Kwame Ture coined the phrase 'Black Power' during a 1966 speech in Mississippi — a phrase that transformed the entire direction of the Black freedom movement in America and around the world.
The Story of Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael)
Born in Trinidad in 1941 and raised in the United States, Stokely Carmichael became one of the most effective and fearless organizers of the civil rights movement. As a student, he participated in Freedom Rides, voter registration drives in the most dangerous parts of Mississippi and Alabama, and was arrested over 25 times.
He became chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1966 — and it was during a march in Mississippi that year, after being arrested for the 27th time, that he gave the speech heard around the world. "We been saying 'Freedom' for six years and we ain't got nothing. What we gonna start saying now is 'Black Power!'" The crowd responded and a movement was named.
Black Power was not a slogan — it was a demand: that Black Americans build independent political and economic power rather than seek acceptance from white America. It shifted the entire conversation of the civil rights era and inspired movements from South Africa to Jamaica to France.
Carmichael moved to Guinea in 1969, where he worked with Kwame Nkrumah and Sékou Touré and dedicated himself to building Pan-African unity. He changed his name to Kwame Ture in honor of both men. He continued organizing and speaking until his death from prostate cancer in 1998, proclaiming until the end: "Ready for the revolution."
Color Kwame's Portrait
The Alphabet Book of Generals — Who Resisted White Supremacy and Won features a full-page coloring portrait of Kwame with a color guide and fun fact. Perfect for children ages 4–12 and Black history education.
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