Black Power Ideologies

An Essay in African American Political Thought

John Mccartney

• Publisher: Temple University Press
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN: 9781566391450, 9780877229148
• eBook ISBN: 9781439903773
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: African American Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

In a systematic survey of the manifestations and meaning of Black Power in America, John McCartney analyzes the ideology of the Black Power Movement in the 1960s and places it in the context of both African-American and Western political thought. He demonstrates, though an exploration of historic antecedents, how the Black Power versus black mainstream competition of the sixties was not unique in American history. Tracing the evolution of black social and political movements from the 18th century to the present, the author focuses on the ideas and actions of the leaders of each major approach.

Starting with the colonization efforts of the Pan-Negro Nationalist movement in the 18th century, McCartney contrasts the work of Bishop Turner with the opposing integrationist views of Frederick Douglass and his followers. McCartney examines the politics of accommodation espoused by Booker T. Washington; W.E.B. Du Bois's opposition to this apolitical stance; the formation of the NAACP, the Urban League, and other integrationist organizations; and Marcus Garvey's reawakening of the separatist ideal in the early 20th century. Focusing on the intense legal activity of the NAACP from the 1930s to the 1960s, McCartney gives extensive treatment to the moral and political leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his challenge from the Black Power Movement in 1966.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter I: The Background to Black Power
• Chapter II: Black Nationalist Thought in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
• Chapter III: The Abolitionist Movement
• Chapter IV: The Politics of Accommodation
• Chapter V: Marcus Garvey and the Resurgence of Black Nationalism
• Chapter VI: Martin Luther King and Moralism
• Chapter VII: What Is Black Power?
• Chapter VIII: The Counter-Communalists: A Comparison and Analysis
• Chapter IX: The Black Power Pluralists: A Comparison and Analysis
• Chapter X: The Black Power Separatists: A Comparison and Analysis
• Chapter XI: A Critical Assessment of the Black Power Ideologies
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index