Black and Brown Power
Introduction
Welcome to the Black and Brown Power Movement. This exhibit directly compares the Black Nationalism/Power Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s with the Chicano Movement of the 1970s. After World War II, racial strains increased for a number of reasons, above them increasing immigration and migration. The result was the emergence of a multi-decade, multi-racial civil rights movement which then spawned the Black nationalism and Chicano movements. We chose six characteristics of each movement which has direct parallels with the other. Those categories, laid out below in the table of contents, are origins, ideology, cultural nationalism, women in the movement, and literature and art of the movement. Both movements share a history of legal and societal oppression, economic and cultural exclusion from “mainstream” American society, police brutality, and above all, a mission of pushing back against white supremacy. Furthermore, both movements were more radical departures from the moderate movements which came before them.
For the project, Janay Alexander and Katy Mayfield focused on researching the Black nationalism movement, while Eriq Colon specialized in the Chicano movement. Julia Connell took on the responsibility of putting together the group’s research on Omeka, and both Julia and Katy contributed to the Chicano research.
| Origins | Origins of the phrase "Black Power" | Origins of the phrase "Chicano" |
| Ideology | Ideology of La Raza | |
| Cultural Nationalism | Cultural Nationalism of Black Nationalism | Cultural Nationalism of Chicano Movement |
| Women of the Movement | Angela Davis and Assata Shakur | Women of the Chicano Movement |
| Art and Literature of the Movement | Black Panther Party Works | Works of Chicano Movement |
Conclusions
Black Nationalism and the Chicano Movement are ongoing movements that continues to shape how black and Chicano people understand their status in society. Although it has been confronted with much opposition, these movements gave people hope. It revitalized their spirits in moments when it seemed as if equality was unattainable. It forced the nation to confront the many underlying issues of racism and systematic oppression. It showed society that black people would no longer tolerate oppression, poor living conditions, anti-blackness, and a segregated racial order.
As Black Nationalism spread, the nation bore witness to black people no longer being afraid to fight back. Black power was more than just a rallying cry, it proclaimed pride in blackness, when black people were constantly being told that blackness was subordinate to whiteness. Although shaped as so by the media, Black Nationalism was not a movement to overthrow the government. It was a push to improve the government and enforce due process that all people should be protected equally under the law. Equality and freedom is not progressive nor will it be granted with time. The only way to strive toward a more egalitarian society is to fight for it. When the nation fought for freedom against the British government, it was called an American Revolution. When black people dared to speak for equality, it was called terrorism. The issue that most white people had with Black Nationalism was that for the first time, they would no longer be involved in the future outcome of the status of black people. Black people demanded their right to control their own lives, and the fear of having no power of Black Americans was too much to bear.
The Chicano Movement showed that people of Mexican descent were not going to put up with racial injustice any longer. Although chicanos provided the backbone of American agriculture, they were treated as second-class citizen, facing police brutality, sub-par and segregated educational systems, and other injustices. The Chicano Movement was about standing up for Meixcan-American rights and reclaiming their ethnic background as one of beautiful and rich history. Interweaving identity with other political struggles, the Chicano Movement fought for both a better political future and for the right to claim a past.
Black Nationalism Timeline
Chicano Movement Timeline
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