By Michael Eugene Johnson
There is a dangerous myth circulating in some corners of public discourse: that the Black Power struggle ended decades ago. That it peaked in the 1960s and early 1970s with fiery rhetoric, militant activism and iconic leaders and then quietly disappeared into history as equality was “achieved.”
This notion is convenient for those who prefer tidy narratives, but it is fundamentally false. The struggle did not end. It did not vanish. It evolved—and it is very much alive today.
To understand why the Black Power struggle is still necessary, we must first recognize what it was never meant to be: a fleeting moment in time. Black Power was never simply a slogan; it was a proclamation of self-determination, dignity and unflinching demand for justice. It was an existential refusal to be marginalized, an assertion that Black lives deserve not only survival but also power: political, economic, cultural and social.
What has changed since the heyday of the Black Power era is how the struggle is waged and where it manifests. The battles that once filled newspapers with images of marches, rallies and clashes with law enforcement have shifted into arenas less visible but no less consequential.
The movement has adapted, matured and found new avenues for resistance.
In the early 21st century, a pervasive narrative emerged: America had become “post-racial.” The election of Barack Obama in 2008 was heralded by some as proof that racial barriers had been broken, that America had finally moved beyond its legacy of racism. But electing a single Black president did not dismantle centuries of systemic oppression; at best, it exposed how deeply entrenched those systems remain.
The myth of post-racialism served the interests of institutions eager to declare victory and move on. But for millions of Black Americans, lived experience tells a far different story: police violence, economic inequality, educational disparities and political disenfranchisement remain daily realities. To claim the struggle is over because legal segregation has been abolished is to ignore the enduring structures that limit opportunity and constrain lives.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Black Power arose as a response to the limitations of the Civil Rights Movement. While civil rights leaders fought to end legal discrimination and secure basic liberties, Black Power activists argued that political rights alone were insufficient without economic independence, community control and cultural pride. They demanded justice on multiple fronts—education, housing, employment, policing—and insisted that Black people control their own institutions.
After the 1970s, visible organizations like the Black Panther Party faced intense suppression from the government and media. COINTELPRO, led by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and other programs sought to destabilize these movements and internal divisions sometimes weakened them. But the ideas they championed did not die. They went underground, into cultural production, local organizing and community resilience, laying the foundation for modern activism.The struggle transformed. It did not vanish.
Today’s movements, from Black Lives Matter to voter mobilization campaigns and support for Black-owned businesses, carry the same spirit and goals—justice, empowerment and dignity—adapted to contemporary realities. The digital age has reshaped how movements mobilize, communicate and sustain momentum.
Black Lives Matter, which surged in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and countless others, exemplifies this evolution. Unlike the centralized organizations of the past, BLM operates as a decentralized, networked movement, relying on social media to amplify voices and document injustice in real time.
This transformation is strategic.
Leaderless, networked movements are harder to suppress and more agile in responding to incidents of racial injustice. Videos of police violence streamed globally have sparked protests across cities, countries and continents, demonstrating that activism can transcend geography and traditional power structures. The struggle has found new tools, but its essence remains: demanding accountability, visibility and justice for Black lives.
Black Power was never only about protest. It was also about building institutions to sustain Black communities. The Panthers’ free breakfast programs, community health clinics and cooperative enterprises were early experiments in self-sufficiency. Economic power was understood as inseparable from political and social freedom.
Today, the struggle continues in new forms. Black entrepreneurship is on the rise. Tech innovators, creatives and small business owners are claiming space in industries that once excluded them. Initiatives supporting Black-owned businesses, equitable lending and wealth-building reflect a modern Black Power strategy. Yet barriers remain.
The racial wealth gap persists, access to capital is limited and discriminatory practices in housing and finance continue to reproduce inequality. Economic empowerment is still an unfinished fight. Political participation was central to the original Black Power Movement and remains a core battlefield. But the terrain has shifted. Today, the struggle is not only about winning elections; it is about safeguarding voting rights, combating gerrymandering and ensuring that political power translates into meaningful policy. Restrictive voting laws, purges of voter rolls and limitations on early voting disproportionately affect Black communities.
These measures are not incidental—they are calculated strategies to reduce political influence.
The modern fight for representation and enfranchisement is a continuation of the Black Power demand for agency and autonomy. Moreover, more Black candidates are running for office at every level of government, challenging entrenched power structures and advocating for policies that reflect the lived experiences of their communities. This is not symbolic. It is trans-formative.
Political power remains a cornerstone of the ongoing struggle. Black Power was also a cultural movement. It emphasized pride, identity and the reclaiming of narratives that had been distorted or erased. Music, literature, art and fashion became tools of empowerment and community building.
Today, cultural influence remains a critical front in the struggle. Hip-hop, Afrofuturism, Black cinema and literature assert identity, challenge stereotypes and shape collective consciousness. Culture is not peripheral—it is power. By telling their own stories, Black creators expand possibilities and inspire future generations to envision a society in which Black lives and experiences are fully recognized and valued.
Despite progress, structural violence continues to affect Black communities disproportionately. Police brutality, mass incarceration, unemployment, poverty, health disparities and environmental racism are not anomalies—they are the predictable outcomes of systems built over centuries to favor some lives over others. To claim that the Black Power struggle has ended is to deny these realities. It is to render invisible the resilience, courage and activism that define Black life. It is to replace vigilance with complacency and to mistake progress for completion.
True victory in the Black Power struggle would mean equality in opportunity, justice in policing, political representation that delivers policy outcomes, access to capital, quality education, healthcare and safe communities.
We are not there. Until these conditions exist, the struggle continues. Yet, the fight is far from hopeless. The persistence of activism, the rise of Black entrepreneurship, the reclamation of culture and the increasing presence of Black voices in politics are evidence of enduring strength.
The struggle is no longer confined to marches or protests—it thrives in ballots cast, businesses launched, voices raised and communities strengthened. The Black Power Movement was never a relic of history. It was—and is—a living, evolving and continuing demand for justice, dignity and self-determination. Its methods have changed, its platforms have diversified, but its goals remain: economic empowerment, political influence, cultural affirmation and the eradication of systemic oppression.
Those who declare the struggle “over” misread both history and the present. Complacency is the true threat. The fight continues—in every act of resistance, every policy challenge, every Black-owned business launched, every cultural narrative reclaimed. The movement is adaptive, resilient and profoundly alive.
The struggle today may not always occupy front-page headlines in the same way it did in 1968, but it is every bit as consequential. It is waged not only in protest but in strategy, in politics, in business and in culture. Its heartbeat can be found in communities that refuse to surrender to inequality, in leaders who demand accountability and in ordinary citizens who refuse to accept injustice as inevitable.
The Black Power struggle is not a chapter in a history book. It is not a memory to be nostalgically recalled. It is a living, breathing force demanding the justice that has been promised but not yet delivered. To suggest otherwise is to misunderstand the resilience, creativity and determination of a people who have refused to accept second-class citizenship for centuries.
The fight is ongoing. It is evolving. And it will continue—through ballots, businesses, culture and communities—until true equality is achieved. The struggle for Black Power is not over. It has simply entered a new era, and it remains urgent, vital and impossible to ignore. And let it be known that I, Michael Eugene Johnson, the 11th child born to Albert and Keevie Johnsons, remain part of the struggle till death removes me from it.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the AFRO.