Compare And Contrast The Civil Rights Movement And The Black Power Movement

1510 Words7 Pages

The Black power movement was more than just a raised fist. It was an influential movement established in the 1960s, and began to slow down in the 70s, it promoted self-sufficiency among the black and African community, and they fought for equality and power among those who faced discrimination in society. The Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement were two different movements with very similar motives, but different ways of going about their fight for equality. Symbolism played a significant role in representing the Black Power Movement, and helped unify the group by using one symbol that all recognized.The movement began as a reaction to the Civil Rights Movement and continued into the 1970s as a force for good. Imagine being discriminated against just because of the skin color you were born with. In addition to promoting more power for the people of color in society these strong people were pushing for equality among everyone. Often times today the Black Power movement is misjudged or looked down upon, but if you look at what they really stood for it was not black superiority …show more content…

Symbols can be universal and when you do them everyone knows what you stand for and believe in or are protesting. Unfortunately, They were no longer allowed to compete, they knew they were taking a risk, but in the end it made a statement. This small action made by these courageous athletes left a lasting impact on society, and proved that symbolism is a way of representing a strong force. In order to become a strong, well known movement the group needed a slogan, with the force came a black power symbol that became a universal sign for black power. In other words, everything I've talked about throughout this essay has been about what the Black Power movement is and what it stands for, symbolism can express most of what I've said with just one clenched, gloved fist held up powerfully in the