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Black Power: The Politics of Liberation

Stokely Carmichael,

Charles V. Hamilton

4.27 · Rating details · 1,291 Ratings · 34 Reviews

In 1967, this revolutionary work exposed the depths of systemic racism in this country and provided a radical political framework for reform: true and lasting social change would only be accomplished through unity among African-Americans and their independence from the preexisting order. An eloquent document of the civil rights movement that remains a work of profound soci ...more

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Paperback, 256 pages

Published November 10th 1992 by Vintage (first published 1967)

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May 19, 2010 Erik Graff rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: civil rights history fans

Recommended to Erik by: no one

Shelves: political-social-science

When visiting old friends, I go through their libraries in search of books I read as a kid. I found Black Power in a high school friend's collection while visiting him in Springfield, Vermont.

I'd been brought up in a pronouncedly anti-racist home. Mom and Dad were both democratic socialists who usually voted for liberal Democrats though Dad was proud of having voted for Norman Thomas in '48 and for having had a father who had been a comrade and journalist colleague of Carl Sandburg in the Social When visiting old friends, I go through their libraries in search of books I read as a kid. I found Black Power in a high school friend's collection while visiting him in Springfield, Vermont.

I'd been brought up in a pronouncedly anti-racist home. Mom and Dad were both democratic socialists who usually voted for liberal Democrats though Dad was proud of having voted for Norman Thomas in '48 and for having had a father who had been a comrade and journalist colleague of Carl Sandburg in the Socialist Party of America. Our family was spread out over Norway, Canada and the United States; Dad had served in North Africa and the Pacific, so nationalism wasn't in the cards. If anything, I felt that there was a prejudice in our family for Jewish intellectuals. In any case, by the junior year of high school I thought that Dad would like it if I went to the University of Chicago, became a civil rights and liberties attorney and married a Jewish intellectual. When I joined the Young Peoples' Socialist League, the War Resisters' League and the Students for a Democratic Society as a teenager, this wasn't rebellion against parental values but an expression of their idealism. They worried about me getting hurt at demonstrations, but I felt they were proud that I was politically active. Indeed, when I got suspended and expelled from Maine Twp. H.S. South for political acts, Dad was actively supportive of me against the school's right-wing administration.

One of the most challenging aspects of leftist politics in the sixties was black separatism. M.L. King was a hero for my elders but the SNCC and the Black Panthers spoke more for my generation. Indeed, in high school I became friendly with a bunch of Panthers who would regularly come to our suburb to hang out at the town bookstore after it was closed down for the day by its manager, himself a white radical who had, as I recall, worked for the Grove Press. They were middle class like me, no more than a decade older and definitely had my ear when we discussed racial and third world issues. Although I was most comfortable with the idea of full integration, of a color-blind society, their arguments for black power led me to go out of my way to read public exponents of the strategy such as Stokely Carmichael with as much of an open mind as I could manage.
...more

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Nov 22, 2013 Andrea rated it it was amazing

Shelves: democracy, race, struggle

I loved this, I think it should be taught as part of U.S. history wherever such a grim subject is taught (though with some more women talking alongside, my main critique).

From the preface

This book is about why, where and in what manner black people in America must get themselves together. It is about black people taking care of business -- the business of and for black people. The stakes are really very simple: if we fail to do this, we face continued subjection to a white society that has no i

I loved this, I think it should be taught as part of U.S. history wherever such a grim subject is taught (though with some more women talking alongside, my main critique).

From the preface

This book is about why, where and in what manner black people in America must get themselves together. It is about black people taking care of business -- the business of and for black people. The stakes are really very simple: if we fail to do this, we face continued subjection to a white society that has no intention of giving up willingly or easily its position of priority and authority. If we succeed, we will exercise control over our lives, politically, economically and psychically. We will also contribute to the development of a viable larger society; in terms of ultimate social benefit, there is nothing unilateral about the movement to free black people (11)

They write 'we offer no pat formulas in this book for ending racism...our aim is to offer a framework...to ask the right questions, to encourage a new consciousness and to suggest new forms which express it' (11-12). It’s always about asking the right questions, isn’t it? They situate themselves within a black tradition that has understood protest as the only way to obtain change, quoting Douglass:

Those who profess to favor freedom yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. ... Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blow, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress'
--Frederick Douglass, West India Emancipation Speech, August 1957

They also situated themselves internationally as part of the third world, their struggle connected to other liberation struggles.

After Douglass I don’t think you need much more to demolish the various white ineterpretations of white supremacy and the existence of racism, but I suppose it needed some spelling out. In response to Gunnar Myrdal's book The American Dilemma Ture and Hamilton quote Silberman's Crisis in Black and White

The tragedy of race relations in the United States is that there is no American Dilemma. White Americans are not torn and tortured by the conflict between their devotion to the American creed and their actual behavior. They are upset by the current state of race relations, to be sure. But what troubles them is not that justice is being denied but that their peace is being shattered and their business interrupted. (21)

Describing the actual situation of black people in America -- lack of employment, quality schools, quality housing, the lower life expectancy, regular anti-Black racism and rhetoric and etc -- and describing the middle-class as the backbone of institutional racism in the US seeking to preserve good government and homes and schools only for themselves, Ture and Hamilton turn to the civil rights movement

We must face the fact that, in the past, what we have called the movement has not really questioned the middle-class values and institutions in this country. If anything it has accepted those values and institutions without fully realising their racist nature. Reorientation means an emphasis on the dignity of man, not on the sanctity of property. It means the creation of a society where human misery and poverty are repugnant to that society, not an indication of laziness or lack of initiative. The creation of new values means the establishment of a society based, as Killens expresses it in Black Man's Burden on 'free people', not 'free enterprise'.(

So Black Power:

The concept of Black Power rests on a fundamental premise: Before a group can enter the open society, it must first close ranks. By this we mean that group solidarity is necessary before a group van operate effectively from a bargaining position of strength in a pluralistic society (58). ... black people must lead and run their own organizations. Only black people can convey the revolutionary idea -- and it is a revolutionary idea -- that black people are able to do things for themselves. Only they can help create in the community an aroused and continuing black consciousness that will provide a basis for political strength. In the past, white allies have often furthered white supremacy without the whites involved realizing it, or even wanting to do so (60).

It is a movement that can speak to the 'growing militancy of young black people in the urban ghettoes and the black-belt South' rather than the earlier civil rights movement 'whose tone of voice was adapted to an audience of middle-class whites' (64). They write

We had only the old language of love and suffering. And in most places -- that is, from the liberals and middle class -- we got back the old language of patience and progress...For the masses of black people, this language resulted in virtually nothing. in fact, their objective day-to-day condition worsened' (64-65).

Their goal was also integration, but

'Integration' as a goal today speaks to the problem of blackness not only in an unrealistic way but also in a despicable way. It is based on complete acceptance of the fact that in order to have a decent house or education, black people must move into a white neighborhood or send their children to a white school. This reinforces, among both black and white, the idea that 'white' is automatically superior and 'black' is by definition inferior. For this reason, 'integration' is a subterfuge for the maintenance of white supremacy(68)

This drains skills and energies from the ghetto, and asks blacks to deny their identity and heritage, instead 'the racial and cultural personality of the black community must be preserved and that community must win its freedom while preserving its cultural integrity' (69).

They have a whole chapter on 'The Myths of Coalition'
Myth one:

The major mistake made by exponents of teh coalition theiry is that they advocate alliances with groups which have never had as their central goal the necessarily total revamping of the society. At bottom those groups accept the American system and want only -- if at all -- to make peripheral, marginal reforms in it. Such reforms are inadequate to rid the society of racism.
Here we come back to an important point made in the first chapter: the overriding sense of superiority that pervades white America (73).

the political and economic institutions of this society must be completely revised if the political and economic status of black people is to be improved. We do not see how those same institutions can be utilized -- through teh mechanism of coalescing with some of them -- to bring about that revision. We do not see how black people can form effective coalitions with groups which are not willing to question and condemn the racist institutions which exploit black people; which do not perceive the need for, and will not work for, basic change. Black people cannot afford to assume that what is good for white American is automatically good for black people (78)

Myth 2 - 'the assumption that a politically and economically secure group can collaborate with a politically and economically insecure group. (78)

We cannot see, then, how black people, who are massively insecure both politically and economically, can coalesce with those whose position is secure -- particularly when the latter's security is based on the perpetuation of the existing political and economic structure. (87)

Myth 3 - 'that political coalitions can be sustained on a moral, friendly, or sentimental basis, or on appeals to concience'. What then are grounds for good coalitions?

'all parties to the coalition must perceive a mutually beneficial goal based on the conception of each party of his own self interest. One party must not blindly assume that what is good for one is automatically good for the other.

there is a clear need for genuine power bases before black people can enter into coalition...Civil rights leaders who ... rely essentially on ;national sentiment'...must appeal to the conscience, the good graces of society; they are, as noted earlier, cast in a beggar's role.

Thus there are 4 preconditions to viable coalitions

a. the recognition by the parties involved of their respective self-interests
b. the mutual belief that each party stands to benefit in terms of self-interest
c. the acceptance of the fact that each party has its own independant base of power and does not depend for its own ultimate decision-making on a force outside itself
d. the realization that the coalition deals with specific and identifiable -- as opposed to general and vague -- goals. (92)

They go on to tell the story of the awesome Mississippi Freedom Democrats, fighting to create a new kind of politics that is of the people. They writes about the drive to register African-Americans in Lowndes County Alabama where they were a majority. They looks at Tuskegee, the politics of accommodation, and the ‘dynamite of the ghetto’. They write:

It is ludicrous for the society to believe that these temporary measures can long contain the tempers of an oppressed people. And when the dynamite goes off, pious pronouncements of patience should not go forth. Blame should not be placed on ‘outside agitators’ or on ‘Communist influence’ or on advocates of Black Power. That dynamite was placed there by white racism and it was ignited by white racist indifference and unwillingness to act justly. (168)

The dynamite is still there, and this just made me laugh because this is still exactly how downtown machines work and its still just as true: 'black politicians must stop being representatives of 'downtown' machines, whatever the cost might be in terms of lost patronage and holiday handouts(61)'. ...more

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Jul 25, 2011 Chris brown rated it it was ok

Shelves: history, psychology-sociology-philosophy

(Sigh) So to begin this book started with kindling that fire that is at the base of every black man woman and child but then in the middle, I began to see; unlike this books forefathers (i.e. the mis-education of the Negro) it offered no solutions to any of the obvious problems it points out. FOR MYSELF it was to akin to listening to one of my older uncles talk, and talk all day about how the world is wrong and explain in detail what is wrong with it yet they do noting and give no advice on how ...more

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Feb 24, 2016 Imani ♥ ☮ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016, collegegalstuff, nonfic

Been learning some great things from this so definitely wanted to add it. Stokely is an underrated treasure from the Black Power Movement era.

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Sep 25, 2016 Natalie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction, racism

Such a pivotal, transformative movement. This book, published in 1967,89 was honestly incredible to read. I appreciated the detailed strategies shared about various campaigns--it inspired and humbled me as an organizer.

Their elucidation of WHY they reject integration as a goal is solid. "'Integration' as a goal today speaks to the problem of blackness not only in an unrealistic way but also in a despicable way. It is based on complete acceptance of the fact that in order to have a decent house Such a pivotal, transformative movement. This book, published in 1967,89 was honestly incredible to read. I appreciated the detailed strategies shared about various campaigns--it inspired and humbled me as an organizer.

Their elucidation of WHY they reject integration as a goal is solid. "'Integration' as a goal today speaks to the problem of blackness not only in an unrealistic way but also in a despicable way. It is based on complete acceptance of the fact that in order to have a decent house or education, black people must move into a white neighborhood or send their children to a white school. This reinforces, among both black and white, the idea that 'white' is automatically superior and 'black' is by definition inferior. For this reason, 'integration' is a subterfuge for the maintenance of white supremacy." (p. 54)

They make a compelling cautionary case against working in coalition with white progressives: "...that is precisely the lesson of the Reconstruction era. Black people were allowed to register, to vote and to participate in politics, because it was to the advantage of powerful white "allies" to permit this. But at all times such advances flowed from white decisions. That era of black participation in politics was ended by another set of white decisions." (p. 79)

The chapter on Tuskegee, Alabama was interesting and disturbing with the context we know now about that city. By many measurements, Tuskegee was a symbol of how things could be better for black people. It was a city with black-run hospitals and businesses, with a vibrant black middle class. It was also a city adhering faithfully to the philosophies of Booker T. Washington--that black folks just needed to lift themselves up, educate themselves, ready themselves for full civic participation in American society by focusing on self-improvement, and then benevolent white people would see that and hand over their fair share of power. Of course that didn't happen, as the authors describe. But what wouldn't be known until 1972 was the hidden, horrific medical experiment being performed unknowingly on black people in that area. (http://bit.ly/1aDnQe7) Every point Carmichael and Hamilton make about the limits of Booker T. Washington's approach are dramatically highlighted for the reader who knows the later context.

The authors are honest about how difficult the work was: "Many people who would aspire to the role of organizer drop off simply because they do not have the energy, the stamina, to knock on doors day after day. That is why one finds many such people sitting in coffee shops talking and theorizing instead of organizing." (p. 105) I read in another report that one of the organizers of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization campaign said they would talk to 300 people, get 10 of them to agree to register to vote, 3 of whom would actually show up to register, all of whom would be chased away by the violent sheriff without being able to accomplish their goal. AND THEY KEPT IT UP. Damn.

The heightened political consciousness of Black Americans that has been taken for granted for the entirety of my life did not appear out of nowhere. It was painstakingly built, with organizers and volunteers doing the work without knowing for sure what the outcome would be. This is what we call BRAVE, folks.

They didn't claim to have all the answers, pointing out themselves in level-headed terms where their strategies fell short (like attacking political subservience without simultaneously accounting for economic dependence). But their complete dedication to trying, and planning, and working, and then coming back again, speaks out from every page.

White readers be warned--they are honest and detailed about some of the HEINOUS shit white people have done. From violent voter suppression to Chicago "race riots" (better to call them "white violence surges"), and with the tragic irony of Tuskegee around the corner, this book is going to make you honestly wonder if the sins of our people can ever be made right. ...more

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Jun 14, 2014 Mykie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 20th-century, black-authors, black-liberation, civil-rights, culture, history, favorites, reviewed, classics

Before I dive into a formal review of this amazing piece of literature, I must say that this book is a must-read for everyone. The book has a wealth of information, constructive take-aways and is a well-referenced documentation of facts that are not always accurately communicated in history books. One can learn from this book, grow from this book, be inspired by this book and, most urgently, be encouraged to ACT based on the motivation this book offers.

Why I read this book:
Black Power and Blac ...more

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Mar 25, 2011 Michael Strode rated it it was amazing

Shelves: blackpower, chipublib, read-in-2011

In his 1992 Afterword, Charles Hamilton penned a response to the prevailing criticisms that Black Power was responsible for "highlighting racial divisions", "eschewing coalitions with whites", attempting "to kick whites out of the civil rights movement", and being "anti-white, defeatist, and bitterly rejecting the civil rights movement's traditional goal of integration". While the rest of the afterword holds a patient and intellectual argument for the continued necessity of Black Power, one can In his 1992 Afterword, Charles Hamilton penned a response to the prevailing criticisms that Black Power was responsible for "highlighting racial divisions", "eschewing coalitions with whites", attempting "to kick whites out of the civil rights movement", and being "anti-white, defeatist, and bitterly rejecting the civil rights movement's traditional goal of integration". While the rest of the afterword holds a patient and intellectual argument for the continued necessity of Black Power, one can sense in his retort that these critiques were particularly blistering for Hamilton and that he had argued the point many times before.

"No matter that some explanations focused on the denial of these charges and attempted to discuss the concept in terms of viable pluralist American politics. No matter that painstaking efforts were made to point out the years of inability of blacks to enter viable coalitions with other groups, coalitions that would recognize and respect the legitimate needs and complaints of black Americans. Many Black Power advocates tried to make the case that blacks have always understood the necessity for coalitions, but all too often those efforts were thwarted, and blacks, because of their relatively weak status, were unable to do much about this. Where were the viable coalitional partners in the 1930's when black organizations (the NAACP and the National Urban League, most prominently) virtually pleaded with their white allies to include agricultural workers and domestic servants--not only blacks, but all such workers--in the social insurance provisions of the landmark Social Security Act of 1935? Those allies deserted them. Where were the coalition partners when blacks were persuaded not to push for the end to racial discrimination even while liberals urged blacks to support (as blacks did) a meaningful Full Employment Bill? And, when the 1960's arrived, where were the enlightened allies when the racially integrated Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party sought to challenge the white racist Mississippi State Party at the 1964 Democratic National Convention? In each instance, the message was clear: Black Americans were not politically strong enough to convince their potential allies to go along with them. The message was equally clear that the fundamental interests of blacks would be subordinated to those interests of more powerful forces in the society."

The sentiment of this passage along with others expressed by Hamilton in the afterword provides a reworked closing argument for rethinking the role which Black Power should play in the present era. In recounting the mistakes in he and Ture's initial analysis and trajectory, he provides a lens through which we might view the events of the past and the future anew. He speaks to the scenario in which Black Power might have seemed philosophically different for those who are working towards its establishment. Whereas they may have had a socialist orientation and the goal of a more open society attached to their original outlook, it might be just as easily argued that black capitalism and black power are one and the same. This turned out to be the most gripping and transformative portion of the text for me because I was able to evaluate two recent political phenomena in the context of theories explored in the original text: Obama's election and charter schools.

During the course of the election of Barack Obama, we saw a sweeping proclamation of a grassroots uprising; a coalition of Black, Latino, White, LGBT, and all other manner of liberal left leaning forces creating a groundswell tide that were to sweep President Obama from his humble roots as a community organizer and member of the founding advisory board at Public Allies through state and federal Senatorial roles direct into the White House. I am not going argue the point whether there are any significant "roots" remaining in that "grass" for I think we have other outlets which have vetted that point thoroughly. I will examine where black people stand nearly 4 years hence.

For 4 years, we have had challengers both in and outside of our community whom have shouted down the naysayers with cries of "He's not simply the President of Black America. He's the President of all America." A hollow argument at best. If we examine this statement in the context of the chapter "The Myths of Coalition", we are able to clearly see how the same coalition which beseeched us to "get on the bus" when many in our community were initially mistrusting of organizing around a black candidate and were ready to vote for any available Clinton have now deserted us in our pleas with the President to attend to the needs of our community. Are we markedly different from any other special interest group in need of social uplift? No. But we have been conned into accepting a weakened position as window decoration for a mythic coalition of American populism.

On charter schools, we have not fared much better. Whereas once we were organized around the goal of improvement for the conditions of our neighborhood schools as discussed in the chapter "The Search for New Forms" regarding such a case at I.S. 201 in Harlem, we have now created an educational crap shoot. If you cannot locate a viable school in your neighborhood, you can search out one of the many available magnet, private, or charter options perhaps a few buses or trains away. Less the case with private schools although it can happen, even when you settle on a magnet or charter school, your child could be in a few years before you realize that their skills are either not improving or regressing and perhaps by then the state will release a new report card and the Sun Times will do a "special investigation" to tell you that you rolled a 7 instead of an 11.

Individual gain in a capitalist system will inevitably be purchased at a social cost. The arguments in the charter movement are largely positioned in artificial opposition to each other. Every so often a test case will bubble to the surface at one of these schools which will show that a child from a broken home or damaging neighborhood environment can still be educated to succeed when given the right tools in their educational space to reach those goals. Still when we question why the tools in all schools are not simply improved to offer a greater supply of children the same success, we often hear the argument that the school is not a parent or that education does not end at its doors. Which is it? Can we save more students through education or not? We will never be able to have it both ways no matter how much mental justification we afford ourselves for accepting this as "just the way things are". Douglass, DuBois, Harrison, Garvey, and Shabazz all stood in agreement on the matter. ...more

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Sep 24, 2010 Dave rated it really liked it

Shelves: thesis-reading, read-in-2010, essay

Articulate and farseeing, Carmichael and Hamilton present their point-of-view on the socioeconomic problems exacerbating racial tensions in the late '60s. What struck me most about this book were the aspects discussed by Carmichael that have in no way been solved today. The authors point out the underlying reasons for urban and rural poverty, and those reasons continue unabated. It makes me wonder how our society has succeeded for sweeping these problems under the rug for so long. I imagine the ...more

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Apr 07, 2014 Elle Long rated it it was amazing

This isn't for your enjoyment, it's for your FREEDOM.

Thought-provoking and awe-inspiring. Ture and Hamilton have helped to lay a foundation for the us, their future. They've given use the manuscript on how to take control on our lives and what we deserve as human beings. This book not only tells of the corrupted lives of the government and it's "personal" relationship with big business, but of the re-education that needs to be done because of it! McDonald's will receive more money from the gover ...more

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Aug 19, 2018 Alyssa rated it really liked it

Shelves: recommended

I'm really glad to have read this book. My friend was travelling overseas and gave me a bunch of books to look after and read while she was gone, this was one of them.

It's a very telling book. Even though it was written in the 60s and the afterwords in 1992, it is still as relevant, if not more so now. I believe that like others, this should be a required reading in schools, and not just in the US, in Australia too. There are too many history books written by white Americans floating around and I'm really glad to have read this book. My friend was travelling overseas and gave me a bunch of books to look after and read while she was gone, this was one of them.

It's a very telling book. Even though it was written in the 60s and the afterwords in 1992, it is still as relevant, if not more so now. I believe that like others, this should be a required reading in schools, and not just in the US, in Australia too. There are too many history books written by white Americans floating around and being used as required readings in Australia and it needs to stop, there are so many stories, people, perspectives being missed.

For some reason, there is a paragraph from Kenneth Clark's Dark Ghetto [pg. 63-64] on page 29, that really speaks to me in terms of a sense of belonging:
"Every human being depends upon his cumulative experiences with others for clues as to how he should view and value himself, children who are consistently rejected understandably begin to question and doubt whether they, their family, and their group really deserve no more respect from the larger society than they receive. These doubts become the seeds of pernicious self- and group-hatred, the Negro's complex and debilitating prejudice against himself."

Personally, as a white Australian, I don't know much about the black power movement, let alone the Aboriginal histories of the nation I call home, however, I am reading books like this to educate myself, and highly recommend all to do so as well.

I read a number of reviews before putting my own together after finishing this book. There was one that particularly irked me, stating that this book does nothing to solve the situation that black people find themselves in. Well, to be frank, how can one solve any situation if you don't know the background situation, the history, and haven't formed a plan of action, with like-minded people? I think the afterwords goes to show that they did miss a key part, and go on to explain that until you have not just visible black people, but visible black people with as Charles states merit. They need to be not just working towards their own gain but as a group. I believe one cannot grasp the nature of what Stokely and Charles are really trying to get at when they talk about working as a group, and it's not as simple, as they showcase throughout the book with historical data.

Also here's a link to more books and resources: LINK. This is not my folder, I just found it. ...more

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Jul 31, 2017 Jamie Barringer (Ravenmount) rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, 2017

This book is from the 1960's, so race relations in the US have progressed a bit since then, but I suspect that in much of the South and urban inner-city areas this book is still very relevant. I also was noting while reading this one how different the part of the West is where I live, compared to the parts of the US Carmichael is directly discussing. The trendy-popular notion that the US is really 12-13 nations/societies squished together is supported by reading books like this. My area has raci ...more

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Jun 25, 2015 Paige rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Black Power: The Politics of Liberation was an amazing, necessary read for me right now. It’s powerful, emotional and strategic language was all at once overwhelming and calming. As someone who is constantly looking for my place in the struggle for Black liberation, this book by Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) and Charles V. Hamilton provided me with words to match my sentiments and strategies to match my determination for systemic change. The book includes various case studies of political/comm Black Power: The Politics of Liberation was an amazing, necessary read for me right now. It’s powerful, emotional and strategic language was all at once overwhelming and calming. As someone who is constantly looking for my place in the struggle for Black liberation, this book by Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) and Charles V. Hamilton provided me with words to match my sentiments and strategies to match my determination for systemic change. The book includes various case studies of political/community organizations, and predominately Black cities as well as deep examinations of strategies Black people can and should employ in our fight for our liberation from racist, capitalist, and inequitable system and institutions.

It is important to note that I am really just beginning this process of discovery and analysis of the way history has taught us to fight for our freedom. But, I definitely feel like Ture & Hamilton’s work has matured the thought-process I participate in with such an undertaking. The book is laid out in a way that is easy to read and follow - terms may be introduced that you are not already aware of, but Ture & Hamilton do a good job of explaining terms as well as providing context for their use or definition. I picked it up because I’m invested in the work of community/capacity-building and putting in the time to make effective, lasting change for Black people’s condition in America. And as a began reading, I was introduced and re-introduced to important concepts that are necessary to understand and evaluate as we work toward that change. Without taking too much time to go deeply into the content of the book (I highly suggest you pick it up), I would just like to point to a few quotes from the book that resonated with me.

<“Integration as a goal today speaks to the problem of Blackness not only in an unrealistic way but also in a despicable way. It is based on a complete acceptance of the fact that in order to have a decent house or education, Black people must move into a white neighborhood or send their children to a white school. This reinforces, among both Black and white, the idea that “white” is automatically superior and “black” is by definition inferior. For this reason, “integration is a subterfuge for the maintenance of white supremacy…To sprinkle Black children among white pupils in outlying schools is at best a stop-gap measure. The goal is not to take Black children out of the Black community and expose them to white, middle-class values; the goal is to build and strengthen the Black community.” (pg. 54-55)>

<“The adoption of the concept of Black Power is one of the most legitimate and healthy developments in American politics and race relations in our time…It is a call for Black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It is a call to Black people to begin to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations, and to support those organizations. It is a call to reject the racist institutions and values of this society. The concept of Black Power rests on a fundamental premise: Before a group can enter the open society, it must first close ranks.” (pg. 44)>

...more

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Oct 09, 2015 J.P. rated it liked it

A very good book. it stresses the importance of black people controlling their own institutions & thus, their own lives. Written in the late 60's, it critiques moves towards integration & where proponents of it either failed in their strategies or undermined by the system. The limitations of allies & liberals are explored as well. It's about uplifting black people & giving them some measure if control, how far that can go without overthrowing the entire system, I'm not sure. They ...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Aden Dohn rated it it was amazing

reading at least the first 3 chapters should be a requirement in high school. if the history and mechanics of racism, individual and institutional, was actually taught in schools instead of the vague "bad thing that happened but its all better now, mlk jr civils rights" that i remember learning, i'm sure there'd be at least a lot less white stupid calls of "but that's reverse racism!". the rest of book is still incredibly relevant, see the emphasis on black visibility not being equal to black po ...more

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Sep 02, 2015 Roderick rated it really liked it

Shelves: dependency-lit, history, informative-somehow, socio-political

One of the great works of the 20th Century, the delineation of the transformation of SNCC from a Civil-Rights-based organization to the leading proponent of the Black Power movement. Very thought-provoking because of their thoroughness in looking at multiple issues. A must-read for anyone mildly interested in racial politics, since Carmichael and Hamilton clearly analyze the need for "Black Power," as defined by them and not the mass media. So many applications today, with the rise of Black Live ...more

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Aug 04, 2013 Amy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction, black-experience

At first I thought maybe I had read this book before, but in fact I just think that the ideas formed the basis of my Black Studies program in college. I appreciate that this book is written without a lot of jargon and does a great job at explaining institutional racism. It's very focused on electing black politicians, but also speaks out against capitalism in general. While written in 1967, many of these problems are still very relevant today.

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Apr 09, 2013 Daniel Lee rated it it was amazing

Sort of startling how incisive this book was in terms of organizing for community power and local control and the forces of acquiescence and assimilation that one must combat in order to have any meaningful form of it. Having grown up with Tuskeegee, Alabama being the closest town it was interesting to read the history of the city and the university. Fantastic but depressing read considering how little has changed...

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Jan 19, 2016 Ghostcat rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016-reading-challenge

I'm not that qualified on the subject to write a proper review for this book, but it was enlightening for me to read it. It should be recommended in schools readings, its subject and the way of dealing with it are in my opinion still relevant nowadays, even more if I may say so.

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May 18, 2009 Erin rated it really liked it

I have wanted to read this for nearly a decade. It felt so good to finally read it and have so much of it (in terms of alliances and power) relatable to situations happening today. If I ever taught history, this would be a requirement.

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Jun 22, 2008 Taylor W. Rushing rated it really liked it

"Those of us who advocate Black Power are quite clear in our own minds that a non-violent approach to civil rights is an approach black people cannot afford and a luxury white people do not deserve." This is a radical novel focusing on cause and effect.

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May 29, 2007 Femi Vance rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Those interested in Black Empowerment

I am familiar with what the Black Power Movement came to be but this book details what it was intended to be. It's pretty short and makes you realize how skeletal the plan was....which may account for why the movement took on a life of its own.

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May 06, 2010 Chelsea Lewis rated it liked it

This may seem weird on my bookshelf, it was for a class and I found it very informative and interesting. Though cannot in good conscious justify giving a book on black power more than a 3 star rating.

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Mar 21, 2016 Jim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-college

Read in college.

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Jan 06, 2017 Rafael Suleiman rated it liked it

A classic of Black protest literature.

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Sep 23, 2009 R.K. Byers rated it liked it

sadly, it's more fun listening to Stokely speak then reading his writings.

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Jan 22, 2008 Dalena rated it it was amazing

must read for anyone who believes in any kind of self determination

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Mar 01, 2013 Luana Kay rated it really liked it

I love my man Kwame Ture...

He lays everything out perfectly.

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Jan 21, 2008 James Tracy rated it really liked it

This is a great book to understand the politics behind the Black Power movement of the sixties.

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Apr 08, 2014 Bennie Herron rated it it was amazing

Timeless work.

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Dec 26, 2008 Noel Hidalgo rated it really liked it

Shelves: political

when the american dream failed, this book started a revolution. all community organizers should read this book.

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About Stokely Carmichael

Stokely Carmichael

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Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael, also known as Kwame Ture, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, pronounced "Snick") and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party. Initially an integrationist, Carmichael later became ...more

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From the vault subject series. Volume II. Black power.

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“Racism is both overt and covert. It takes two, closely related forms: individual whites acting against individual blacks, and acts by the total white community against the black community. We call these individual racism and institutional racism. The first consists of overt acts by individuals, which cause death, injury or the violent destruction of property. This type can be recorded by television cameras; it can frequently be observed in the process of commission. The second type is less overt, far more subtle, less identifiable in terms of specific individuals committing the acts. But it is no less destructive of human life. The second type originates in the operation of established and respected forces in the society, and thus receives far less public condemnation than the first type. When white terrorists bomb a black church and kill five black children, that is an act of individual racism, widely deplored by most segments of the society. But when in that same city - Birmingham, Alabama - five hundred black babies die each year because of the lack of proper food, shelter and medical facilities, and thousands more are destroyed and maimed physically, emotionally and intellectually because of conditions of poverty and discrimination in the black community, that is a function of institutional racism. When a black family moves into a home in a white neighborhood and is stoned, burned or routed out, they are victims of an overt act of individual racism which many people will condemn - at least in words. But it is institutional racism that keeps black people locked in dilapidated slum tenements, subject to the daily prey of exploitative slumlords, merchants, loan sharks and discriminatory real estate agents. The society either pretends it does not know of this latter situation, or is in fact incapable of doing anything meaningful about it.” — 19 likes

“Reorientation means an emphasis on the dignity of man, not on the sanctity of property. It means the creation of a society where human misery and poverty are repugnant to that society, not an indication of laziness or lack of initiative. The creation of new values means the establishment of a society based on free people, not free enterprise.” — 1 likes

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Black Power: The Politics of Liberation

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