blackpowerandcommunitychange: anassessment jacqueline s. … liberation disk... · americanhigher...

Black Power and Community Change: An Assessment

Jacqueline S. Mithun

Journal ofBlack Studies, Volume 7, Issue 3 (Mar., 1977), 263-280 .

Your use of the JSTOR database indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use . A copy ofJSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use is available at http://wwwjstor.org/about/terms.html, by contacting [email protected], or by calling JSTOR at (888)388-3574, (734)998-9101 or (FAX) (734)998-9113 . No partof a JSTOR transmission may be copied, downloaded, stored, further transmitted, transferred, distributed, altered, orotherwise used, in any form or by any means, except : (1) one stored electronic and one paper copy of any articlesolely for your personal, non-commercial use, or (2) with prior written permission of JSTOR and the publisher ofthe article or other text.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen orprinted page of such transmission .

Journal ofBlack Studies is published by Sage Publications, Inc . . Please contact the publisher for furtherpermissions regarding the use of this work . Publisher contact information may be obtained athttp://wwwjstor.org/journals/sage .html .

Journal ofBlack Studies@1977 Sage Publications, Inc .

STOR

JSTOR and the JSTOR logo are trademarks of JSTOR, and are Registered in the U.S . Patent and Trademark Office .For more information on JSTOR contact [email protected] .

@2001 JSTOR

http://wwwjstor.org/Thu Aug 213:30:41 2001

BLACK POWER AND COMMUNITY CHANGEAn Assessment

JACQUELINE S. MITHUNJohns Hopkins University

From the march on Washington in 1963 to what becameknown as the events of the "triple K" (the Kennedy before,the King in between, and the Kennedy after), the civil rightsmovement arrived at a new synthesis in the black Americanstruggle for survival . The march represented the culminationof a decade of freedom rides, sit-ins, boycotts, and otherprotest maneuvers which were extended into the arena ofAmerican higher education and foreign affairs . The unity of apacifist nonviolent approach for integration disintegratedinto quarreling factions in the years 1963 to 1968 only toreemerge in a movement which placed increased emphasis onBlack Power.

The concept of Black Power is not new. It had itspredecessor in the slave uprisings, the Garveyite movement ofthe 1920s, the numerous back-to-Africa movements, and inMalcolm X and the Black Muslims. Its current usage, whichemerged among the youth and was popularized by StokelyCarmichael and members of SNAA, arose as a challenge tothe old accommodating black leadership and white liberalswho had not achieved any significant change since World WarII . Integration had become synomous with "tokenism ."

Black Power, as an instrument for change in any area,basically means change by andfor blacks . Integration was nolonger the means by which to attain freedom, although itJOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES, Vol . 7 No . 3, March 1977©1977 Sage Publications, Inc.

[2631

[2641 JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 1977

could become an end product of a successful black powermovement . Neither was segregation of whites by blacks thegoal, except for a few militants . Black Power was to beachieved by and for blacks, which meant that whites wouldparticipate as equals or perhaps in a passive subordinate rolewhere their help was offered.

Perhaps one of the best statements on the essence of BlackPower is that which was unanimously endorsed by theNational Committee of Negro Churchmen on July 31, 1966.The statement was a recognition of the historical distortionthat blacks had had to meet "conscienceless power" with"powerless conscience" in their striving for justice andfreedom and equal opportunity. To participate fully inAmerican society and to achieve "honest interracial inter-action" meant that blacks must find a new self image,recognize their resources and their potential resources, andbuild upon them for organized political and economicstrength to "gain power sufficient to change this nation'ssense of what is now important and what must be done now"(New York Times, July 31, 1966) . As the churchmen seeloquently stated, it was to be a "move from the politics ofphilanthropy to the politics of metropolitan developmentfor equal opportunity" (New York Times, July 31, 1966) .What was implicit but never explicitly stated by the

churchmen was the recognition that no other ethnic group inAmerica ever "made it" without power which was firstachieved by group solidarity . No other group was integrated .They achieved success and desegregation simultaneously andthen blended into the mainstream if they chose to do so. Theblack man has never had the latter choice, even if he achievedsuccess as an individual . The American dilemma, the dis-crepancy between the ideal and reality, makes it very hard,particularly for whites, to admit that power determines to agreat extent "what is."

Although there have been many negative connotationsattached to Black Power, as to any power, what are some of

Mithun / BLACK POWER [265]

its positive aspects? What does the concept suggest about thefuture direction of the black struggle and future U.S . racerelations? What have been some of its immediate implica-tions, and what are some of the possible ensuing results of itsdirect application as a vehicle for social change at thecommunity and national level? Although no one scholar canattempt to answer any one of these questions with even amoderate degree of certainty, it is perhaps possible to make amodest attempt by drawing upon the body of knowledgewhich has accumulated in cultural and applied anthropology .

SOME POSITIVE ASPECTSOF BLACK POWER

Black Power has come to mean many things to manypeople, including self-development, pride, solidarity, andmost important, an awakening self-awareness and aggressiveassertion of the black man's fundamental sense of dignity,integrity, and-worth. Power, as Stokely Carmichael and otherblack leaders see it, is a "redemptive force" (Carmichael,1966), a means by which "to determine and to translate goalsinto a desired social reality" (Clark, 1965 : 199) . Power is notnecessarily brutal and violent, but it can be . It depends onhow powerful the forces of resistance are in a changingsituation .Change may be unplanned or planned ; the latter may be

evolutionary and revolutionary . Change, whether planned orunplanned, may also come from within or without theentities undergoing change . The impetus for the Black Powermovement came from within the black community and wasprimarily unplanned . One might say it was a generationalkind of entity . In the wake of riots across the country, theyouth, with nothing to lose, began to say increasingly moreabout change here and now, and less about nonviolence.'What they did say was more and more about the positive

[26 6] JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 1977

aspects of being all black . The youth challenged their parentsand the prerogative of the leadership of the old civil rightsorganizations and engaged in outright civil disobedience.

Although their initial enthusiastic appeal fell on deaf ears,they could not be ignored . They were saying, "Look baby,black is beautiful ." They were proud of their skin, theircolor, their hair-worn in natural style, their African heritage,and their forebears, the Afro-Americans who were nevermentioned in the history books . Nathan Wright describedvery beautifully his reflections on this new image .

Not long ago I looked a black man in the face . His complexionwas darker than mine. His lips were thicker than mine. His nosewas flatter and his hair had a tighter kink . I might add that he wasa black man's man in that he stood up for black pride throughblack self-development and Black Power. And as I looked thatblack man in the face, I could only smile, for I realized that I waslooking at one of the handsomest men on earth! [Clark, 1965 :64]

The youth were determined to have it now and to make iton their own . No longer were they going to rely on "whitey ."The strategy, as Stokley Carmichael (1966 : 639) put it, wasthat "To do this we shall have to struggle for the right tocreate our own terms through which to define ourselves andour relationship to society and to have these terms recog-nized."

Like a prairie fire, the pride and sheer boldness of theseBlack Power advocates swept up most of the youth .Although their elders and many of the civil rights organiza-tions were by no means completely won over, the youth haddemanded a reassessment of where blacks stood in thecommunity . The Black Power movement forced people toadapt to changing norms and to reevaluate them forthemselves.

If the white community, paralyzed with fear, did notunderstand what was happening, the black did . A new


consensus and solidarity slowly evolved around the conceptof Black Power, enabling blacks to "get it together" for thefirst time in a decade . Blacks emerged in committees, incommunity organizations, and on panel discussions-makingalmost identical statements, whether the speaker was LeRoiJones, Nathan Wright, Kenneth Clark, Alvin Pouissant,Sidney Poitier, Floyd McKissick, or Stokley Carmichael . Asimilarity of themes produced a unanimous agreement onwhat the black experience meant to blacks, which could notbe matched by whites .

Perhaps a principle tenet of applied anthropology is thatany change introduced in a society must be accepted withinthe cultural framework and understanding of its people if it isto be successful . The change must fit an expressed need,desire, or want on the part of the people and must beunderstood . Preferably, local initiative, leadership, and guid-ance should direct the change with minimal outside assistanceor intervention, which is generally distrusted or suspect.

Seen from the this vantage point, Black Power served avery useful function in a number of areas of communitydevelopment. Indigenous leadership knows not only thesubcultural language of the ghetto, but also the strengths andweaknesses of the community's primary resource-its people .Black leaders who are respected in the community are muchmore likely to succeed in gaining adherents for a project,finding recruits, implementing the program, and overseeing itto its conclusion .

Further, it appears that the likelihood of continued successor future programs is highly dependent on the manner inwhich an initial change is introduced in the culture . Self-helprequires training and the utilization of skills and knowledgewhich will remain with the community. Self-help also maymean less time and money spent in committee and research-oriented activities . The indigenous population is betterequipped than the outsider to define the problem and thesituation and the barriers which must be overcome. As


Nathan Wright (1967 : 26), the Plans Committee Chairman ofthe 1967 National Conference on Black Power, said, "abun-dant goodwill is no substitute for creative insight born ofsensitivity and racial self-interest."

Carmichael, Wright, Baldwin, Cleaver, and hundreds ofother blacks have stated that blacks do not want to beintegrated into a totalitarian society, a burning house whichspends billions of dollars overseas in unjust wars to bringso-called democracy to "darker brethern." What Black Poweradvocates have been saying is that it is up to the black manout of self-interest to institute change, to wipe out destruc-tion, and to move toward a more constructive society whichoffers the fullest potential development for each individualand, thus, for society. Is this ideology to become alien, orwill it become a challenge to America to achieve in deed itshighest expressed belief of full opportunity and equality?From this abstract level, Black Power has resulted in thegreatest cultural change American society has ever under-gone .

For some observers, the riots overshadowed the positiveand creative aspects of Black Power. Other observers do notneed to look hard to see the "redemptive force" of BlackPower already at work in the American city, in education, inthe economy, and in politics for what many blacks and somewhites view as the "redemption of American life" (Wright,1967 : 66) .

EDUCATION

THE DIRECT APPLICATION OF BLACK POWER :SOME IMMEDIATE IMPLICATIONS

Of perhaps more immediate concern to blacks and thenation is the question, what tangible immediate results canBlack Power produce? To take but one area, education, there


have already been some perceptible changes . Pride in beingblack has resulted in more self-assertion and independence .Blacks are insisting on quality education for their children .Local communities, particularly in New York City (Harlemand Brooklyn), have demanded a direct role in the publicschools. Such control affects the disbursement of annualbudgets, curriculum design, teachers, equipment, the schoolboards, and every facet of education .A number of communities have also instituted ghetto

colleges or universities of the streets, where any individualmay pursue any subject of interest to him on a degree ornondegree basis. Many of the latter programs are aimedprimarily at upgrading skills and rehabilitating older citizensfor a more constructive role in society. Such programs teachpeople according to their particular economic and socialneeds .

Core established a basic program in Baltimore which meetssome of the above-stated goals, although it is not officiallyknown as a "college." Their program includes education in allfacets of urban life : police-citizen relations, legal rights, loanapplication procedures, economy marketing, welfare applica-tions, child care, and so on .

Nathan Wright, in Black Power and Urban Unrest (1967:33), stated that "Creation of community colleges today is themost widespread, urgent and immediate urban educationalnecessity ." He made a very sound recommendation for aCollegiate Extension Act of 1968 which would provide theurban poor today with the same opportunities and facilitiesthat were provided to the white rural communities by theMorrill Act of 1862 . Wright (1967: 34-37) suggested twomajor innovative approaches in this concept : (1) that theindigenous population play the major role in planning andadministration, and (2) that the program be directed pri-marily not to those who are seeking further education but to"those who, for the public good . . . must be induced into theeducational process." Unlike a traditional two-year or four-

[ 27 0] JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 1977

year college, "a community college comes to you" (Wright,1967 : 38). The creation of colleges such as Medgar EvarsCollege of the City University of New York are examples of astep in this direction .The changes which the black youth at Howard University

demanded under the auspices of Black Power provided adramatic precedent for black communities elsewhere in theUnited States . Howard, the oldest established institution ofblack higher learning in the United States, which has beensupported by federal grants, had higher salaries for whitefaculty until 1968. The curriculum and programs of theuniversity were oriented to the dominant culture's needs toprepare the student for the white world, which he wouldpresumably enter after graduation . Although Howard Univer-sity had one of the most reputable African programs in theUnited States, it offered only one course in black Americanhistory. The students shut down the university in protest anddemanded that there be changes across the board to makeblack education relevant to black culture and needs, here andnow.On the preschool level, there are what I would call survival

schools, for lack of a more positive depiction . These schools,using a reverse indoctrination, are preparing the youngestmembers of the black subculture to think "black andbeautiful" so that they can withstand the greater societalpressures later in life without buckling under when theyencounter whites with prejudicial attitudes who tell themthat they cannot learn or that they are not suited forparticular professional careers . Such an approach may wellinstill in each of these children an energy reserve which willgive them the power in future years to control their owndestiny . The survival schools are but one example of power inthe making (CBS, July 23, 1968) .

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Mithun / BLACK POWER [27 1]

It is on the economic level that Black Power confronts itsmost awesome task . It is here that the greater society's helpmust be enlisted . Although there are at present a number ofblack savings and loan associations, insurance companies, andsmall businesses, they are but infinitesimal in the Americaneconomy, and they do not begin to meet the needs of theblack community. Black Power advocates recognize the needfor massive organization for self-development . Such organiza-tion of necessity would have to overlap all other segments ofsociety. Community control means control over business,education, the police, public works, and public utilities ifthere is to be self-determination . As Stokely Carmichael said,"The Power must be that of a community, and emanate fromthere" (Franklin and Store, 1967 : 177) .One such plan, entitled Community Organization for

Development or C.O.D . (Wright, 1967 : 107-110), called forthe organization of the white power elite with blacks in thetri-city area of Newark, Patterson, and Jersey City . A part ofthe plan emphasized what benefits black development mighthave for whites for the ultimate security and welfare of theirfamilies and the nation . The plan considered high-levelemployment as urgent and perhaps more important than thetraditional low-level makeshift jobs . C.O.D . is not programoriented ; rather it seeks "to coordinate existing organiza-tions, spawn dialogue, and to foster the growth of organiza-tion where none exists ." The organization considers perma-nence to be an essential need; thus, few leaders receive pay.For "ideally any community organization should representthe zeal of its own constituents of a depth and determinationfor which one cannot pay" (Wright, 1967 : 110) .

Such plans to succeed require allegiance, perserverance,and some prospects for achievement. Consensus on BlackPower has succeeded where all other past efforts, primarilywhite, have failed . "The need for psychological equality isthe reason why SNCC today believes that blacks must


organize in the black community. Only black people canconvey the revolutionary idea that black people are able todo things themselves. Only they can help create in thecommunity an aroused and continuing black consciousnessthat will provide the basis for political strength" (Franklinand Store, 1967 : 180) .

In the past, there was little prospect for achievement. Forexample, take the white stereotype of "Negroes and Cadil-lacs ." All stereotypes have perhaps some basic validity forthose who hold them, even those they may be based on amisinterpretation of the underlying factors. Whites for yearscould not understand why "Negroes" bought Cadillacs whenthey could ill-afford them ; but to some blacks this was theonly outward sign of "success" which they could attain inthe dominant white material culture, since they could notbuy better homes, belong to clubs, and so on . Such means ofspending were not considered a poor investment while blackswere emulating whites . No white could tell a black not toachieve the "American dream." Now, however, if a FloydMcKissick or Black Power advocate tells blacks, "If you don'thave the dollar, if you don't have the economic strength,you've got to stop buying Cadillacs and expensive cars andshopping at Saks Fifth Avenue . . . because we've got to gainpolitical and economic strength" (Wright, 1967), there is apossibility that blacks may listen .

Black Power offers the black man another alternative .Black values and black culture may foster motivating factorsdifferent from those of the dominant culture . The emphasisis on community development . Blacks have had to protecteach other to survive ; no black from the days of the slaveuprisings ever betrayed another black. All too often, whitesin their striving for power and success find it necessary to pitone man against another and manipulate other human beingsto their own advantage, purpose, and gain (Clark, 1965 :235) .

From the time when blacks were introduced into Americaas slaves, they were divested of most of their culturaltraditions . As mere property, they had no possessions of theirown. Thus, it is not difficult to understand why, although anindividual black might enjoy success, such "token" positionswere looked upon as just a stroke of luck and were neversecure . Each black could look back to where he had comefrom, where most of the other blacks were, and to where hemight return tomorrow if his benefactors became displeasedwith him. The black was not a part of the kinship structureof white society, which wielded the social, political, andeconomic power.

Black Power in the realm of economics is a direct effort torevamp the traditional social structure of American institu-tions, "to move from the politics of philanthropy to thepolitics of metropolitan development," "to build amongblack people . . . a society in which the spirit of communityand humanistic love prevail" (Franklin and Store, 1967 :181) . Such changes in the traditional power structure haveevolved as more groups of blacks with some semblance ofpower banded together "to seek executive positions incorporations, bishoprics, deanships of cathedrals, super-intendencies of schools, and high-management positions inbanks, stores, investment houses, legal firms, civic andgovernment agencies, and factories" (Wright, 1967 : 43) .

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

Mithun / BLACK POWER [2731

In the political arena, less is known about the actualworkings of Black Power because there was no preestablishedbase from which to launch a platform. Nevertheless, voterregistration in the early 1960s was a move toward recognitionof the latent possibilities of Black Power. If all blacks wereallowed to vote and run candidates for office in the south,they could win most elections . Even without a majority,blacks have attained new positions of influence in local and

[274] JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 1977

national elections throughout the country in the last decade .Any politician knows that in a national election the blackvote of 10% of the electorate may well determine whether hewins or loses .

There is very little written on the internal structure oroperation of the black political machine which has onlyrecently emerged in the United States . Of immediate concernin the caucuses has been what role and what voice blackswere going to have in the National Democratic Conventions.Will blacks continue to play the "Tom" role to secure theirown patronage positions in the local political structure, orwill they present a unified stand on some more major issuesconcerning blacks? In the past, the white political machinesaid to blacks, if you go along with us on these issues, we willgive you the following. This implied : if you don't, you getnothing. Black Power advocates suggested new tactics . Theywere saying, you do the following, and we will go along withyou. It would seem that such a political approach, albeit thesame old game, has drastically changed the payoff matricesfor the players . It need not be a zero-sum game; it could wellresemble the traditional prisoner's dilemma.

Black politicians, with few exceptions (Powell, Dawson,Jones) until recently, had not moved to top political poststhrough the political machine . Top appointments went toblacks who competed in the white world and achievedsuccess in other areas which gained them further respect andpower. Black politicians even blocked prospective blackappointees because they had not served a political apprentice-ship . These politicians did not seem to recognize that primaryconcern with their constituents, rather than civil rights ormatters of general concern, would never carry them where itdid their white counterparts . The power structure viewedthese black politicians "as reflection of the ghetto itself, asmen without potential for other larger jobs" (Clark, 1965 :158) .

As blacks gain more economic strongholds, they will gainmore political control. Caucuses serve the same function forblacks that the political boss did for ethnic groups in anearlier day. Black caucuses enable black politicians to achieveneeded group solidarity to overcome the pitfalls of the past,when, "unable to compete successfully for power or patron-age," they tended "to compete among themselves for theavailable crumbs ; and this struggle, in turn," made them"more vulnerable to manipulation by real political leader-ship" (Clark, 1965 : 156) .

THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF BLACK POWER:SOME POSSIBLE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE

BLACK STRUGGLE AND U.S . RACE RELATIONS

With an increasing consensus on Black Power, what aresome of the possible implications for community changeevolving from some of the major areas discussed above? Atpresent, there seem to be three major interrelated areas whichcould have a tremendous impact on the black struggle andfuture U.S . race relations : self-development, urban develop-ment, and political development.

SELF-DEVELOPMENT


Self-development or development of a new self-imagewould appear to be most important for the future . AsKrishnamerti has stressed in his lectures, the real revolution is"Changing Ourselves" (WNED-TV, 1968) . A successfulchange agent must be capable of change himself. Theadvocates of Black Power have recognized the importance ofidentity and a sense of worth to the individual . Many blacksin the past had negative images of themselves bordering onself-hatred, rejection, and alienation . Emphasis on positiveaspects of the black experience is a part of the struggle for


survival, but it has also provided a necessary inner emancipa-tion from the dominant culture . The current Black Powerwave of expression, coupled with supportive educational,economic, and political programs, have been the only ways toachieve the respect and self-realization so necessary for astrong identity .

"Identity change under planned efforts includes theachievement of desire for change, revision of one's selfthrough new experiences, commitment to change in self-identity, and recognition of new identities and roles"(Clinard, 1966 : 301) . Many blacks have already undergonethis experience . Change is not a one-way street, however.

It may well be that whites will have to go through asomewhat similar process if there is to be meaningfulinterracial interaction. Certainly there will be deep-seatedresistance ; but, on the other hand, whites may begin torespond more affirmatively (less prejudicially) to the newfound identity of blacks . Mutual insights could be gained . AsEric Erikson notes, "a more inclusive identity is a develop-ment by which two groups who previously had come todepend on each other's negative identities (by living in atraditional situation of mutual enmity or in a symbioticaccommodation to one-sided exploitation) join their identi-ties in such a way that new potentials are activated in both"(Daedalus, 1966 : 166) .

Kenneth Clark (1965 : 166), in commenting on this newrole that blacks have demanded of whites, notes that

It is abnormal in our society for whites to be in a passive orsubordinate or even equal role with Negroes, and extremelyawkward for many of them to make the necessary psychologicalreadjustment .The present question is whether the relationship between thewhite liberal and the Negro, who have needed each other in thepast, will survive the test of transformation of roles from thedependence of the advantaged and disadvantaged upon each otherto a common commitment to mutually desired goals of justiceand social good .


The above development, of course, is dependent on the firstcondition for change-desire on the part of whites in thelarger community.

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

If there were a sufficient shift in white attitudes andbehavior in the next decade, then there could be unsurpasseddevelopment in urban affairs . As mentioned previously, thereis not sufficient capital in the black community for them totackle the multifaceted problems alone. It is conceivable thatmuch could be accomplished through the determined effortsof Black Power advocates in such areas as education, welfare,community clean-up, health, and securing additional employ-ment opportunities . However, the massive assault needed torestructure the inner city to meet the future needs of denselypopulated metropolitan areas is going to require tremendoussupport from foundations, private industry, and governmentat all levels . It is a major task, but not impossible .

With increasing emphasis on urban development, the civilrights organizations may become overshadowed by localefforts and the springing up of participatory organizations,which would provide the major impetus for innovation incommunity development. This would not necessarily bedetrimental to the civil rights movement or local government .In this age of spreading megalopolis, there could be someadvantages to be gained from the decentralization of somegovernment functions . Participatory organizations could alsoserve a beneficial function in easing the transition period forthe civil rights organizations if they chose to move intofull-fledged political roles.

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

If Black Power becomes a movement from the "politics ofphilanthropy" to the "politics of metropolitan development


for equal opportunity," there again could be unprecedentedchange in American society. The youth and the activists whofostered Black Power also formed political parties. The BlackPanther Party in Oakland, California formed by HueyNewton, a former SNCC worker, was one of the first. PaulHutchings, the leader of the newly structured SNCC, an-nounced plans to form a national all-black political party(New York Times, July 21, 1968).

Although there is consensus on Black Power, there still isnot unanimous consensus-nor is there agreement on themost effective means to achieve it . There is considerablelikelihood that the activists may again lead the way to newsolutions for civil rights . Economic development and politicaldevelopment are essential if Black Power is to compete froma position of strength, not weakness .

In the words of the youth, blacks want control of theirown lives : "black people so strong they can do their ownthing-whatever their thing is-we're tired of white mistakesin our lives ." Some blacks are also tired of what theyconsider to be the mistakes of the "civil rights aristocracy"over the last several decades in dealing with the needs of theblack elite to the detriment of the masses (New York Times,July 21, 1968).

Regardless of black differences in the struggle for poweramong themselves and within the larger society, and regard-less of the shifting matrices of this seemingly endless"prisoner's dilemma," "the name of the game remains thesame-get this man off our backs" (New York Times, July21, 1968). The man is the white man, white America, thedominant culture which has always determined the status ofblack Americans.

Black Power, this generational kind of entity, seems to bemore than a crisis of youth. "The crisis of youth is also thecrisis of a generation and of the ideological soundness of itssociety" (Daedalus, 1966 : 160) . If this is plausible, then itmay be that American society is facing an "identity crisis,"

an "inescapable turning point," for better or for worse."Power, or at least the power to choose, is vitally related toidentity" (Daedalus, 1966 : 146) .The future implications for Black Power could well depend

on the other player's choice . White America by its actionscan determine the name of the game or whether the game iseven played . Black America "can become either concentra-tion camps with a bitter and volatile population whose onlypower is to destroy, or organized and powerful communitiesable to make constructive contributions to the total society"(Carmichael, 1966 : 146) . "And I'm telling you," there maybe another alternative-"if we don't have it you aren't goingto have it either" (Fanny Lou Hammer, CBS, July 30, 1968) .

REFERENCES


BARBOUR, F . B . [ed .] (1968) The Black Power Revolt . Boston : ExtendingHorizons Books.

CARMICHAEL, S . (1966) "Toward black liberation ." Massachusetts Rev. 5 .CLARK, K . (1965) Dark Ghetto : Dilemmas of Social Power. New York: Harper

& Row .CLEAVER, E . (1968) Soul On Ice . New York : McGraw-Hill .CLINARD, M . B . (1966) Slums and Community Development : Experiments in

Self-Help. New York : Free Press.COLEMAN, J . S . (1957) Community Conflict . New York : Free Press .CBS (1968) Special series entitled "Of Black America." Summer .DAEDALUS (1967) Color and Race . (Spring) . New York : American Academy of

Arts and Sciences .--- (1966) The American Negro . Vol . 2 (Winter) New York : American

Academy of Arts and Science .--- (1965) The American Negro . Vol . 1 (Fall) . New York : American Academy

of Arts and Sciences .FRANKLIN, J . H . and 1 . STORE (1967) The Negro in Twentieth Century

America . New York : Vintage .MALINOWSKI, B . (1945) The Dynamics of Culture Change . New Haven, Conn . :

Yale Univ. Press .MEAD, M. (1953) Cultural Patterns and Technical Change . New York : UNESCO .PETTIGREW, T. F . (1964) A Profile of the Negro American. New York : D . Van

Nostrand .Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (1968) New

York : Bantam.

[280) JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES / MARCH 1977

RUSTIN, B . (1966) "The Watts `Manifesto' and the McCone Report." Com-mentary 41 (March) .

WNED-TV/17 . (1968) Krishnamerti lectures .WRIGHT, N. (1967) Black Power and Urban Unrest . New York : Hawthorne .WOLFGANG, M. E . fed .] (1966) "Patterns of violence ." Annals of the American

Academy of Political and Social Science .

Jacqueline S. Mithun, who has taught at Sangamon State University andSUNY College at Old Westbury, is currently a Fellow on a NationalEndowment for the Humanities grant at Johns Hopkins for the academicyear 1976-1977.

blackpowerandcommunitychange: anassessment jacqueline s. … liberation disk... · americanhigher...

Documents