Black Nationalism

Black Nationalism

The best definition of black nationalism is that it advocated group consciousness among black people and the belief that they, independent of whites, can achieve liberation by the creation and maintenance of black institutions to serve the best interests of black people. During the 1960's, blacks needs were ignored and dismissed by the government and whites. However by uniting, African-Americans could now prosper, achieve and excel economically, politically and socially.

Along with black nationalism come the terms territorial separatism and/or racial exclusitivity. The distinction is made between intergrationist like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Marcus Garvey. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. galvanized racial solidarity in grassroot struggles. Separatists such as Marcus Garvey advocated also spoke of racial solidarity but in the context of self-determination through separation from white society.

Unsuprisingly, the Nation of Islam is in the strictest meaning of a nationalist organization. The NOI demanded land in North America or Africa. This demand of land was for the development of a black-nation state. In the meantime, the NOI built a veritable nation with a network of businesses that included farms, a cannery, apartments, supermarkets, schools, and other staples of nationhood. With these businesses, products and profits were kept within the black community.

Source: Ogbar, Jeffrey. Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004

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