Carmichael was a fierce castigator of the American way of life. According to the Black Activist the American society was rotten at the core due to its greediness and materialism, not least its capitalist economic system. Stokely Carmichael therefore urged for the discontinuation of that inhumane social system with the intent to create a new [...]
Stokely Carmichael not only stressed a return “to the roots”, but urged for a more vivid and active collaboration with the states from the African continent that had just obtained their independece. Carmichael expected this collaboration to be a kind of spark for the African-American struggle for freedom. As Stuart Towns reported, Stokely Carmichael […] [...]
After the “Mississipi March against Fear” during which Stokely Carmichael proclaimed the “Black Power” slogan for the first time, the Black activist transformed the mere slogan into a sophisticated political program. Together with Charles V. Hamilton, Stokely Carmichael recorded these political views later in Black Power. The Politics of Liberation in America (Random House, New [...]
Continuation of “Stokely Carmichael – Part 8: The Radicalization of the SNCC under Carmichael’s leadership” On June 16, 1966, during the Mississippi March against Fear Stokely Carmichael took the occasion to proclaim the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s change of direction. After each day’s march the leaders of the participating civil rights organizations usually addressed the [...]
Continuation of Stokely Carmichael – Part 7: Carmichael becomes a Full-Time SNCC Activist Through his leadership skills Stokely Carmichael rose to become the Lowndes County Black Panther Party’s key organizer. Gaining increasingly more responsibilty inside the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Carmichael developed into one of its most decisive representatives.The party’s slogan “Power for Black [...]
Continuation of “Stokely Carmichael – Part 6: Freedom Rides and White Backlash” … In 1964, after graduating from Howard University (majoring in philosophy) Stokely Carmichael refused to continue his academic career (there were various Phd offers) in order to become a full-time rebel joining the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In the same year the [...]
A few weeks ago, on March 8, women all over the world celebrated the “International Women’s Day“. In my hometown – Florence, Italy – groups of women were strolling around the historic district, enjoying the sunny day whilst celebrating their day. But what were we celebrating? Indubitably, if we take a glance at the role [...]
Continuation of “Stokely Carmichael – Part 5: The Sit-in Movement and Howard University” … After having participated in various sit-ins during his freshman year at Howard University, Carmichael decided to take part in another form of nonviolent protest: the freedom rides. As a nineteen-year-old college freshman Carmichael was one of the youngest freedom riders, but it [...]
Continuation of Stokely Carmichael – Part 4: The Stepladder Speakers’ Impact on the Soon-to-be Activist … In 1960, when Carmichael attended his senior year at Bronx Science, the sit-in movement broke out throwing the spotlight on racial segregation that still persisted in the South. When Carmichaell heard about it in the beginning he was quite skeptical [...]
Continuation of Stokely Carmichael – Part 3: The Years at Bronx High School of Science … On the streets of Harlem, more precisely on 125th street, Stokely Carmichael found what was missing in the white leftist world: a dynamic oratory concerning black nationalism and America’s racial problem. Both issues were addressed extensively by Harlem’s “stepladder [...]
