Stokeley
Carmichael was born on November 15, 1941, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.
At age seven, he moved to New York City with his parents and four
sisters. He attended the prestigious Bronx High School of Science
where he excelled academically. After high school, Carmichael
studied philosophy at Howard University.
At Howard,
Carmichael was the leader of the Non-Violent Action Group (NAG).
The group was a militant student protest organization that fought
against racism in Washington, D.C. and surrounding areas. Carmichael
brought NAG into affiliation with SNCC.
Carmichael
took part in the SNCC Freedom Rides of 1961. When he reached Mississippi
he was arrested (the first of his nearly three dozen arrests).
Carmichael later became a field organizer for SNCC and led voter
registration drives in Mississippi. In 1966, he was elected chairman
of SNCC and soon after raised the cry of "black power." Some were
alarmed by the concept of black power and many were critical of
Carmichael's new approach.
Carmichael
became less pacifist in his outlook and joined the Black Panthers.
He changed his name to Kwame Ture and later moved to Africa, adopting
the cause of pan-Africanism. He wanted an Africa united as a single
socialist state.
Carmichael
died in Guinea on November 16, 1998 of prostate cancer. He was
57 years old.
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