By the mid-sixties, the civil rights movement showed signs of change as a younger, more radical base emerged. This week in 1966, Stokely Carmichael, later known as Kwame Ture, assumed the role of chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and shifted the group from its earlier ideology of nonviolence and racial inclusion.
Carmichael, then 24, was elected to the post on May 14, 1966 although some records show the date as May 16. John Lewis served as the SNCC chairman prior to his ouster by vote, and Carmichael immediately began changing things to placate younger activists. Carmichael, a member of the SNCC since 1964 was finding that becoming its leader was a challenging responsibility. Two weeks into his tenure, he was severely tested by tragedy.
James Meredith, the first Black student admitted into the University of Mississippi, organized the June 6 “March Against Fear” to protest racial injustice. The 19-day march began in Memphis, Tennessee, ending in Jackson, Mississippi. On the second day of the march, Meredith was shot by a White sniper. (READ MORE)(SOURCE: BLACKAMERICAWEB.COM)