About black Power Chronicles
Introduction
The SNCC Legacy Project created the Black Power Chronicles (BPC) in 2015 to help fill the informational void that exists in our historical record about the impact of the Black Power Movement in local communities throughout America. Two specific aims of the Black Power Chronicles (BPC) are:
- Identify and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the call for Black Power on June 16, 1966, and thereby establish it as a significant historic event that deserves to be remembered and studied by people throughout the world;
- Undertake a grassroots organizing campaign to uncover the stories and insights about the Black Power era (1966-1998) as told by Black Power veterans who worked in their communities to build new programs and institutions across the country.
BPC has spent the last five years collecting historic testimony and building an archive that will lift up the Black Power era from its historical obscurity, where the powers of the FBI and mainstream media attempted to keep its messages and lessons covered up under the ashes of white supremacy and institutional racism.
Over the past five years, with help from Black Power veterans, community activists, and our institutional collaborators, BPC has created new historical data from original narratives written specifically for this project. We have conducted oral histories; collected images, documents, and artifacts about the Black Power era; and produced public programs to tell the Black Power story. We believe that this story must be told “from the ground up” by those who were instrumental in building the political, educational, cultural, and economic programs that defined the Black Power era.
A. The Black Power 50th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremonies, 2016
The first BPC program focused on organizing a multi-city commemoration of the call for Black Power. BPC volunteers reached out to Black Power veterans in several cities where Black Power had made a significant impact. Altogether, seven cities—Atlanta, Ga.; Oakland, Calif., Dallas, Tex., Houston, Tex., San Antonio, Tex., Jackson, Miss., and Washington, D.C.—responded and held special ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of Black Power.
Atlanta, Georgia First BPC Committee , Nov. 2015
Texas Black Power Committee, 2016
Particular recognition is due to the Texas Black Power Chronicles Committee, which is composed of Black Power veterans from Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Committee members collaborated to produced historic documentation and public programming with current social justice organizers to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Black Power in each of the three Texas cities mentioned. Special thanks to the SHAPE Community Center/Nia Becnel Family Center in Houston and SHAPE Director DeLoyd Parker for hosting the Black Power Chronicles public events.
Dallas, Texas Black Power Committee, 2016
