Black Power's Legacy of Discrimination (op-ed)
In the 1960’s the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) formed to force desegregation. SNCC attracted like-minded white activist. Retaliation to SNCC activities highlighted by the murder of white volunteers forced federal intervention. After the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed SNCC, and other civil rights groups, asked where do we go from here?
In 1966 James Meredith was shot during a march he organized, immediately civil rights groups converged to continue Meredith’s march. Among them was Stokely Carmichael the new chairman of SNCC. During the march the Carmichael committee shouted -- Black Power -- the new slogan confused some, scared others, but everyone demanded an explanation.
Carmichael stated: We are going to use the term “Black Power” and define it because Black Power speaks to us … We are going to build a movement based on the color of our skins … We have to be able to smash any political machine that oppresses us and bring it to its knees. We have to control the economics and politics of our community.
But Carmichael’s generalizations specified nothing and left verbs like “smash” and “control” to fill the void.
Encouraged by the rhetoric of smashing political machines riots swept the nation resulting in the 1967 Kerner Commission (Report on Civil Disorders) which didn’t refer to SNCC as a civil rights group but a militant anti-white organization.
Why?
After Carmichael’s “Black Power” speech he exercised his control and released all white workers. (Then advocated urban guerrilla warfare to achieve “Black Power”.)
Fast forward -- 2015.
The Netroots national conference hosted a presidential forum featuring democratic candidates. It was disrupted by demonstrators chanting: Black Lives Matter. Once on stage their spokesperson stated they wanted to acknowledge the lives lost in police related incidents.
After the disruption candidate Martin O’Malley stated: Black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter.
And the demonstrators booed. They believed he was minimizing the importance of blacks killed by the police.
Afterward O’Malley appeared on a digital show: This Week in Blackness. And he apologized for proclaiming other lives mattered. He said, “That was a mistake” and, “I meant no disrespect.” Of course he was responding to the host that asked if he understood the difference -- black death is not all-inclusive.
The rejection of “white and all live matter” is similar to Carmichael’s discriminatory display. If the Black Lives Matter Movement could be replaced by the SNCC founders the SNCC founders would have mobilized around data that read: 2012 140 blacks killed by police, 386 whites killed by the police. From 1999 - 2011 2,151 whites killed by police, 1,130 blacks. The SNCC founders would have attacked the root of the problem not its broken branches. They wouldn’t have alienated allies by “building a movement based on the color of skin”. They would have declared police fatalities a moral crisis and shamed the judicial system to abide by higher standards to secure convictions of cops who murdered citizens. (And not one black community would have burned.)
Instead a warning was issued to all presidential candidates by #BlackLivesMatter that they will shut down every debate. (Similar to Carmichael again.)
After this poor display of identity politics an open letter to #BlackLivesMatter asked questions concerning its goals and stated, “Answering these questions will go along way to defining what exactly is the #BlackLivesMatter movement.” But this small incident might have already defined them as heirs to the Carmichael committee.
When civil rights leader Bayard Rustin was asked about “Black Power” after the Meredith march he stated: It lacks any real value and is positively harmful. SNCC was an organization that awakened the country. Now it shouts a slogan that may afford a momentary satisfaction but will destroy them and their movement.
And “Black power” destroyed SNCC.
Base on history maybe it’s not bad after all that the #BlackLivesMatter movement is just a slogan and posturing they’ll just disappear instead of self-destructing.
First published in the New Pittsburgh Courier 7/29/15
In 1966 James Meredith was shot during a march he organized, immediately civil rights groups converged to continue Meredith’s march. Among them was Stokely Carmichael the new chairman of SNCC. During the march the Carmichael committee shouted -- Black Power -- the new slogan confused some, scared others, but everyone demanded an explanation.
Carmichael stated: We are going to use the term “Black Power” and define it because Black Power speaks to us … We are going to build a movement based on the color of our skins … We have to be able to smash any political machine that oppresses us and bring it to its knees. We have to control the economics and politics of our community.
But Carmichael’s generalizations specified nothing and left verbs like “smash” and “control” to fill the void.
Encouraged by the rhetoric of smashing political machines riots swept the nation resulting in the 1967 Kerner Commission (Report on Civil Disorders) which didn’t refer to SNCC as a civil rights group but a militant anti-white organization.
Why?
After Carmichael’s “Black Power” speech he exercised his control and released all white workers. (Then advocated urban guerrilla warfare to achieve “Black Power”.)
Fast forward -- 2015.
The Netroots national conference hosted a presidential forum featuring democratic candidates. It was disrupted by demonstrators chanting: Black Lives Matter. Once on stage their spokesperson stated they wanted to acknowledge the lives lost in police related incidents.
After the disruption candidate Martin O’Malley stated: Black lives matter, white lives matter, all lives matter.
And the demonstrators booed. They believed he was minimizing the importance of blacks killed by the police.
Afterward O’Malley appeared on a digital show: This Week in Blackness. And he apologized for proclaiming other lives mattered. He said, “That was a mistake” and, “I meant no disrespect.” Of course he was responding to the host that asked if he understood the difference -- black death is not all-inclusive.
The rejection of “white and all live matter” is similar to Carmichael’s discriminatory display. If the Black Lives Matter Movement could be replaced by the SNCC founders the SNCC founders would have mobilized around data that read: 2012 140 blacks killed by police, 386 whites killed by the police. From 1999 - 2011 2,151 whites killed by police, 1,130 blacks. The SNCC founders would have attacked the root of the problem not its broken branches. They wouldn’t have alienated allies by “building a movement based on the color of skin”. They would have declared police fatalities a moral crisis and shamed the judicial system to abide by higher standards to secure convictions of cops who murdered citizens. (And not one black community would have burned.)
Instead a warning was issued to all presidential candidates by #BlackLivesMatter that they will shut down every debate. (Similar to Carmichael again.)
After this poor display of identity politics an open letter to #BlackLivesMatter asked questions concerning its goals and stated, “Answering these questions will go along way to defining what exactly is the #BlackLivesMatter movement.” But this small incident might have already defined them as heirs to the Carmichael committee.
When civil rights leader Bayard Rustin was asked about “Black Power” after the Meredith march he stated: It lacks any real value and is positively harmful. SNCC was an organization that awakened the country. Now it shouts a slogan that may afford a momentary satisfaction but will destroy them and their movement.
And “Black power” destroyed SNCC.
Base on history maybe it’s not bad after all that the #BlackLivesMatter movement is just a slogan and posturing they’ll just disappear instead of self-destructing.
First published in the New Pittsburgh Courier 7/29/15
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