The Emergence of Black Nationalism

Abstract

Black Nationalism emerged in the early nineteenth century because African Americans felt a disconnect between American idealsliberty,independence, democracy-and the everyday realities-slavery, racism, oppression-that they faced because of their skin color.Early proponents of Black Nationalism were often free blacks struggling to make their way in a white-dominated society. Booker T.Washington and others promoted an economic version of Black Nationalism as a solution to African Americans' plight. Writer andactivist, Marcus Garvey, integrated these three themes-political, economic, and cultural nationalism-into one ideology that rejectedwhite values and embraced blackness on its own terms (Grant, 2008). Stokely Carmichael defined the concept of Black Power as “acall for black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community” (Hamilton,1967). This meant“Black leadership for black goals” (Franklin, 1988). The Nation of Islam, or Black Muslims appealed their followers “for separationfrom whites rather than integration and for violence in return for violence (Carson, 1996). The key speaker for this movement wasMalcolm X, known for his critique of the non-violent methods of civil rights movement. It is a widely known fact that MartinLuther King before his death, had been extensively criticized by more militant African Americans, arguing that whiteswould never act in response to their nonviolent actions. In 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale organized the BlackPanther Party in Oakland, USA, inspired by Malcolm X's call to "freedom, by any means necessary”.Keywords: Black Nationalism, Marcus Garvey, Black Panthers, Black Power, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael