Sncc's Criticisms Of The Black Power Movement

One of the major contemporary criticisms of Black Power activists in the late 1960s was their lack of a coherent definition of the term Black Power and a reliable program that could replace organized forms of non-violent activism. Joseph has shown that this critique continues to pervade historian’s portrayal of the Black Power movement, as scholars continue to portray the period mainly in negative terms, without discussing the distinct ideological and practical contributions of Black Power activists. However, over the last two decades, the revision of scholarship that in the past was often characterized by dichotomous portrayals of the civil rights and Black Power phases has gained in momentum, as scholars have produced a wide array of studies …show more content…
While Williams, Joseph, and other Black Power scholars have identified various progenitors that greatly informed the activism that emerged in the mid-1960s, we need to keep in mind that the diverse group of activists and artists that emerged under the umbrella of Black Power interpreted and used these ideological and practical insights often in radically different ways. Informed by various local circumstances and needs, Black Power activism, just like the decades of black power organizing efforts that preceded it, took on various and at times even conflicting …show more content…
Hamilton, the media continued to accuse him of the failure to properly define the term. Only days following his first public cry for “Black Power,” CBS reporters cross-examined Carmichael after having broadcasted a short piece on SNCC’s organizing efforts in Lowndes County, Alabama that had culminated in the foundation of an independent party in that county. While the two reporters addressed Carmichael in a critical but paternalistic manner were largely unmoved by his answers, they pressed him hard on one particular aspect–his stance on the question of