How Did Malcolm X Contribute To The Black Power Movement
Robert George (Bobby) Seale was born in Liberty, Texas in 1936. Bobby Seale’s family was apart of the huge African American migration to the West Coast during World War II. Bobby spent the rest of his childhood growing up in Oakland. After highschool Bobby joined the Air Force; he was court martialed after three years of service for disobeying his colonel at Ellsworth Air Force Base (North Dakota).
After the military Bobby Seale returned to Oakland and enrolled in Merritt College. It was at Merritt when Bobby met and befriended Huey P. Newton. Black Nationalism was a prominent approach the battle of oppressions blacks were facing during the mid-1960s. During the 1960s black progressive politics also began to become more radical. The effect of Malcolm X’s nationalist approach was affecting many Black activist nationwide. Some scholars believe that Malcolm X was the catalyst to the Black Power Movement. Malcolm X and independence movements in Africa inspired the Bobby Seale and Huey Newton to create the the Black Panthers Party for Self Defense in 1966. Malcolm’s …show more content…
“Freedom by any means necessary” slogan was the primary guiding belief of the organization.
Bobby Seale and Huey Newton used the Ten-Point Program to outline the goals of the Black Panther Party in a clear concise way.
The ultimate goal of this program was for Black Americans to have the “power to determine the destiny of [our] Black Community.” This power would increase the accessibility to adequate public resources such as school, land, housing, and most important peace. These goals were different from that of the traditional Civil Rights Movement (Brown v. Board to Voting Rights Act of 1965), they demanded for the power of the People to be acknowledged instead of depending on legislative alterations to “fix”the situations Black Americans encounter. Depending on legislative changes to benefit the racial climate in America never prevented local authorities from abusing their power. Stokely Carmichael said during his Black Power Speech at the University of California Berkeley in October of
1966: “I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people. For example, I am black. I know that. I also know that while I am black I am a human being. Therefore I have the right to go into any public place. White people don’t know that. Every time I tried to go into a public place they stopped me. So some boys had to write a bill to tell that white man, "He’s a human being; don’t stop him." That bill was for the white man, not for me.”
This belief represented the emotion of many Black Americans, this is why the Panthers of Oakland were needed, the power was not given to the people by simply changing the laws. Local communities could not feel the effects of nationwide legislative change when the local government will still use their powers to oppress.
After the military Bobby Seale returned to Oakland and enrolled in Merritt College. It was at Merritt when Bobby met and befriended Huey P. Newton. Black Nationalism was a prominent approach the battle of oppressions blacks were facing during the mid-1960s. During the 1960s black progressive politics also began to become more radical. The effect of Malcolm X’s nationalist approach was affecting many Black activist nationwide. Some scholars believe that Malcolm X was the catalyst to the Black Power Movement. Malcolm X and independence movements in Africa inspired the Bobby Seale and Huey Newton to create the the Black Panthers Party for Self Defense in 1966. Malcolm’s …show more content…
“Freedom by any means necessary” slogan was the primary guiding belief of the organization.
Bobby Seale and Huey Newton used the Ten-Point Program to outline the goals of the Black Panther Party in a clear concise way.
The ultimate goal of this program was for Black Americans to have the “power to determine the destiny of [our] Black Community.” This power would increase the accessibility to adequate public resources such as school, land, housing, and most important peace. These goals were different from that of the traditional Civil Rights Movement (Brown v. Board to Voting Rights Act of 1965), they demanded for the power of the People to be acknowledged instead of depending on legislative alterations to “fix”the situations Black Americans encounter. Depending on legislative changes to benefit the racial climate in America never prevented local authorities from abusing their power. Stokely Carmichael said during his Black Power Speech at the University of California Berkeley in October of
1966: “I maintain that every civil rights bill in this country was passed for white people, not for black people. For example, I am black. I know that. I also know that while I am black I am a human being. Therefore I have the right to go into any public place. White people don’t know that. Every time I tried to go into a public place they stopped me. So some boys had to write a bill to tell that white man, "He’s a human being; don’t stop him." That bill was for the white man, not for me.”
This belief represented the emotion of many Black Americans, this is why the Panthers of Oakland were needed, the power was not given to the people by simply changing the laws. Local communities could not feel the effects of nationwide legislative change when the local government will still use their powers to oppress.