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Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)
Black Power leader & Pan-Africanist
The activist who gave a movement two words that changed everything: Black Power.
The rise
Trinidad-born and Harlem-raised, Carmichael was a Freedom Rider and SNCC organizer who grew impatient with the slow pace and dangers of nonviolent protest.
What they did
As SNCC chairman in 1966 he popularized the slogan 'Black Power', briefly aligned with the Black Panthers, then moved to Guinea, took the name Kwame Ture, and devoted his life to Pan-Africanism.
The full picture
His militant turn and separatist rhetoric split the civil-rights coalition, and critics said the Black Power slogan alienated allies even as it energized youth.
Why it matters
Carmichael reframed the struggle around Black pride, self-determination and African unity, inspiring a generation.
“We been saying freedom for six years and we ain't got nothin'. What we gonna start saying now is Black Power!”