Black power emerged amid disillusionment with nonviolence and integration
Evidence
It signaled a growing disillusionment with the moderate political agenda of nonviolence and integration. The slogan “black power,” and the growing popularity of black nationalism that it expressed, also initiated an intense theoretical and strategic debate about the nature of racism and the future of black politics in the United States. It followed the split in the Nation of Islam and the emergence of Malcolm X as the most visible black nationalist leader in the country.? It coincided with Lyndon Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam war and the emergence of the anti-war—and in a broader sense, antiimperialist— movement. — Michael Omi, Howard Winant, Racial Formation in the United States, 90
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- XREF: Contradicts the popular narrative that black power arose simply as militancy; positions it as a response to the civil rights movement’s own political limits.