The Civil Rights Movement: The Rise And Fall Of The Black Power Movement

For the better part of the 1950’s, most people in the United States were living in a fantasy world woven together by the government, with things like the “perfect housewife,” suburbia, and the “baby boom.” However, for as long as this fairytale was being told, there was a dreary, grim truth that was not getting the spotlight, which was the racial inequality between black and white Americans. Thus, in the late 1950’s the Civil Rights Movement was born, in order to change the nation for the better. Now, most people mostly associate the Civil Rights Movement with African Americans such as Martin Luther King Jr., Jesse Jackson, Rosa Parks and so forth, and their fight for integration. However, not all African American felt this was the way to go.

Thus, the Civil Rights Movement was not a success, as its failure can be seen through the rise and fall of the Black Power Movement. Malcom X, who [for most of his life] was against integration, once said, “America preaches integration, but practices segregation” (Malcom X); which really sums up what the Black Power Movement stood for in the sense that it was the job of the Black Power Movement to stop the hypocrisy shown by the government towards integration. In addition, to this hypocrisy, another reason the Black Power Movement came to be was because of African American disapproval towards integration; which was because some African Americans perceived integration was not taken seriously by the rest of the United States. In addition, some African Americans also felt that the government could not force integration on those who did not believe in it. For these reasons, the Black Power Movement fought against integration rather than for

For example, the assassination of Malcom X. came as retaliation towards Malcom X’s believes and actions. However, one positive to be taken from the Black Power Movement was the fact that, the Black Power Movement is an everlasting symbol of the Counter Culture that came about during the Civil Rights Era. This was because in a time of racial tension, the Black Power Movement was seen by some as an alternate view to society at the time. In fact, the Black Power Movement even went against the actions of other African American Civil Rights activists. However, the Civil Rights Movement was a failure due to not every American accepting the fact of racial equality, considering the Black Power Movement furthered the rift between Americans, by expanding on anti-racial views and creating new stereotypes in