AP+2016+Black+Power+movement

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 * 1)  Aim: The Black Power Movement started in the 1960s by people of color who were tired with the constant discrimination and violence they faced from their caucasian peers. The main purpose of the Black Power Movement was to create a strong racial presence for people of color who were still facing racial discrimination so long after slavery was abolished. The goal of the Black Power Movement was to, “Uplift the black community as a whole by cultivating feelings of racial solidarity, often in opposition to the world of white Americans; a world that had oppressed Blacks for generations” (“Black Power”). The Black Power Movement was, for the most part, thoughtfully executed as to clearly demonstrate to the general public how individuals of African descent were being unjustly treated in order to provide context to their discontent. People of all races became involved in the Black Power Movement to show their support for their fellow Americans who were suffering from injustice. The goal behind the riots and protests, both peaceful and violent, were to make all Americans aware of what it felt like to be on the receiving end of racial discrimination in a manner that would make all Americans rethink their decision to allow such an injustice to occur within a society that is known for being built upon the backs of people from all over the world.
 * 1)  Audience: The Black Power Movement was directed to all Americans, but especially the caucasian Americans. African Americans were tired of the constant racial discrimination and violence solely due to the color of their skin. The individuals apart of the Black Power Movement made their voices heard at rallies and protests. For example, “At a mass rally, Carmichael uttered a simple statement: ‘What we need is black power’. Crowds chanted the phrase as a slogan, and a movement began to flower” (“A New Civil Rights Movement”). At the time, African Americans had always been considered as inferior in comparison to their caucasian counterparts, so the Black Power Movement strived to present the injustice associated with being treated as less than someone else. Through the use of both peaceful and violent protests, supporters of the Black Power Movement were trying to demonstrate to all Americans just how important the true freedom of African Americans both in economical and social aspects was to them. It was the traditionalists in the United States who were still struggling to accept the equality of all men that posed the greatest problem to African Americans searching for justice, so it is those individuals in which the Black Power Movement was directed towards.
 * 1)  Cultural: The Black Power Movement began because the American culture was divided into those who support the equality of African American individuals and those who believed that African Americans should be thought of as less than everyone else. The Black Power movement was created to end racial discrimination and promote the idea of racial equality in both governmental and social aspects. An influential member of the Black Power Movement, Harry Haywood wrote, ‘“The emergence of Black Power as a mass slogan signaled a fundamental turning point in the modern Afro-American liberation struggle, carrying it to the threshold of a new place. It marked a basic shift in content and direction of the movement, from civil rights to national liberation, with a corresponding realignment of social forces’” (Woodard). The Black Power Movement was designed to represent that the African American members meant business and were not going to act submissively in the face of racial injustice. The Black Power Movement promoted the use of rallies and protests, which caused chaos, but also gave the members associated with the movement the acknowledgement they were searching for. While controversial at the time, the Black Power Movement lead to the steady growth of racial tolerance in the United States.
 * 1)  Historical: The Black Power Movement began in the 1960s with Stokeley Carmichael. Carmichael used the phrase “Black Power” to rally people supporting racial equality to fight against those who believe in separating the United States based on the color of someone’s skin. The Black Power Movement was built on the anger and distrust that African Americans felt towards their white counterparts. The members of the Black Power Movement sought to fight racial discrimination through the use of rallies and protests. They decided that if they were treated with violence from their white peers, they would be justified in responding with violence rather than promote a nonviolent form of protest as Martin Luther King Jr. did. Many African Americans saw the Black Power Movement as, “A cry against the whites who held all the resources in a white-dominated society. There were some African Americans who wanted to use the call as a way of elevating the status of African Americans in society but them dropping such potentially inflammatory call once this had started had started as it would serve no positive purpose after that advance” (Trueman). The individuals who created the Black Power Movement were tired of the constant violence and unnecessary discrimination they faced, and believed that the only way to change this practice would be to demonstrate to all of America that they would not back down to anyone any longer.
 * 1)  Work Cited
 * 1)  "Black Power." //Ushistory.org.// Independence Hall Association. Web. 05 Jan. 2016
 * 1)  "Black Power - Boundless Open Textbook." Boundless. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
 * 1)  Woodard, Komozi. "Rethinking the Black Power Movement." //Rethinking the Black Power Movement.// Sarah Lawrence College. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.
 * 1)  Trueman, C. N. "Black Power - History Learning Site." History Learning Site. 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 05 Jan. 2016.