Carmichael, Stokely (1941–1998)

STOKELY CARMICHAEL WILL be remembered for his role in the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Born in the Port of Spain, Trinidad, Carmichael moved [Page 61]to the United States in 1952 and attended high school in New York. He entered Howard University in 1960 and soon after joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a pioneering civil rights activist group infused with the principles of nonviolence.

In 1961, Carmichael became a member of the Freedom Riders, a group of black and white volunteers who sat next to each other as they traveled through the Deep South, challenging existing racial discrimination and practices. Local police were unwilling to protect these passengers and in several places they were beaten up by white mobs. During one such protest ...