Stokeley Carmichael, a civil rights leader, chairman, was born on November 15, 1941, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. At age seven, he moved to New York City with his parents and four sisters. Carmichael studied philosophy at Howard University, where he was a leader of the Non-Violent Action Group (NAG). Carmichael brought NAG into affiliation with
SNCC. Carmichael took part in the SNCC Freedom Rides of 1961. He was arrested, when he reached Mississippi. Carmichael later became a field organizer for SNCC and led voter registration drives in Mississippi. In 1966, he was elected chairman of SNCC and soon after raised the cry of "black power." Some were alarmed by the concept of black power and many were critical of Carmichael's new approach. Carmichael became less pacifist in his outlook and joined the Black Panthers. He changed his name to Kwame Ture and later moved to Africa, adopting the cause of pan-Africanism. He wanted an Africa united as a single socialist state.