ng or good education, integration meant leaving a black
neighborhood and finding these things in white institutions. "This
reinforces, among both black and white," he argued, "the idea that
'white' is automatically better and 'black' is by definition inferior.
This is why integration is a subterfuge for the maintenance or white
supremacy." If blacks could gain control of their own neighborhoods,
each community, black and white, could define its own goals and be
responsible for achieving its own standards. When both societies had
built the kind of communities they wanted, meaningful integration between
equal, though different, communities could occur, Carmichael contended.
Integration, instead of being a one-way street, would be reciprocal.

Carmichael believed the existing political structure must be changed in
order to overcome racism:

"'Political modernization' includes many things, but we mean by it three
major concepts: (1) questioning old values and institutions of the
society; (2) searching for new and different forms of political structure
to solve political and economic problems; and (3) broadening the base of
political participation to include more people in the decision-making
process."

Black power meant two things: the end of shame and humiliation, and black
community control. Blacks should be proud of being black, and they should
be proud of their African past. Instead of using skin lighteners and hair
straighteners, black power advocates began adopting a style of dress with
an African flavor. To Carmichael there was still one other aspect to the
black power philosophy. It should accentuate human values and human
dignity. The prevailing system, besides being racist, put a primary
emphasis on property rather than on humanity. Carmichael wanted the
black-controlled community to act for the benefit of all blacks and not
merely for the advantage of a handful of exploiting black capitalists.

What he advocated was the development of black cooperatives, not the
building of black capitalism. He referred to this new political system as
"political modernization." Its key was community, cooperative control of
all the important things in people's lives. In addition to building a
more participatory kind of democratic government, and developing
cooperative enterprises, it meant that people renting houses or
apartments must have rights and protection. He encouraged consumers and
apartment dwellers to develop organi