 Stokely Carmichael is a troubling icon of America's civil rights years. His black power call became a national Rorschach test. Whereas many blacks viewed it as righteous, many whites saw violent foreboding. Newspapers brooded over Carmichael's words, quickly forming a consensus that judged the slogan to be at best intemperate and at worst a blatant call for anti-white violence and reverse racism.