Depth: Malcolm X & Black Power

Question 1

Overall judgement on the extent to which Black Power influenced /improved the position of AAs

Answer 1

Clearly the BP movement was far more significant in terms of engendering a reconstructed view of, and a newfound appreciation for, Black Culture - as it empowered Black people to view themselves with a sense of pride – than creating any tangible legislative change. Whilst the BP movement was key in imbuing African Americans with an appreciation for their culture, ultimately the movement’s failure to unify groups under a particular set of aims, alongside its unfortunate associations with violence and racial ‘exclusion’ undermined white sympathy towards the CR movement, significantly limiting its long-term impact.

Question 2

Evidence to suggest that the BP movement did benefit AAs

Answer 2

• Cultivated a greater interest on AA history, music, dress & appearance.
• Courses were run on AA culture in schools & universities.
• Speeches & rhetoric of Malcolm X and other influential BP leaders/activists imbued many with a renewed pride in their culture through the touting of racial chauvinism.
• Powerful new ideas of aesthetics = the term ‘black is beautiful’ became linked to ‘afro’ hairstyles & a move away from attempting to copy white Americans’ dress & appearance.
• Greater publicity for social grievances & inequality esp. in the new AA identity => in 1968 at the Mexico City Olympics 2 AA athletes gave the Black Power salute of a raised fist.
• At a local level = emergence of groups to promote AA rights & economic activities, 1972 national Black Political Convention held to urge reform.
• Shift from conventional politics to ‘identity politics’ introduced a new type of democratic discussion => impacted a range of other issues i.e. gay rights & 2nd wave feminism.
• Political experience through activism arg. Empowered Blacks to take a more assertive approach to politics, leading to a surge in black pol. Activism with an emphasis on the importance of black political leadership. => Election of at least 2 AA mayors in ’67: Carl Stokes in Cleveland & Richard Hatcher in Indiana.
• Black panthers established many social groups/programmes that aided impoverished Aas & exposed govt. negligence, refocusing the CR movement by acknowledging widespread AA poverty:
• Free Breakfast Program which fed thousands of Black Children each morning.
• Community health clinics – many free health clinics opened up in Black neighbourhoods, testing for diseases like Sickle Cell disease & anaemia.
• Educational & Self-defence training – BP groups provided classes on Black History, self-defence & pol. Education, ensuring that young Aas were aware of their rights.
• By adopting an attitude in which they assumed that they already had equal rights, the BP activists shifted the narrative of the CR movement away from gaining integration and refocusing on the securing of truly equal rights.

Question 3

Evidence to illustrate the idea that the BP movement did not wholly benefit AAs

Answer 3

• Still unresolved issues of white & AA divisions which led to increased fears & repression, weakening the impact of the movement & its ability to make changes.
• Unfortunately, the associations of CR & BP with separatism, violence & radicalism often alienated moderate whites, weakening support for the further extension of their rights
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• Divided CR leaders i.e. MLK jr in ’67 was critical of the movement’s failure to see that progress was dependent upon interracial cooperation.
• Still faced repression & opposition from the Federal Government which utilised police forces/police brutality to repress those such as the Black Panthers & other radical leaders. E.g. Fred Hampton was assassinated in ’69.
• Key to its weakness was the fact that movement itself was divided as different people had different interpretations of what the label ‘Black Power’ truly meant, with some groups assuming more radical & violent approaches (Stokley Carmichael) and others campaigned for a focus on Black Capitalism.
• Movement ‘fizzled out’ and ceased to exist by the 1970s which essentially caused it to have a minimised long-term impact.
• BP movement failed to achieve any large-scale economic improvements = many black owned businesses lacked access to funding and faced systemic discrimination.

Question 4

Overall judgement on the extent to which Black Power influenced /improved the position of workers

Answer 4

Despite holding a somewhat significant short-term impact in terms of gaining increased wages and galvanising greater racial solidarity within unions, the BP movement’s impact largely declined as the movement came to an end. Furthermore, the BP movement failed to resolve persistent issues within the workplace, especially as the increasingly violent and racially chauvinistic attitudes and methods of the movement itself seemed to isolate Whites which were key to securing improved rights.

Question 5

Improvement of workers positions

Answer 5

• Motivated a minority of white workers into union activity with DRUM = racial unity present arguably through the Chrysler strikes - Chrysler from 1960-66 experienced an average of 20.4 strikes annually, tripling to 63.3 between 67-73.
• Evidence of some improvements in terms of pay and conditions: 1967-71 = wage rises up to 80% & Teamster Truckers experience a wage rise of 13% each year
• Establishment of numerous black-led unions such as the League of Revolutionary Black Workers (LRBW) and Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM) increased Black political confidence.
• Further successful action: Black hospital workers strike for union recognition & equal pay = gained national support from BP activists & labour leaders => improved conditions & United Construction Workers Association (UCWA) which was founded by BP activists & won legal battles to integrate Black workers into apprenticeships & trade jobs.
• The BP movement, through leaders such as NOI’s Elijah Mohammed who campaigned for ‘Black capitalism’ and economic self-sufficiency helped to focus attention on the issue of poverty, of particular concern to AA workers & may have influenced Johnson’s policy of ‘Great Society’ which aimed to reduce the amount of people living below the poverty line.
• Potentially some of the CR legislation i.e. the Economic Opportunities act in 1964 may have been influenced by the movement

Question 6

Failure/lack of improvement to workers positions.

Answer 6

• The leadership of the AFL-CIO was still heavily/predominantly white = AAs only comprised 20% of AFL-CIO membership?
• Emergence of ‘progressive’ groups like DRUM seemed to alienate Whites, preventing potential cooperation for a common goal. DRUM condemned as ‘racist’ by the head of the UAW = exemplifies hostility towards AAs for their outspoken support of the Civil rights movement.
• The United Autoworkers (UAW,) often rejected the demands of Black militants like DRUM, even labelling it as “racist” and suppressing their activism.
• primary concern was with political empowerment and racial & cultural pride, with those like Stokely Carmichael & Malcolm X championing racial chauvinism & black nationalism, as opposed to bringing about tangible legislative change.
• Usually, the motivation of raising the position of Black Employees = to quell violence rather than to improve their lives.

Question 7

Overall judgement on the extent to which Black Power influence/had a positive impact on Women’s rights?

Answer 7

BP clearly had a significant impact of Black Feminism in providing a structure of empowerment and pride in one’s identity and challenging preconceived notions of ones place in society. However, its patriarchal structure continued to limit women’s mobility & often marginalised their contributions. Ultimately, the contrasting aims of the two movements, despite hinging on an improvement of ones position and empowerment through identity led to an inconsistent, partially fractured relationship.

Question 8

Black Power movement had a positive impact & relationship w/ Women’s right

Answer 8

By stressing African heritage of AAs many women were encouraged to be proud of their culture. ‘Black is beautiful’ mantra led to a new awareness of the inherent beauty of African clothing, hairstyles & sexuality rather than attempts to integrate & accept the norms of white society.

• A lot of women were active in the Black Power organisations. By the 1970s, particularly due to the repression, killing & imprisonment of male activists, some 2/3 of BP membership was female.
• 2nd most important member if BP leadership = Elaine Browne & other notable female leaders i.e. Safiyah Bukhari, who led armed units, Kathleen Cleaver & Assata Shakur who empowered women by encouraging them to fight for themselves.
• Also important local leaders in various orgs. & took part in community initiatives that were a spin-off from Black Power, often supporting AA women in issues such as Healthcare, education, legal problems & housing. i.e. Ericka Huggins & the provision of Free Breakfast For Children
• In theory stood alongside men & slogan ‘revolutionary first, sister second’ inspired women to be active in terms of political activity & direct action.
• In a broader sense, devt. Of diff. sort of politics led to questioning of established social norms in spheres other than race. Looking at wider social issues, discrim., pride in heritage etc led to expansion of gender politics & encouraged growth of 2nd wave feminism by forcing the USA to examine stereotypes & inherent discriminatory attitudes.
• Isolation from the white feminist movement led to the emergence of ‘black feminism’: Combahee River collective 1974 = black feminist organisation that coined the concept of intersectionality.
• National Black Feminist Org.
• Frances Beal’s ‘Double Jeopardy: to be black & female’ published in ’69 = addressed struggles of women within the movement. = Bell Hooks & Audrey Lorde built upon these concepts.
• Black feminist groups challenged groups like NOW to become more inclusive, with the National Black Feminist Organisation (NBFO) 1973 emerging.

Question 9

Black Power movement had a negative impact & relationship w/ Women’s right

Answer 9

Trad. male attitudes had impeded the rise of women into national prominence & decision-making roles in the CR movement , often relegated to supporting roles = also a feature of BP organisations.

• Feminism often seen by AA male activists as a ‘white women’s issue’ = misogynistic social attitude prevelavnt and widely accepted w/in teh bP movement as Eldridge Cleaver stated that he would ‘rape all white women’ & Stokely Carmichael argued that women’s only position was ‘prone’.
• Separatist organisations, looking to traditional cultures, had opposed birth control.
• Revolutionary violence was seen as essentially male = even a dedicated rev. such as Angela Davis found herself criticised by male BP members & Elaine Browne criticised the BP ‘The brothers could just not handle having a woman in charge’.
• considerable amount of male posturing & macho attitudes which were portrayed as ‘authentically’ African.
• For women, local activism often fell into traditional female roles of caring for families & supporting other women.
• Though the widening of political discussions did encourage a critical attitude which may have in turn encouraged feminism, the fear of AA revolutionary activity also provoked a backlash and encouraged conservatism. = may have helped prevent wider reforms to ensure equality, such as the passing of ERA.

Question 10

Overall judgement on the extent to which Black Power influenced the Red Power movement?

Answer 10

Whilst aspects of the Red Power movement were clearly influenced by the combined method of increased militancy & racial and cultural pride touted by the Black Power movement, the BP movement did not ‘kickstart’ Native American activism. The Red Power Movement must be seen as a more united extension of historical and consistent NA activism, which although benefitting from Black power’s provision of a revised framework for successful activism, was not ultimately heavily influenced by the BP movement due to the fundamentally different aims of each movement – Red power was rooted in securing tribal sovereignty & culture as part of a wider rejection of integration into US society.

Question 11

Black Power movement largely responsible for Red Power

Answer 11

• The most militant NA protest group was AIM, the American Indian Movement. Its emergence followed a period of greatest militancy among the CR campaigners i.e. the methods of the Black panthers, suggesting that it was influenced by it & practiced self-defence against policy brutality w/ AIM patrolling & documenting police misconduct in Minneapolis & Oakland.
• BP movement aimed to bring unity to AAs & this may have encouraged NA to abandon tribal divisions that lessened the impact of previous protests. The increased unity was one reason why they were more successful in this period.
• The more aggressive/militant tactics of BP movement may have encouraged NA to abandon their more peaceful methods, which they believed had failed to bring any improvement. The actions of AIM & other NA groups were much more aggressive in the later 60s & 70s. = Siege of Alcatraz in 1969 & Occupation of Wounded knee in 1973.
• Mass movement created by BP & pressure it was able to exert on the government, may have caused NAs to adopt a similar policy, abandoning the NCAI, which was seen as supporting those NAs who had done well, rather than those who were struggling economically.
• The term Red Power appears to have been directly taken from Black Power & the tactics of RP appear to mirror those of the existing movement i.e. the increasing importance placed on the protection of culture = Similarly, RP emphasised the concept of pride in NA culture.  Native American Renaissance, inspired academia projects i.e. Navajo Community College in ’68, helped by the Indian Self-determination & Educational Assistance Act (1975) & promoted Native Langs, cultural wear etc as forms of resistance.
• There were some clear instances of cross-racial solidarity between AA & NA activists i.e. the BP & Malcolm X’s organisation of Afro-American Unity & AIM who collaborated w/ Republic of New Afrika (Black Nationalist org.)
• Similarly emphasised ideas of ‘Pan-Indianism/indigenous networks’ which mimicked ‘Pan-Africanism’ = arg. More united NA movement than they had ever been before.

Question 12

Black Power movement had little responsibility in the emergence of the Red Power Movement

Answer 12

• After WW2 there were clear indications, particularly in response to the policy of termination, that NA were more united in their protests & resistance to govt. policies & therefore didn’t need the influence of Black Power.
• NA pressure groups were already achieving success & this had resulted in the establishment of the Indian Claims Commission.
• Militancy was already present among some NA protest groups, such as the National Indian Youth Council, and to simply suggest they were inspired by the BP movement would deny these devts.
• Growing militancy among NAs was more a response to the conditions in which they found themselves in following termination policy & their move into urban areas. = easier for pressure groups to organise to complain abt working & living conditions. These alien conditions that NAs encountered made them determined to preserve their culture.
• Range of protest movements devt. In USA at this time & protests from NAs = one element of their devt. There was a change in attitude in US society towards minority groups, reflected in the changing attitudes of presidents such as Kennedy, Johnson & Nixon which encouraged groups to take up causes bc greater perceived chance of success.
• Movements still operated somewhat separately & often predated the BP movement: Siege of Alcatraz 69-71 inspired by push for indigenous sovereignty & Fishing Rights protests in 60s predated the peak of the BP movement. i.e. the struggles of Tecumseh, Sitting Bull, Geronimo & Chief Joseph were part of a continuous indigenous resistance movement that Red Power inherited.
• NAs were ultimately focused on claiming tribal sovereignty and ownership of lands i.e. the Occupation of Alcatraz 1969 which was about reclaiming land under the treaty of Fort Laramie. = NAS UNLIKE Aas DID NOT WANT INTEGRATION INTO US SOCIETY.