Compare And Contrast The Black Power Movement Vs Civil Rights Movement

Comparisons and Differences:

#BLM vs. 1960 - 1970s Civil Rights Movement

Sasha Kataeva

AFAM 12B/HIST 18B: African American History Since 1865

Dr. Keiffer-Lewis

March 5, 2023

In July 2013, the use of the hashtag #Black Lives Matter on social media began in response to the exoneration of George Zimmerman in the killing of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Nearly 50 years before the Black Lives movement was started, during the March Against Fear, Stokely Carmichael guided the marchers in a chant for black power that was nationally televised. This was the start of the Black Power movement, which was an offshoot of the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s. The Black Power movement emerged from the demand of more rapid

During the Black Power movement, many urban revolts started in cities across the U.S. as a direct result of racism, police brutality, and the lack of overall change concerning the issues that Civil Rights movements campaigned for. The Black Power movement was often encountered with fear from the general public and misunderstanding from a vast majority of televised news outlets. The riots that the media was reporting on were exaggerated and didn’t accurately report on the problems that caused them. The issues behind the riots were never discussed and instead were portrayed through the lenses of white men. Fortunately, there was a television network that distributed content concerning issues that Black people faced in America. They released several documentaries that discussed prejudice in America in the late 1960s. The media representation of the Black Lives Matter movement was also heavily similar to how the Black Power movement was portrayed by the media. Much of the media coverage surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement selectively covered events that had violent incidents, such as looting, vandalism and property damage, despite the fact that the majority of Black Lives Matter protests were nonviolent and didn’t cause any property damage or police injuries. These violent incidents were outliers, not the standard when it came to protests.

The Black Panther Party was a black power political organization that was founded by two college students in 1966 in Oakland, California. The party’s main practice and method of resistance were their patrols, in which members would openly carry arms. These patrols were designed to challenge the unrestricted force and misconduct of the Oakland Police Department. During the Black Power movement, riots erupted across the country in response to housing discrimination, racial segregation, poverty and unemployment. Additionally, many strikes and walkouts were also held during the Black Power movement. Many Black workers went on strike because of problems that they faced at work, such as racial discrimination, segregation and poor pay. The BLM movement also uses several methods of resistance in order to achieve its goals. One such method is the defacement of racist monuments, such as the Robert E. Lee Confederate statue. The BLM movement also uses nonviolent protests in order to spread awareness and fight back against systemic racism. The George Floyd protests were a series of both nonviolent peaceful protests and riots against racism and police brutality that started on May 26, 2020. These protests and civil unrest emerged as a part of worldwide reactions to the death of George Floyd. In addition to protests and riots, the BLM movement also utilized strikes and