How far was the Black Power movement the main reason for the progress made by the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s?
The Black Power movement was an undeniably controversial and radical branch of the larger civil rights movement that emerged the latter part of the 1960s. The numerous leaders and organizations who adopted the banner of “black power” supported a notably more aggressive and violent approach to tackling racism against blacks in American society, in contrast to the largely peaceful methods employed by their fellow activists such as Martin Luther King. Despite their idealistic aims to help the African- American population through enhancement of their social and economic position in American society, their provocative tactics proved to harm the civil rights movement by fragmenting it and turning away supporters. However, it could argued that Black Power had some positive effects, mainly easing the economic and social woes of black people and instilling them with a sense of racial pride and integrity.
A particularly strong case can be argued saying that Black Power inadvertently hindered the progress of full civil rights for black people in America; one of the key reasons was the mass alienation of white people and moderates from the civil rights through the aggressive nature and actions of the movment. What was once a cause that many white Americans had felt obliged to support in order to fulfil America’s constitutional rights to its citizens and improve their nation’s reputation in the world had slowly morphed into a radical, hate-filled ideology. Organizations such as the Nation of Islam, which gained prominence in the documentary The Hate that Hate Produced, promoted black separatist and nationalist ideologies along with an outlandish and bizarre form of the religion of Islam that inevitably led many white Christians to be repelled by black civil rights. Its leader, Elijah Muhammad was famous for his disdain for white people, terming them...