After centuries of oppression that began with slavery and then de -volved into the lynchings, segregation, and the enormous gap between the rich and poor, a brave group of people rose up and said enough is enough. I focus on the radical elements of the Civil Rights Movement. The rhetoric of such people as Stokely Carmichael, Malcolm X, and Huey Newton are what this website and my paper are devoted to. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for Dr. King, and in many ways he is a revolutionary. Not many people in my immediate memory come to mind that practiced the doctrine of non-violence with the discipline that Dr. King did.
People hear their radical rhetoric and are, basically, frightened.
T his group of leaders was impatient and disillusioned with American politics. They felt as if the African-American was looked on merely as a political chip during the time period. Black power meant black political power, which they did not have. It held true especially in the deep South, in which many counties of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi were populated mostly by African-Americans, but governed by racist whites. T he radical element of the Movement encompasses a great deal more people than which I have already stated.