southern blacks also moving to cities Urbanization and ensuing concentration of African Americans fostered black political empowerment Great majority linked political behavior to American electoral system 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 30

Social and Political Realities Gains in winning political offices Congressional Black Caucus Success at local offices: mayor, judge, school board Slower to success for statewide office Demanded greater voices in party affairs National Black Political Convention March 1972 National Black Political Agenda revealed deep divisions on major policy issues 2010 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 31

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Chapter 21 Black Power From Slavery to Freedom 9 th ed