Black Power

American  

noun

(sometimes lowercase)

1. the political and economic power of Black Americans in solidarity, especially such power used for achieving social equality.

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Black Power British  

noun

1. a social, economic, and political movement of Black people, esp in the US, to obtain equality with White people

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Black Power Cultural  

1. A movement that grew out of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Black Power calls for independent development of political and social institutions for black people and emphasizes pride in black culture. In varying degrees, Black Power advocates called for the exclusion of whites from black civil rights organizations. Stokely Carmichael, one of the leaders of the movement and the head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), stated: “I am not going to beg the white man for anything I deserve. I'm going to take it.”

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Etymology

Origin of Black Power

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Example Sentences

These patterns aligned with the rise of the Black Power movement and its influence on cultural expression.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 30, 2025

The Jets and Sharks seemed pretty pointless after a presidential assassination, a war, Black Power and nascent feminism.

From Salon • Aug. 9, 2025

When they raise a fist in the air, it looks less like the defiant punch of striking workers or a Black Power salute than like the stance of a straphanger, pendant and insecure.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2024

He abandoned the philosophy of non-violence to become a Black Power pioneer.

From Slate • Dec. 22, 2023

If this naming revolution was indeed inspired by Black Power, it would be one of the movement’s most enduring remnants.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt