Black Power and the American Myth is a 1970 book by C. T. Vivian that analyzes the civil rights movement. Before writing the book, Vivian had been an activist, and a member of the Executive Staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), along with Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young, James Bevel and others. Vivian's access gave readers a first-hand account of the thoughts and motivations of the movement's leaders.
After its 1970 publication, Black Power and the American Myth became an Ebony Book Club selection and a bestseller.[1]
Vivian credits King with successfully shifting white Americans' perceptions of the need for equal rights for African-Americans:
Vivian also describes the process through which the movement's leaders identified important goals and strategies: