Black Power

The Civil Rights movement led to breakthroughs with actions like the Voting Rights Act and Civil Rights Act in the 1960s but some leaders in the movement were increasingly frustrated by slow progress. In June 1966, movement leader Stokely Carmichael made a speech that would add another dimension to the Civil Rights era. In the speech he calls not for freedom or equality but “Black Power.” The Black Power movement would have a tremendous impact on African American political and student leaders for the rest of the 1960's and into the 1970's. On Illinois's campus this movement would be a factor in the actions of campus groups such as the Black Students Association and Black Power themes would play a role in the African American response to Project 500.