Stokely Carmichael

Stokely Carmichael: The Revolutionary Journey of a Civil Rights Icon

By Trinity Kendrick & AB Sako

Stokely Carmichael was a civil rights activist known for his involvement in the black nationalism movement in the United States working with Dr Martin Luther King Jr, and was the originator of the slogan “Black Power”. He was also a chairman of the SNCC( Students Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and later allied with a party

Stokely Carmichael was born on June  29th, 1941  in Port of Spain,  Trinidad and Tobago. When he was younger his parents immigrated to New York, until age 11 when you also went to New York with his parents. In 1956 Carmichael Johnson attended a prestigious High School in  New York called Bronx High School of Science. Later in high school,  he noticed activism and joined the Congress of Racial Equality. 

Carmichael attended the prestigious Howard University in Washington DC.  majored in philosophy.  He graduated with honors in 1964. While in college as a freshman, he went on his first Freedom Ride in 1961. Through the South to challenge segregation on the Multistate level.  During this Freedom Ride is where he was arrested in Jackson Mississippi for entering a “whites only” bus stop. He was jailed for 49 days. Being arrested did not face him whatsoever as he went on to do more freedom rights and got more involved in the Civil Rights Movement. This includes a freedom ride in Maryland,  a hospital workers strike in New York, and a demonstration in Georgia At this point in time, this is where the world started to see the Stokely Carmichael that we read about in history books today. 

Carmichael continued to work with SNCC and after graduation, participated in what was dubbed “Freedom Summer” by SNCC. During Freedom Summer an aggressive campaign was rolled out to register black voters in the Deep South. Because of his Charisma good leadership skills and eloquence, he was appointed field organizer for Lowndes County, Alabama. When he got to Alabama African Americans were the majority but were completely underrepresented.  he managed to raise the amount of black registered voters from 70 to 2600 in the span of just one year.  this was 300 more than the amount of registered white voters in that county. Though he worked hard he was not satisfied with the response of the political parties.  this led to him creating his own party called the Lowndes County  Freedom Organization. While creating this party he had to satisfy a requirement that all the political parties must have a logo.  Carmichael chose the Black Panther and this is what inspired the Black Panther Party later down the line. 

For a long time, Carmichael stood with the non-violence philosophy that Dr King had used. However, he became frustrated with the slow pace of progress and having to deal with multiple acts of violence and humiliation from police officers. By the time he was elected National Chairman of SNCC, he had lost faith in non-violent resistance.  being the chairman he immediately turned the organization in a more radical direction. He made it clear that white members were not welcome. After another activist was shot on a solo walk from Memphis to Jackson,  Carmichael decided that volunteers would continue to march in that activist’s place. When they reached Greenwood Mississippi he gave a speech that would Mark him down in the history books. 

During the speech, he cried “We been saying ‘freedom’ for six years” and “What we are going to start saying now is ‘Black Power’”. “Black power” quickly caught on as a Riley and cry of the younger generation of more radical activists. This term also gained International attention as it became the slogan of resistance to European imperialism in Africa.

Towards the end of his life, Carmichael took a journey to visit leaders in Cuba,  North Vietnam,  China,  and Guinea. Upon his return to the United States, he left SNCC and became the prime minister of the Black Panthers. During his time as prime minister, he spent the next two years writing and speaking about black nationalism,  black separatism,  in pan-africanism which ultimately became his life's cause.

In 1969 he left the Black Panther Party and the United States to live in Conakry, Guinea as a permanent resident. Upon arrival, he changed his name to Kwame Ture to honor Ghana President, Kwame Nkrumah and Guinea President, Sékou Touré. Carmichael passed away in 1996 from prostate cancer.

Stokely Carmichael's life will forever be a reminder of how powerful students were in the Civil Rights Movement. Carmichael himself rose from being a young student who just wanted equal rights to a prominent civil rights activist who will be remembered for ages and ages. 

Reference: https://www.biography.com/activists/stokely-carmichael