Assess The Reasons For The Development Of The Black Power Movement 1965-1970

Assess the reasons for the development of the Black Power Movement 1965-1970? King so that Martin Luther King can keep the Negro defenseless.” This brought a lot of attention towards the ‘Black Power’ movement. Although, a telegram from Malcolm X to Martin Luther King Jr suggests Malcolm X was more willing to work with Martin Luther King Jr than people thought. In this telegram he stated, “if the federal government will not send troops to your aid, just say the word and we will immediately dispatch some of our brothers there to organize self-defense units among our people.” This reflects that despite the differences in principle, the common purpose of each group took priority over their differences. Another interpretation of this could be

While most Civil Rights leaders pushed for unity between the blacks and whites, Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam trusted in the significance of self-assurance for blacks, and even went as far as to preach racial isolation. For Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad, their vision of freedom and equality for blacks consisted of separate schools, no intermarriage – basically, their own separate country. It was the numerous speeches and eventually the death of Malcolm X in 1965 that roused Black Power pioneers, most remarkably Stokely Carmichael, who (as stated in ‘paragraph 2’) founded the expression "Black Power." After Malcom X's demise, Carmichael and others dismissed the ideology of many civil rights leaders, for example, Martin Luther

Between 1964 and 1968, Johnson passed more civil rights legislation than any president has done before. The most important bill being the Civil Rights Act 1964 which outlawed all discrimination based on race, religion, color etc. This suggests he was sympathetic to African Americans and possibly the Black Power Movement. Knowing that the President of the day was making active contributions to the black community most likely encouraged ‘black power’ activists. However, in his early years as a Senator he heavily opposed civil rights legislation, calling President Truman’s Civil Rights Program a “farce and a sham.” This source questions President Johnson’s motives when passing bills such as the Civil Rights Act