“black power’ as a movement has been most clearly defined in the usa. slavery in the us helped create the capital for the development of the us as the foremost capitalist power, and the blacks have subsequently been the most exploited sector of labour.”
“many blacks live in that supposedly great society at a level of existence comparable to blacks in the poorest section of the colonial world. the blacks in the us have no power. they have achieved prominence in a number of ways – they can sing, run, box, play baseball, etc.” 
“but they have no power. even in the fields where they excel, they are straws in the hands of whites. the entertainment world, the record-manufacturing business, sport as a commercial enterprise are all controlled by whites – blacks simply perform.”
“they have no power in the areas where they are overwhelming majorities, such as the city slums and certain parts of the southern united states, for the local governments and law-enforcement agencies are all white controlled.”
“this was not always so. for one brief period after the civil war in the 1860s, blacks in the usa held power. in that period (from 1865 to 1875) slavery had just ended, and the blacks were entitled to the vote as free citizens.”
“being in the majority in several parts of the southern united states, they elected a majority of their own black representatives and helped to rebuild the south, introducing advanced ideas such as education for all (blacks as well as whites, rich and poor).”
“the blacks did not rule the united states, but they were able to put forward their own viewpoints and to impose their will over the white, racist minority in several states. this is a concrete historical example of black power in the united states...”
“but the whites changed all that, and they have seen to it that such progress was never again achieved by blacks. w/massive white immigration, the blacks became a smaller minority within the united states as a whole & even in the south, so that a feeling of hopelessness grew up.”
—walter rodney
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