1968: The Global Revolutions

In the late 1960s, and through the 1970s, civil rights and black power organizing continued to develop. Consciousness-raising meetings and discussions occurred on campuses around the country, while others worked to secure justice for American political prisoners. These movements came to espouse an internationalist vision, looking especially to post-colonial Africa as a site for inspiration and successful models. First observed on May 25, 1971, African Liberation Day was an international effort to promote post-colonial self-determination for African nations. For black Americans the annual event was an opportunity to protest the U.S. government’s continued collaboration in colonial repression in countries such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. Supported by Amiri Baraka and Stokely Carmichael, the Black Nationalist and Pan-African movements emerged out of the Black Power activism of the 1960s. The African Liberation Support Committee offered nationwide backing to the demonstrations, organizing major protest marches across the country in 1977, from Oakland to Washington, D.C.