Firmly at home in New York’s White and Black leftist circles, Stokely’s early activism proved to be everything but an isolated experience. Foreshadowing his later activism in a democratic organization that highly valued group-centered leadership, Stokely participated in his first desegregation protests before moving to Washington, D.C. to study at Howard. An excellent and gifted student, Stokely had offers from several Ivy League institutions, but chose the prestigious Black university after having spent his high school years in an overwhelmingly White setting. Once arrived in Washington, he experienced a plethora of diverse influences, meeting and working with some of the most influential African American intellectuals, many of them working
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Stokely participated in organizing the controversial appearance of the radical Black Muslim Minister to debate with Bayard Rustin. Stokely, while not in agreement with Malcolm in terms of ideology, left the event deeply impressed with Malcolm’s rhetorical acumen and his illustrations of White hypocrisies. However, despite his admiration for Malcolm, Stokely remained firmly committed to the form of civil rights activism that the Muslim minister had chastised. Unlike Malcolm’s more doctrinaire, NOI-informed solution to Black oppression, Stokely initially used a pragmatic approach, one in which actions had priority, as he believed that depending on the route and strategies taken, the commensurate ideology would automatically fall in …show more content…
While Malcolm rose to fame by means of fierce attacks on Whites, Carmichael participated in non-violent workshops to prepare himself for his participation in the Freedom Rides. Spending forty-nine days in Parchman Penitentiary for his partaking in the efforts to desegregate interstate travel, Stokely had one of his most memorable experiences with the United States penal system early on into the struggle. Returning to Washington D.C. after serving his sentence in the South’s most notorious jail, Stokely had his first close up encounter with Malcolm in later October of that year. In a very controversial appearance at Howard, Malcolm and Bayard Rustin discussed their diverging ideas on the nature and the objectives of African American liberation. Though Carmichael, who like many other students was excited to hear Malcolm speak at the event, thought that Bayard Rustin would easily outperform Malcolm. To their surprise, the latter one’s rhetorical eloquence and repartee proved to be more persuasive. By the time Stokely joined SNCC activists in Mississippi to challenge the racist practices of the Democratic Party in this state, Malcolm had come closer to the group and actively promoted an exchange of ideas and collaboration in the nation’s Black
Stokely participated in organizing the controversial appearance of the radical Black Muslim Minister to debate with Bayard Rustin. Stokely, while not in agreement with Malcolm in terms of ideology, left the event deeply impressed with Malcolm’s rhetorical acumen and his illustrations of White hypocrisies. However, despite his admiration for Malcolm, Stokely remained firmly committed to the form of civil rights activism that the Muslim minister had chastised. Unlike Malcolm’s more doctrinaire, NOI-informed solution to Black oppression, Stokely initially used a pragmatic approach, one in which actions had priority, as he believed that depending on the route and strategies taken, the commensurate ideology would automatically fall in …show more content…
While Malcolm rose to fame by means of fierce attacks on Whites, Carmichael participated in non-violent workshops to prepare himself for his participation in the Freedom Rides. Spending forty-nine days in Parchman Penitentiary for his partaking in the efforts to desegregate interstate travel, Stokely had one of his most memorable experiences with the United States penal system early on into the struggle. Returning to Washington D.C. after serving his sentence in the South’s most notorious jail, Stokely had his first close up encounter with Malcolm in later October of that year. In a very controversial appearance at Howard, Malcolm and Bayard Rustin discussed their diverging ideas on the nature and the objectives of African American liberation. Though Carmichael, who like many other students was excited to hear Malcolm speak at the event, thought that Bayard Rustin would easily outperform Malcolm. To their surprise, the latter one’s rhetorical eloquence and repartee proved to be more persuasive. By the time Stokely joined SNCC activists in Mississippi to challenge the racist practices of the Democratic Party in this state, Malcolm had come closer to the group and actively promoted an exchange of ideas and collaboration in the nation’s Black