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Boggs's Essay: The Black Revolution In America

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In Grace Lee Boggs’s essay “The Black Revolution in America” the author contemplates what is a revolution and if the black movement can be considered a “revolution.” She begins her essay by defining what a revolution is to give context for the argument she is about to discuss. To Boggs a revolution is the replacing of one societal ruling system for another the oppressed overrules the oppressed and destroys the old system creating anew. With this question as an outline Boggs delves into the history of the Black Power movement with the intent to answer this question. Boggs begins by speaking about the black power movement. According to Boggs the black power movement began as an area for reform. The Black Power Movement’s goal was to gain equal rights for Black Americans in the United States. Boggs cites Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr as the trailblazer of this movement. Dr. King’s goal was integration but his strategies for integration lead to some disagreements within the Black community. The most influential opposition against Dr. King was a Civil Rights activist known as Malcolm X. Boggs’s remarks on his significance to the Black Power …show more content…

They viewed the capitalist system as something that worked for the white power structure and against equality. Black city youth want the destruction of the current capitalist system but are still unsure about what would replace this current system. This desire for the replacement of the old capitalist system is one of Boggs’s requirements for a revolution and Boggs’s alludes that Black city youth may be the ones to start the black revolution. As Boggs said a revolution requires the discarding of old power structures to truly be considered a revolution. In Boggs’s eyes the black movement has not yet been successful in dismantling old power structures. Boggs uses this essay as a way to introduce the people who are leading the

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