African-American Rights Movements: Black Power Movement

Overview and primary source collection from the Digital Public Library of America.

This subject guide highlights records of Federal agencies and collections that related to the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The selected records contain information on various organizations and records on several individuals.

The Black Panther Party was founded 50 years ago ― and still, many misconceptions about its revolutionary work run rampant. Here are a few important things you must know to better understand the Black Panthers.

Good overview on the Black Panther Party, from its origin to its lasting legacy.

The Black Panther Party was a complex political movement that was unfairly painted as a militant group who hated white people. Far from it, they were actually men and women trying to effect change in their community. Their history is one of the more interesting American stories, from the early stages of policing the police to their community service efforts to their inevitable fall.

Via Bowling Green State University, a collection of Black Panther Party primary sources including rules, beliefs, newspaper clippings, and more.

Half a century has passed since the Black Panthers first came on the scene. They were champions of equality to some -- dangerous subversives to others. The surviving Panthers, including one of its most prominent leaders, are still working to make their party's case.

African American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam who articulated concepts of race pride and black nationalism in the early 1960s. After his assassination, the widespread distribution of his life story made him an ideological hero, especially among black youth.

Before he became famous — and infamous — for calling on black power for black people, Stokely Carmichael was better known as a rising young community organizer in the civil rights movement.

In 1970, the civil rights activist found herself on the list after President Richard Nixon labeled her a “dangerous terrorist” for her involvement with a murder case, leading to a manhunt and an iconic mug shot highlighting her towering Afro.

A look at the life and times of the Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton, following his death in 1989.

Runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos formulated a plan about what they would do once they took the Olympic podium after winning medals in the 200-meter sprint. Pretty much everything the two did in their time on the world stage was carefully weighted and bore deep significance.