|Black Power and Direct Action In 1966, Stokley Carmichael, a
leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,
introduced the slogan Black Power at a rally in Mississippi,
calling on black people to unite, to recognize their heritage,
and to build a sense of community. He also defined Black Power
as a call for African Americans to define their own goals, lead
their own organizations, and reject the racist institutions and
values of American society. While the press and the more
conservative civil rights organizations rejected and condemned
Black Power as black racism, many young people in the civil
rights movement adopted the slogan as a rallying cry for more
aggressive action in the liberation struggle and as a rejection
of nonviolent resistance. The Black Power movement was most
evident in Kentucky in the black arts and culture movement and
in educational efforts to teach young people about their African
heritage. Other efforts included a campaign to drive out drug
dealers, who had begun to move int