Black Power

noun

(sometimes lowercase)

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

Black Power

noun

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

Black Power

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.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of Black Power¹

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70

Example Sentences

Negroes pushed forward and made progress, increasingly advocating for Black power, which encouraged racial pride and pushed for more dramatic action to achieve equality, rather than just the incremental change toward equality that many Negro leaders espoused.

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

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“Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983” celebrated more than 60 groundbreaking Black artists whose works embraced the beauty of African American culture while holding a mirror up to the civil rights injustices plaguing the country.

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Similar tactics were used against the Ku Klux Klan, Students for a Democratic Society, and Black Power groups.

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

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