• 1966
• June
• politics
• Greenwood
• Mississippi
• Lyndon B. Johnson

Greenwood, Mississippi - Stokely Carmichael said 'We want Black Power.' This was the first use of the term in a political movement.

The phrase was used for many years before Carmichael. Richard Wright wrote a book called 'Black Power' in 1954. On May 29, 1966, Congressman Adam Clayton Powell used the phrase, in a speech, at Harvard.

Carmichael was part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He was elected chairman, May, 1966. His election showed that integration of SNCC, with whites, was not wanted.

To make the point plain, Carmichael said 'Black Power' at a voting rights rally. He said this in Mississippi, where a number of civil rights workers had been killed, by whites.

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