-
Black Power Movement
The
Black Power movement
grew out of the
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT that
had steadily
gained momentum through the 1950s and 1960s.
Although not a formal
movement,
the
Black
Power
movement
marked
a
turning
point
in
black-white
relations in the
United States and also in how blacks saw
themselves. The movement
was hailed by
some as a positive and
proactive
((
心
)
前摄的：指回忆时先
知材料较后
知材料占优势的
) force aimed at
helping blacks achieve full equality with whites,
but
it was
reviled(
谩骂，痛斥
) by
others as a militant, sometimes violent faction
whose
primary
goal
was
to
drive
a
wedge
between
whites
and
blacks.
In
truth,
the
Black
Power
movement
was
a
complex
event
that
took
place
at
a
time
when
society
and
culture
was
being
transformed
throughout
the
United
States,
and
its
legacy
reflects
that complexity.
In
the
1950s
and
early
1960s,
groups
such
as
the
National
Association
for
the
Advancement
of
Colored
People
(NAACP)
and
the
SOUTHERN
CHRISTIAN
LEADERSHIP
CONFERENCE
(SCLC)
worked
with
blacks
and
whites
to
create
a
desegregated
society
and
eliminate
RACIAL
DISCRIMINATION.
Their
efforts
generated positive
responses from a broad spectrum of people across
the country. Rev.
MARTIN
LUTHER
KING
JR.,
who
headed
the
SCLC,
made
significant
headway
with his adherence to nonviolent
tactics. In 1964, President LYNDON B. JOHNSON
signed
the
CIVIL
RIGHTS
ACT
and
a
year
later
he
signed
the
VOTING
RIGHTS
ACT.
CIVIL RIGHTS
legislation was an earnest and effective step
toward eliminating
inequality between
blacks and whites. Even with the obvious progress,
however, the
reality was that prejudice
could not be legislated away. Blacks still faced
lower wages
than whites, higher crime
rates in their neighborhoods, and unspoken but
palpable
(
可
感知的，
可察觉的，
明显的
)racial discrimination. Young blacks in particular
saw the
civil
rights
movement
as
too
mainstream
to
generate
real
social
change.
What
they
wanted
was
something
that
would
accelerate
the
process
and
give
blacks
the
same
opportunities
as
whites,
not
just
socially
but
also
economically
and
politically.
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Perhaps more important, they felt that
the civil rights movement was based more on
white perceptions of civil rights than
black perceptions.
Not
all
blacks
had
been
equally
impressed
with
the
civil
rights
movement.
MALCOLM
X
and
the
NATION
OF
ISLAM,
for
example,
felt
that
racial
self-
determination
was
a
critical
and
neglected
element
of
true
equality.
By
the
mid-1960s,
dissatisfaction with the pace of change was
growing among blacks. The
term
power
had
been
around
since
the
1950s,
but
it
was
STOKELY
CARMICHAEL,
head
of
the
STUDENT
NONVIOLENT
COORDINATING
COMMITTEE
(SNCC), who popularized the term in 1966.
Carmichael led a push to transform SNCC
from a multiracial community activist
organization
into
an
all-black
social
change
organization.
Late
in
1966,
two
young
men,
HUEY
NEWTON
and
BOBBY
SEALE,
formed
the
BLACK
PANTHER
PARTY FOR SELF-DEFENSE (BPP), initially
as a group to track incidents of police
violence. Within a short time groups
such as SNCC and BPP gained momentum, and
by the late 1960s the Black Power
movement had made a definite mark on American
culture and society.
The
Black
Power
movement
instilled
(
逐渐灌输
)
a
sense
of
racial
pride
and
self-esteem in blacks. Blacks were told
that it was up to them to improve their
lives.
Black
Power
advocates
encouraged
blacks
to
form
or
join
all-black
political
parties
that
could
provide
a
formidable
power
base
and
offer
a
foundation
for
real
socioeconomic
progress.
For
years,
the
movement's
leaders
said,
blacks
had
been
trying to aspire to
white ideals of what they should be. Now it was
time for blacks to
set their own
agenda, putting their needs and aspirations first.
An early step, in fact,
was
the
replacement
of
the
word
(a
word
associated
with
the
years
of
SLA
VERY) with
The
movement generated a number of positive
developments. Probably the most
noteworthy of these was its influence
on black culture.
For the first time,
blacks in
the
United
States
were
encouraged
to
acknowledge
their
African
heritage.
COLLEGES
AND
UNIVERSITIES
established
black
studies
programs
and
black
studies departments.
Blacks who had grown up believing that
they were descended
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