Where Do We Go From Here

The March Against Fear was a demonstration in 1966 during the civil rights movement, initially organized by James Meredith, a Southern civil rights activist. Meredith intended to walk from Memphis, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi, to protest racism and the continued voting discrimination in the South following the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Meredith did not intend to attract media attention and invited only a few Black activists to join him. During the march, Meredith was shot by James Norvell, a white gunman. Meredith survived the injury. Following the incident, several civil rights organizations, including the SCLC and the SNCC, decided to continue the march in Meredith’s honor, making it one of the largest marches of the civil rights movement. The march instigated debate among civil rights leaders and activists regarding the strategies and goals of the movement. The event was crucial for the political growth of the movement. During the march, Stokely Carmichael, as the new chairman of the SNCC, introduced the idea of Black power in his speech.

The term Black power has various origins. Stokely Carmichael used the term as a rallying slogan in his speech during the March Against Fear in 1966. More than integration, Black power emphasized self-determination and racial pride for Black people in their culture and identity.