Black Lives Matter vs Black Power

In class on Friday, December 2^nd, we were talking about the present. Professor McKinney explained that it was the exquisite burden of the historian to look back at the past in order to find a way forward. It is our job as historians to grapple with the complexity of the moment. When we split into small groups, we were told to question this moment and how it has happened before, and also what is different. Jamarr brought up a comparison between the Black Power movement and the Black Lives Matter movement. One was a movement for self-empowerment among African Americans. They were not inferior or lower and it was important for them to see themselves as strong and equal. The Black Lives Matters movement is about societal empowerment. African Americans want the rest of society to view and treat them as they treat themselves.
The parallels between these two movements are interesting to look into as well. When Black Power comes to mind for me, I always think of the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City. Two black athletes, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, won medals in the 200 meter race. When they are awarded on the podium, they both raise a black gloved fist to the air during the playing of the National Anthem. The two athletes used symbolism in the rest of their attire. Smith wore a black scarf to show his black pride, and Carlos wore his tracksuit unzipped for the blue collar workers and a bead necklace for the past Africans and African Americans that were the victims of useless violence. They also were shoeless to show the poverty of African Americans back home.

The obvious modern day equivalent of this is Colin Kaepernick, a football player for the San Francisco 49ers. At a preseason game this year, he decided to sit instead of standing for the National Anthem. He decided to abstain in order to protest the oppression and murder of black people in recent months and years while the police officers that killed them are walking around on paid leave. This injustice was enough for him to decide not to show pride in the flag. After conversations with veterans, he decided to switch from a seated position to a kneeling one in an attempt to show more respect for soldiers and veterans. This protest was supported by many people as his jersey became the best selling on the NFL website in the weeks that followed.