Organizations

Black Power grew out of the political, economic, and racial reality of postwar America, when the possibilities of American democracy seemed unlimited. Black Power activists challenged American hegemony at home and abroad, demanded full citizenship, and vociferously criticized political reforms that at times substituted tokenism and style for substance. Some activists did this through a sometimes-bellicose advocacy of racial separatism contoured by threats of civil unrest. Others sought equal access to predominantly white institutions, especially public schools, colleges, and universities, while many decided to build independent, black-led institutions designed to serve as new beacons for African-American intellectual achievement, political power, and cultural pride. The movement advocated for radical goals that were tempered by an at times surprising and effective blend of militancy and pragmatism. Organized protests for black studies, efforts to incorporate the Black Arts Movement into independent and existing institutions, and the thrust to take control of major American cities through electoral strength exemplified these impulses.

The movement’s multifaceted organizations, from SNCC to the National Welfare Rights Organization, radically altered America’s social, political, and cultural landscape. Black Power’s impact was panoramic, triggering revolutions in knowledge, politics, consciousness, art, public policy, and foreign affairs along lines of race, class, gender, and sexuality. The movement’s heyday forced a re-examination of race, war, human rights, and democracy, and inspired millions of global citizens to reimagine a world free of poverty, racism, sexism, and economic exploitation.

Peniel Joseph, The University of Texas at Austin