In the 1960s, when we shouted, “Black Power!” we did the “Black,” but we didn’t get the “Power.” We did the Black by wearing natural hairstyles and afros; abandoning European names and changing our names to African names; calling ourselves African or Black; creating our own holidays (Kwanzaa and Black History Month); demanding Black history be taught on college campuses; wearing dashikis and adopting African culture; demanding and getting more Black political representation in the electoral arena and much more. But we didn’t get the Power! Power is the ability to control the political and economic destiny of our Black communities. Power is the ability to control the land, means of production, cultural and social institutions that govern our Black communities. That means the police, the hospitals, the schools, the businesses, etc. We didn’t gain that power in the 1960s, and we don’t have that power today!
Historically, Black leadership has presented various positions to define what constitutes “real” Black Power.
On May 29, 1966, during a commencement address to the graduates at Howard University, the great Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. presented this from his speech to the students as a definition of Black power: “Our life must be purposed to implement human rights:
The right to be secure in one’s person from the excessive abuses of the state and its law enforcement officials. The right to freedom of choice of a job to feed one’s family. The right to freedom of mobility of residence. The right to the finest education [the] social order can provide.
And most importantly the right to share fully the governing councils of the State as equal members of the body politic.
“To demand these God-given rights is to seek Black power, what I call audacious power, the power to build Black institutions of splendid achievement.” That was Adam, as he was affectionately called!
In 1967, Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely Carmichael) and Charles V. Hamilton in their book “Black Power: The Politics of Liberation” had this to say about Black Power: “The adoption of the concept of Black power is one of the most legitimate and healthy developments in American politics and race relations in our time… It is a call for Black people in this country to unite, to recognize their heritage, to build a sense of community. It is a call for Black people to begin to define their own goals, to lead their own organizations and to support those organizations. It is a call to reject the racist institutions and values of this society… Black Power therefore calls for Black people to consolidate behind their own so that they can bargain from a position of strength.”
They further state this about Black power.
“It does not mean merely putting Black faces into office. Black visibility is not Black Power. Most of the Black politicians around the country today are not examples of Black Power. The power must be that of a community, and emanate from there… The Black politicians must stop being representatives of ‘downtown’ machines, whatever the cost might be in terms of lost patronage and holiday handouts.”
My, my, my how things remain the same!
It is important to note that the idea of Black Power didn’t start in the 1960s. The African uprisings and rebellions on the southern plantations and the northern urban rebellions in the 1900s were forms of Black Power. The honorable Marcus Garvey’s movement in the 1920s was a profound form of Black Power and Richard Wright wrote a book titled “Black Power” in the 1950s. And, of course, we are eternally indebted to the concept of Black Power articulated and practiced by the Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam.
As we move ever so swiftly through the 21st century, the attack on Black political power is coming in the form of gutting the voting rights act, reapportionment, gentrification and a potential census undercount. In some states they utilize voter identification and not allowing convicted felons to vote in order to suppress the Black vote.
There are over 2 million Black people (I use the term “Black,” but we are an “African” people) living in New York City—the largest Black population in any city in America. It is time for us to unite our political and economic power for the upliftment of our oppressed Black communities. Therefore, we will be organizing a “Black Power Unity Conference” for the New Year with the theme, “The blood that binds us is thicker than the waters that divide us.”
We must build an independent Black radical political movement that is more proactive than re-active, and that organizes around issues, but more importantly organizes for power. Especially local political seats of power i.e., City Council seats and State Assembly seats.
This independent Black radical political movement must unite our political and voting power with our multi-billion dollar consumer power for the betterment of our communities and for radically changing this racist parasitic predatory capitalist system in the 21st century.
Black Power is not only needed for reforms, but also for the much needed revolution in America. Reforms must advance the revolution, because revolution is the solution! That’s Black Power!
It is also time for us to truly honor “Black Solidarity Day” and its founder Dr. Carlos Russell on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019 by staying home from work or school, supporting Black businesses and attending a “Black Solidarity Day” event!
Black Power! Stay Woke! Forward Ever!
New York State Assemblyman Charles Barron represents Brooklyn’s Assembly District 60. He is a longtime activist, former Black Panther, and founding member of the East New York based organization Operation P.O.W.E.R (People Organizing and Working for Empowerment and Respect).