Public Response
From Social Justice Wiki
Carmichael’s rhetoric of Black Power immediately startled whites and was viewed warily by mainstream civil rights black leaders. The media published sensationalizing articles about “reverse racism” and the potential of violence brewing in the black community. Black Power was equated with black racism and a separatist movement, although this was not the root of Carmichael’s argument. White liberals were also alienated as they felt their role in the movement was being undermined and diminished. Although black civil rights leaders and workers understood that Black Power was neither a call to arms nor a cry for separatism, they saw the divisive way the term was being interpreted and disagreed with the idea that blacks should not ally with white organizations. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) that he had chaired severed ties with Carmichael in 1967. The FBI also tracked Carmichael for several years as a potential threat. However, the doctrine of Black Power rallied together a new generation of young blacks who were disillusioned with the stagnancy of the past movement and the incomplete effects of governmental laws.