The Day Stokely Carmichael Changed the Movement

On this day in 1966, Stokely Carmichael changed the course of the civil rights movement with two words: “Black Power.” Speaking during the March Against Fear in Mississippi after James Meredith was shot, Carmichael called for a new approach centered on self-determination, pride and political power. The phrase would become one of the most influential rallying cries in modern American history.