Stokely Carmichael

Question 1

Which civil rights groups was Carmichael involved with?

Answer 1

• Freedom Rides (while attending university)
• Mississippi Freedom Summer (summers)
• Leader of SNCC (full time)

Question 2

What was Carmichael like?

Answer 2

• Ideas influenced by Malcom X
• Radical approach, rejecting white help
• Charismatic and influential

Question 3

How did Carmichael view King’s non-violent approach?

Answer 3

• Frustrated
• Seen as a tactic rather than a principle

Question 4

What was the aim of the organisation Carmichael helped create?

Answer 4

• 1965
• All-black Lowndes County Freedom Organisation
• Improve lives of poor rural blacks
• Where the Black Panthers emerged from

Question 5

What did Carmichael do in 1966?

Answer 5

• ‘March Against Fear’ in Mississippi
• Popularised ‘Black Power’ slogan
• Appealed to poor communities who wanted a more radical approach

Question 6

Why did Carmichael leave the Black Panthers?

Answer 6

Disagreed with its policy of working with white radical groups

Question 7

To what extent was Carmichael influential?

Answer 7

• Limited, but had many talents
• Yes as a young man: persuaded rural blacks to register to vote
• Known for charisma, skilled sloganiser: persuaded people to abandon mainstream civil rights movement
• No later: black panthers did not have a large following, shift only affected small number of people
• Refusal to work with whites, marginalised within the movement