The Civil Rights and Black Power Movements were considered for decades as distinct periods in the African American Freedom Struggle. This vision built on elements such as the methods, the leaders and the geography of events. This article uses the theory of local studies to support another intellectual approach to the Movement. Local studies explore the period from a bottom-up perspective and highlights the similarities between the Civil Rights and Black Power Movements through their scope and the mosaic of people involved.

Black Power Movement, Civil Rights Movement, Local studies, Race-based oppression, Resilience