On this day in 1966, Stokely Carmichael transformed the language of the civil rights movement when he called for “Black Power” during the March Against Fear in Mississippi.
The march began after James Meredith, the first Black student to attend the University of Mississippi, was shot and wounded while walking from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, to challenge racism and fear.
Carmichael, then a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, urged activists to continue the march in Meredith’s honor.
Frustrated by years of violence against Black people and the limits of appeals for “freedom,” Carmichael told the crowd, “We been saying ‘freedom’ for six years. What we are going to start saying now is ‘Black Power.’”
The phrase became a defining call for self-determination, pride, and political power.
It reshaped activism across the country for generations to come.
Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.
https://aurn-news.simplecast.com/episodes/the-day-stokely-carmichael-changed-the-movement
