After reading the rest of Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton's Black Power and then reflecting about what we talked about in class on Tuesday, I still cannot put my finger on an exact definition of "black power." I do believe, though, that "black power" cannot be achieved without a change in the political structure of America. When reading the fourth chapter of this book, the idea that people in power control the law is brought up. I, almost, one hundred percent agree with this. The quote from the book that stood out to me was "Law is the agent of those in political power; it is the product of those powerful enough to define right and wrong and to have that definition legitimized by "law." This is not to say that "might makes right," but it is to say that Might makes Law." This quote shows how political leaders shape the law. Those in power get to make the laws, whether they are just or not. I still believe this today. I believe we have gotten better as a country in the fact that there are more people of color holding positions of power, but we are honestly not that much better. Institutional racism is still a problem, and will most likely always be a problem under the inherently white political structure that we have. I think that I speak for a good amount of people when I say that the system is the problem and has been the problem throughout history. The thing is, in order for the system to be changed white people would need to also accept that the system is flawed, but I do not see this happening in the near future. This is the reason why I believe that "black power" will not and cannot be achieved anytime soon.

Comments

  1. Adam MorrisApril 23, 2019 at 8:53 AM

    I agree with everything that Nick speaks about in this blog post. I still am not quite sure of what the full definition of "black power" is, and I also believe that the system is the soul problem of institutional racism. It can not be changed unless white leaders agree to make a difference. In the book, "Black Power", Ture and Hamilton state, "the colonial white power structure has been a formidable foe. It has perpetuated a vicious circle- the poverty cycle- in which the black communities are denied good jobs, and therefore stuck with a low income and therefore unable to obtain a good education with which to obtain a good job" (pg. 22). They also state that "the colonial power structure clamped a boot of oppression on the neck of the black people and then, ironically, said "they are not ready for freedom."" (pg.23). In these two quotes, I think that they give other examples of how the system is making the law. They are not allowing black people to have an equal opportunity of an education or jobs, which will continue to prove that there is an unjust system. While I also agree on the statement that Nick made about how the country is doing a little bit of a better job of there being more black people in the position of power, I still do not think that "black power" can be achieved until there is a bigger change. Unless the people involved with the system accept that the things that they do are unjust, there will be no such thing as black power. Therefore, I do not see this change happening in the near future, as Nick said. That is why I do not think that "black power" can be achieved in America anytime soon or even at all.

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