African American Heritage

Stokely Carmichael (June 29, 1941 - November 15, 1998)

 

Stokely Carmichael was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad. He grew up in New York City, New York and later attended Howard University in 1960. That same year, Carmichael joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). While working with SNCC, he established the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, the symbolic forerunner to the Black Panther Party.


In 1966, Carmichael succeeded John Lewis as the chairman of SNCC. Under his leadership, SNCC began to alienate its white members as the organization became more militant and focused on black power rather than nonviolent reform. After leaving SNCC, Carmichael changed his name to Kwame Ture and worked towards developing the All African Peoples Revolutionary Party in 1968. In 1969, Ture relocated from the United States to Conakry, Guinea, where he remained until his death from prostate cancer in 1998. 


The Black Power records at the National Archives pertaining to Stokely Carmichael include FBI case files, a CIA monitored television broadcast, and the Agency’s activities among the Ford Administration. The records also include files from the Nixon Administration, audio recordings and a motion picture of Carmichael’s time spent in prison.

Records Relating to Stokely Carmichael

Web Highlights

Rediscovering Black History: 'Turn This Town Out': Stokely Carmichael, Black Power, and the March Against Fear

Record Group 59: Department of State

Central Foreign Policy Files, 1973-1979  National Archives Identifier 654098

Selected Records

Electronic Telegrams, 1973 (NAID 654231)

Electronic Telegrams, 1974 (NAID 654242)

P-Reel Document Index Entries, 1976 (NAID 1663647)

The electronic records in this series can be searched online via the  Access to Archival Databases (AAD) system. The telegrams on AAD include only unclassified, unrestricted files which have been determined to be of permanent historical value. Please search for 'Stokely Carmichael'.

Record Group 60: Department of Justice (DOJ)

Class 146-1 (Communism) Alienated Enclosures, 1961-1978  National Archives Identifier 20761630

Selected Records

146-1-51-19654 Stokely Carmichael

Record Group 65: Federal Bureau of Investigation

Classification 44 (Civil Rights) Case Files

Please use the Find function in your browser to search for 'Stokely Carmichael'

Classification 157 (Civil Unrest) Case Files

Please use the Find function in your browser to search for 'Stokely Carmichael'

RG 129: Bureau of Prisons

Motion Picture Films Relating to Federal Correctional Institutions and Criminal Justice, 1935 - ca. 1985  National Archives Identifier 37456

Selected Records

America in the 20th Century: Black Protest (NAID 567597)

RG 263: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Monitored Television Broadcasts, 1968 National Archives Identifier 46292

Selected Records

FILM OF STOKELY CARMICHAEL AND SINGER BARBARA DANE AND UNIDENTIFIED COMPANION AT LASO CONFERENCE (NAID 46293)

FILM OF STOKLEY CARMICHAEL AT HAVANA PRESS CONFERENCE ON 2 AUG 1968; HAVANA LIBRE HOTEL PRESS CONFERENCE OF 6 AUG 1968; LETTER TO CHE SHOWN ON CUBAN TV OF 2 AUG 1968 (NAID 46294)

"STOKELY CARMICHAEL HABANA LIBRE HOTEL PRESS CONFERENCE(VIDEOTAPE) VERSION OF FO 149) AND SPECIAL LASO PLENARY SESSION TO PRESENT CAPTURED ANTIREVOLUTIONARIES ALLEGEDLY EMPLOYED BY CIA WITH THE EQUIPMENT, ETC. (NAID 46296)

RG 306: US Information Agency

Production Library Audio Recordings, 1999-2005 National Archives Identifier 118159

Selected Records

Stokely Carmichael News Conference (NAID 130047)

Stokely Carmichael, SNCC Chairman Press Conference (NAID 126830)

GRF-0054: Gerald R. Ford Congressional Papers

Speeches, 1948-1973 National Archives Identifier 642080

Finding Aid: Press Secretary and Speech File Sub-Group

Selected Records

American Poultry and Hatchery Federation, St. Louis, MO, July 20, 1967 (NAID 4526045)Availableonline.

Commencement Address, Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, IA, May 26, 1968 (NAID 4526130)Availableonline.

Jewish Men's Club, East Rockaway, NY, February 28, 1968 (NAID 4526093)Availableonline.

Russell Sage College Convocation, December 5, 1967 (NAID 4526071)Availableonline.

Wagner College, Staten Island, NY, May 13, 1968 (Speech not delivered) (NAID 4526122)Availableonline.

GRF-0180: Commission on CIA Activities within the US Files (Ford)

Harold Baker's and James Weidner's Files, 1975 National Archives Identifier 647517

Finding Aid: U.S. President's Commission on CIA Activities within the United States

Selected Records

B-W (VII), Operation Chaos, Weidner Request of March 25, 1975, Stokely Carmichael (NAID 1536504)

B-W (VII-T) Operation Chaos, Baker Request of April 24, 1975, Stokely Carmichael (NAID 1536505)

HICK: John R. Hickman Audio Collection

Sound Recordings of Historical Radio Broadcasts, World War II Government Documentaries, and Popular Radio Shows, 1906-1993  National Archives Identifier 1487762

Selected Records

Interview with Stokely Carmichael (NAID 2842902)

RN-SMOF: White House Staff Member and Office Files (Nixon)

John W. Dean III's Files, 1970-1973  National Archives Identifier 922108

Selected Records

Subject File: Demonstrations and Domestic Intelligence, 1968-73: Project Alpha/Stokley Charmichael [Stokely Carmichael] ( NAID 2123166)

 

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