Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster”
Bayard Rustin feared that Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination would bring about a deepening sense of isolation on the part of black activists. Since Stokely Carmichael had transformed the rallying cry of militants from “Freedom Now” into “Black Power” two years earlier, the Civil Rights movement...
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Institut Pluridisciplinaire pour les Etudes sur l'Amérique Latine
2014-12-01
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Series: | L'Ordinaire des Amériques |
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Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/orda/1624 |
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doaj-a09e69cf045942a584de228d732553c92020-11-24T23:59:02ZengInstitut Pluridisciplinaire pour les Etudes sur l'Amérique LatineL'Ordinaire des Amériques2273-00952014-12-0121710.4000/orda.1624Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster”Lisa Veroni-PaccherBayard Rustin feared that Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination would bring about a deepening sense of isolation on the part of black activists. Since Stokely Carmichael had transformed the rallying cry of militants from “Freedom Now” into “Black Power” two years earlier, the Civil Rights movement had been slowly dying. The year 1968 thus supposedly marked a new era, when the Black Power movement emerged. Unfortunately, the latter seemed too overtly radical and disorganized and, to Rustin’s despair, its proponents recommended that Blacks first “close ranks” in order to gain political leverage. Both movements are consequently viewed as antagonistic and distinctive ones and, in Peniel Joseph’s words, the Black Power movement appears as the Civil Rights movement’s “evil, ruthless twin”. By focusing on the largely ignored 1968 Philadelphia Black Power Conference, this study demonstrates that the Black Power movement has had a profound influence on black electoral politics. It should thus be recognized as a force that led the actors of the larger movement for black liberation to rethink both their goals and strategies.http://journals.openedition.org/orda/1624Black Powerblack nationalismBayard Rustin1968 Philadelphia Black Power ConferenceAmerican politics |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Lisa Veroni-Paccher |
spellingShingle |
Lisa Veroni-Paccher Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster” L'Ordinaire des Amériques Black Power black nationalism Bayard Rustin 1968 Philadelphia Black Power Conference American politics |
author_facet |
Lisa Veroni-Paccher |
author_sort |
Lisa Veroni-Paccher |
title |
Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster” |
title_short |
Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster” |
title_full |
Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster” |
title_fullStr |
Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster” |
title_full_unstemmed |
Black Power 1968: “To Stumble is Not to Fall, but to Go Forward Faster” |
title_sort |
black power 1968: “to stumble is not to fall, but to go forward faster” |
publisher |
Institut Pluridisciplinaire pour les Etudes sur l'Amérique Latine |
series |
L'Ordinaire des Amériques |
issn |
2273-0095 |
publishDate |
2014-12-01 |
description |
Bayard Rustin feared that Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination would bring about a deepening sense of isolation on the part of black activists. Since Stokely Carmichael had transformed the rallying cry of militants from “Freedom Now” into “Black Power” two years earlier, the Civil Rights movement had been slowly dying. The year 1968 thus supposedly marked a new era, when the Black Power movement emerged. Unfortunately, the latter seemed too overtly radical and disorganized and, to Rustin’s despair, its proponents recommended that Blacks first “close ranks” in order to gain political leverage. Both movements are consequently viewed as antagonistic and distinctive ones and, in Peniel Joseph’s words, the Black Power movement appears as the Civil Rights movement’s “evil, ruthless twin”. By focusing on the largely ignored 1968 Philadelphia Black Power Conference, this study demonstrates that the Black Power movement has had a profound influence on black electoral politics. It should thus be recognized as a force that led the actors of the larger movement for black liberation to rethink both their goals and strategies. |
topic |
Black Power black nationalism Bayard Rustin 1968 Philadelphia Black Power Conference American politics |
url |
http://journals.openedition.org/orda/1624 |
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AT lisaveronipaccher blackpower1968tostumbleisnottofallbuttogoforwardfaster |
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1725448443817623552 |