Black Power vs The civil rights movement - What is your opin

[Reuben]

I was just wondering what peoples opinions were regarding the differences between the civil rights movement and the black power movement.. I wont go into detail regarding the different approaches as Im sure most people have some knowledge of them.

In the past I have always felt closer to the civil rights movement between because of the way the black power movement is associated with seperatism which I still deplore (although it is an understandable reaction) . However now I feel differently. I storngly agree with the black power movement in that the civil rights movement relied on convincing white people that black people deserved right s and only then obtaining them.
The black power movement quite rightly argued tha their rights, particularly after so many years of slavery and subjugation, should not be contingent on the femelings of the whi te majority and they weere right

[yuriandropov]

i would say the difference is extremism. black power is much more militant and extreme than the civil rights movement. much like the difference betwen democratic socialism and revolutionary marxism. i personally don't agree with the black power movement as its leader malcolm x was a racist and i can't stand racism. yes it was understandable considering what whites have done to blacks over the years but theres still no excuse. my country (USSR) lost 27 million people to nazi germany in WWII but i don't hate all germans. i know malcolm x cooled off the racist rhetoric when he went to mecca towards the end of his life but i still think martin luther king was a much better leader for the black people of USA.

[I Will Deny You]

I personally am pro-civil rights movement, since I wouldn't be here without it. It accomplished more, and in my opinion that's because they were right. They didn't rely on white people, but they worked with them. The civil rights movement recognized that integration made for less discrimination. The point of the civil rights movement was that we're all human beings and skin color doesn't matter . . . a scientifically correct approach that seems to be the best overall. The black power movement, meanwhile, wasn't about bridging gaps.

[Menshevik]

I sympathize more with the civil rights movement more, but I think the Black Power movement was equally important. Civil Rights was about equal oppurtunity, but Black Power was about respect--it spawned the whole "black is beautiful." If you have the oppurtunity why not earn the respect that whites receive daily. My only objection to the black power movement would be the useless violence, like shooting armored car drivers--pointless shit.

"Brothers and Sisters, stay cool." -X

[Reuben]

Haqving read your posts I pretty much agree with you all and my first post was over simplistic. I have always had much more admiration for martin luther king than malcom x.

I think that many of Malcom Xs statements were y no means intellectually rigurous such as"Whites are responsible for this etc." and I think he benefiteted from the fearlessness and courage that people falsely see i people who make macho speeches and dont feel they have to reason their arguments.

Lindsay, I completely agree with you that the civil rights movement acheived a hell of a lot more then the black power movement.


They didn't rely on white people, but they worked with them.
I was not saying that blacks fighting for civil rights shouldnt work with whites. I was saying that if their are more appropriate means of acheivin equalit, black equality should not be contingent on the opinions of the White american establishment (although I think history has shown that the meas used by the civil rights movement were the best at the time). I think my first post was a bit unclear and stupid.

[IzmSchism]

I am just a white kid from small town canada....but....in all my shining ignorance I would have to say that X was more important to the black movement than King was to the integration of whites and blacks. X was a voice for the voiceless, King was used by the politicans, and the middle to upper class to swing poularity in elections, and gain popularity with the black vote. Again, I have only done a minimal amount of reading on the topic, and I just finished reading Live From Death Row, by Mumia Abu Jamal, and definitely the injustice is still there, and I am still young and angry enough to see fit that non-violent methods are growing ever weaker, in a time where injustice is being constantly masked by the cozying of dirtbags with descent people. I am still burning after reading Live from Death Row....so, I just wanted to say that by 'Any Means Necessary' is sometimes necessary to get the message across, and X exemplified this message.

[Dhul Fiqar]

Don't forget that X gave up his slave name :)

I've never really understood the schism between him and Elijah Mohammad, but I think they were both great men.

Anyway, Martin Luther King and X had different ways of approaching things, and I think they complemented each other in a strange way. Martin Luther seems a lot more compromising and tolerant becauser of X's stance, and X really looks uncompromising and steadfast because of the Civil Rights Movement's opposite approach. They both contributed a great deal to the world

--- G. Raven

[Reuben]

Some people argue that the civil rights movement was empowered by the threat of Malcom X. I am not sure I agree with this my self.


P.S. elijah mohammed was a tosser who started the NOI. The reason there was a rift between them was that Malcom X rejected mohammeds simplistic racil attitudes.

[IzmSchism]

something more to add....as well the deal with the so-called honerable Elijah was that X discovered that he was having affairs with women, when he preached monagamy, as well he was having many!! That is when he went balls up on TV and radio denouncing the service and man, Elijah Mohammed. This crushed X's faith, so I have read, this is when he left and went to the pilgramege to MEcca.

[El Brujo]

Don't confuse the Black power movement with Khalid Muhammad and the "new black panthers", those are racists. The black power movement served more as a confidence-builder among the blacks than a separatist movement. the term "black power" was simply coined to counter the current "white power" tendencies of the government at that time.

The Black Panters are and were actually very influenced by revolutionaries such as Mao, Che and Castro (Malcom X even met with Fidel).

[infected bovine]

being from a small australian town and only being 16 i feel that based on my current knowledge i shouldn't really comment, but i will anyway.

I sympathise with both the civil rights movement and the black power movement, they both have good and bad points. Violence is not always the answer, but sometimes it is the only way, the civil rights people were very good at manipulating the media and therefore the american publics views by using non violent protest. Nothing says racist like white cops beating the shit out of peaceful black protesters. Yet, against hate organisations like the kkk, you must sometimes sink to their level and use minimal violence to make them understand. Though putting black people on a higher pedestal than everyone else makes you no better than the white supremacist bastards...

[j]

I believe that the civil rights movement encompassed the black power movement. Civil rights are really human rights (as malcolm so eloquently stated). Black power is all about human rights. It is/was one avenue to take. Malcolm X had one philosophy and Martin Luther King Jr. had another, yet without either the movement would not have exisisted.

j

[Reuben]

Quote: from El Brujo on 6:34 am on May 9, 2002
Don't confuse the Black power movement with Khalid Muhammad and the "new black panthers", those are racists. The black power movement served more as a confidence-builder among the blacks than a separatist movement. the term "black power" was simply coined to counter the current "white power" tendencies of the government at that time.

The Black Panters are and were actually very influenced by revolutionaries such as Mao, Che and Castro (Malcom X even met with Fidel).


this is what the huey newton foundationtion, wh are made up of the ex-leaders had to say about khalid muhhamed in an article entitled there are no new black panthers "re they entertainers, who would posture themselves before the media, and, according to numerous sources, with empty guns, to spin gold for themselves? Are they, given the history of their late-leader Khalid Muhammad, a group of anti-Semites like the very Ku Klux Klan they allegedly oppose? What is their agenda?"

[kingbee]

the panthers were marxists werent they? i dont really side with either, but it seems that MLK won more ground than malcolm x. the panthers wnated to gain ground through voilence, but what violence did they use? did they just claim to be violent?
both had theirt parts in winning more rights for blacks

[BOZG]

I agree with menshivik that both movements were equally important but I do have more sympathy with the civil rights movement because of the whole segregation issue. I do have great respect for X as he changed his way and advocated unity between all people.

[Fires of History]

Both movements were essential. Both brought attention to the plight of African-Americans living in an unjust society. Both used action to achieve their goals. Both infused a great sense of empowerment and dignity to an oppressed people. And in the end, both movement's leaders were assassinated.

Both were needed.