Published in May 2017

How do Whites and Blacks Interpret 'Black Power'

There are two different ways that the nation interprets the call for Black Power. White Americans and conservative blacks consider the call a direct challenge to white authority and the status quo. However, most Black people hear the Black Power slogan as a call to action to address the injustices and racism that exist within America and its institutions. The press(mostly owned by White Americans) will immediately vilify the movement and the slogan by defining the call as "anti-white" and "pro-violence" against white America. Black people internalize the call in an entirely different way. Most Black people equated the concept of Black power with Black pride, Black consciousness, self-determination, controlling our own destinies and an end to repression.


By Karen Spellman - an early activist with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and currently co-director of the Black Power Chronicles