Black Power Movement
Introduction
Black power movement occurred between the 1960s and 1970s with the main aim of the creation and development of the political and cultural institution, economic development, and human pride as Africans (Claybrook and Keith 7). The black power movement was the stronghold of the Africans that brought unity among them. This movement gave the Africans the power to be led and to rule others without any social discrimination. This was the platform that empowered the Africans and encouraged them to stay in harmony for economic empowerment. The black power movement was the slogan that was used by Africans to promote their interests and to nurture their black values. The Black power movement was established to protect the Africans from Racism that was caused by the Americans that aimed at discriminating the Africans (Kernodle 862). The Africans used this slogan to enhance solidarity among themselves to protect their rights. It enabled the Africans to fight for their rights and to the considered human beings as Americans too. This movement went the extra mile by organizing for community self-help groups and also social institutions that did not depend much on the help of the Americans. The institutions helped the Africans generate their ideas of coming up with their programs in different studies and also helped to boost their self-esteem. The movement proved wrong the white people that believed that the Africans were non-Attractive, and hence this boosted the Africans self-esteem. The Americans changed their view and concluded that Africans are beautiful. This movement brought in a positive impact on other countries that opened up the minds of the whites that Africans are human beings like any other, and they should not be treated as slaves. The black power movement aimed to fight for the right of the Africans and also to enhance solidarity among them. The black power movement was established because the black saw that the white Americans never treated them well and that their rights were not respected at all. Therefore, black Americans needed to hold a movement that would help white Americans respect their rights.
Summer Olympics in Mexico
The Black power movement was also experienced in 1968 in Mexico during the Summer Olympics. The two black Americans won the; Tommie Smith and John Carlos won the 200-meters running event, and they were awarded gold and bronze medals, respectively, during the Olympic movement. In the event of receiving the medal, the two athletes were shoeless, but they were wearing black socks that symbolized the poverty among the blacks. Carlos had worked his tracksuit top unzipped and had a necklace of beads on his neck, symbolizing the solidarity and those that were killed, respectively. Smith has a black scarf on his neck that symbolized the pride that the Africans had for just being Africans. Smith and Carlos had black gloves; one had worn it on the right hand and the other on the left side and raised the fists symbolizing resistance (Dorman 423). The fact that the two African-American athletes expressed the solidarity and pride of being blacks, the International Olympic Committee President was not contented with the actions that they did during the event of Olympics. They were suspended from the Unites States team and were banned from Olympic Village. The spokesman of the International Olympic said that both Smith and Carlos were intentionally violating the spirit of the Olympic team. This shows that even though the African athletes were more inspired to fight for their rights, it costed them a lot (Feizabadi, et al. 190). This is a challenge that the Africans faced trying to show their wellness. Lack of freedom for expression is one of the challenges that the black people faced, and once they decided to fight for their rights, the leaders pulled them down by illegally fighting them back.
Discriminations that Africans Faced
During the Summer Olympic in Mexico in 1968, Smith and Carlos had worn black gloves and raised their fist in black power salute, and this was an act that symbolized resistance (Dorman 423). This kind of action that they did during the Olympic event cost the two of the athletes in that they were suspended from participating in the Olympic games and banned in United States teams. The country was not democratic, and the African athletes had no way they could have fought for justice and their human rights (Edward 12).
The black people were discriminated against in places of work, and they had a problem accessing the medical services. They were unable to afford the medication since the white-owned the hospitals, and they were easily accessible to them. The poor black people were not able to cater to their health since they had no financial access. In some of the American hospitals, black people were not allowed to go into since the whites owned them. This kind of separation between the black and the white only favored the white people (Hope, Elan and Myles 4). The black people were treated in a way that was not appealing at all. The black people were used as a slave, but the white was not concerned about their health.
During the black power movement, African leaders in this movement were killed by the police since their main aim was to abandon the movement. It means that the non-Africans used different ways to ensure that the black cannot express their wellbeing. Any black person that tried to demonstrate for their freedom, they were subjected to repression and harsh treatment. There are many cases of police brutality that occurred when the black people were doing their demonstration (Dorman 420). The non-democratic country made the people not to live in happiness and enjoy the freedom of expression since the black people lived in fear of their wellbeing.
Black Americans were not allowed to attend the same schools with the whites. They attended separate schools where they were rejected and offered poor quality education. The blacks never received any financial assistance, resources, or the facilities that led to poor quality in school performance (Woodson 58) This kind of discrimination made the Africans look as if they were never qualified and ended up working in small, non-paying manual jobs. The black teachers were not allowed to teach in schools that the whites attended. This was awful, and the blacks ended up in depression, not knowing where to go or where to get their basic requirements.
Challenges that black faces world wild from the leading figures in history
During the movement’s demonstration, the major civil rights leaders, Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmicheal, Floyd Mckissick, were harassed and arrested by local law enforcement due to the fact they were protesting on the black power and their need for freedom (King Jr 3). The leaders were challenged since police officers were against the demonstration. It was not a democratic country, especially for the black Africans. The leaders led the movement claiming for their freedom and their right as black people. They were the leaders that fought for the right of the black people since the white mistreated them. The police were harsh on them, and they ended up in jail, and this was one of how they were stopped to speak out.
Racism is another challenge that the leaders faced during the demonstration of fighting for freedom. The blacks were neglected and were not considered human beings by the Americans. The black had no stable place that they could live without being harassed by the white Americans. Racism was the biggest challenge that the black Americans faced, and this drove to many of the blacks to depression. Some of the black Africans were considered as slaves in American country (Kernodle 862). The whites never saw the humanity of the black, and they treated them as non-human beings.
Martin Luther and his colleagues were trying to make their own demonstration without any violence. However, afterward, during their protestation, violence arose, and many of the blacks were killed. The black separation was also established in that the black had to live on their own. The leaders aimed at reducing the cases of racism especially the gender racism that highly affected the females (Lewis et al 5). The black power movement was used to enhance harmony among the blacks and the whites to ensure that the blacks are also treated well. Nevertheless, since the Americans had power, they never wanted to give the Africans the freedom to express themselves, and therefore, violence emerged.
The reason for the black power movement was to enhance equality among black and white Americans. The blacks had a problem with getting good jobs since they were considered as non-qualified people. They were employed on simple jobs that turned them into slaves in that they were not even paid. They were working in a non-paying position. The White Americans owned most of the jobs, and that is why the blacks were treated as slaved. The few African-American that was able to start their small business were oppressed, and their jobs were destroyed during the riots. Also, due to financial instability, black Americans were not able to access education, and therefore they never had the qualification to join in the good jobs. The black parents and teachers tried very hard to enhance integration with the white people but all was in vain (Dorman 415). Therefore, there was a high unemployment level in black Americans as opposed to white Americans. The white Americans were skilled because they were able to pay for their education in various institutions. The blacks never received any financial assistance, resources, or the facilities that led to poor quality in school performance. Due to the unavailability of the job to the African- American, the poverty level was high.
The police brutality is another challenge that the black experience. The police had no mercy to the black since they saw that everything the black used to do was wrong. The killing was not such a severe issue to the police since the blacks used to be slaughtered as animals. The few Africa- Americans that engaged in the demonstration for the black power were killed, and some jailed (Dorman 420). To white Americans, black Americans were not considered as beings at all. The blacks had no freedom of expressing their own opinions, and therefore the police were brutal to them. Since the blacks lived in an environment that they were rejected, they never had the peace of mind, and that is why they just accepted to be slaves. Some of the African American was depressed. They had no otherwise; even to get the medication in the hospitals was not allowed to them.
The black Americans also lost their jobs while participating in activities that showed that they were fighting for their freedom since they only wanted self-reliance and self-pride to be recognized as people (McCutcheon 581). The two athletes that participated in the Summer Olympics in 1968, their career was banned. They had no other way they would have participated in any Olympic activities. Carlos and Smith were suspended not to participate in Village Olympics and banned participating in the United States’ team because they had the black-glove and raised their hand as a salute showing resistance to discrimination to the blacks. Individuals with any chance of fighting for the blacks were even fired in their jobs or suspended on their activities. The black power movement was challenging to all the people since it was led by the leaders that were black, and hence, they were not allowed to fight for their own freedom. The fact that Carlos and Smith were fighting for their right as the black people and that they had the solidarity to prevail, the International Olympic Committee spokesman said that their action showed the violation of the principle spirit of the Olympic team.
Conclusion
The black people were not acceptable to the white people, and this led to the separation of the two people. The mistreatment of blacks affected many black people since they were rejected and considered non-worthy. In many countries, black people were not allowed to express their ideas or their freedom for their rights. Police brutality was one of the challenges the black people faced when they tried to express their rights as a person. The slavery acts were entitled to black people since the whites considered them as non-human beings. The black power movement was established and put in action to save the black people from mistreatment. The unity among the black people had to be enhanced. Also, the white had to consider black people as people too. Many of the black people had to collaborate in this movement to resist the mistreatment that the whites used to do to them. The black power movement indeed brought a great transition to the other countries that harassed and mistreated black people. The Olympic activities that the black people involved in acted as the tool of enhancing democracy and solidarity (Feizabadi, et al 187). The harmony among the nations and the individual concern on their rights enabled the White Americans to consider the black people as people of their own. They started respecting their right, and this led to civilization in most countries. The African people can now easily access their education in different parts of the country without any discrimination. The economy of different countries is empowered due to equality among the White and black people in terms of resource distributions and wealth accumulation. The unity among the black and the white people led to the reduction of violence cases, and peace was established among the countries. Therefore, it is clear that even though their existed challenges in enhancing the black power movement, the black people deserved the freedom and their rights to be respected.
Work cited
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