Black nationalism was the nonviolent civil right and black power movement. it was a type of nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race. They want to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. The purpose with the organization was to promote African unity, international cooperation, and economic development, with empowerment of the blacks communitie. Nationalism also means that a black man should be in control of the politics of his own community in his own society. Malcolm xs request, was to move from civil rights to human rights and he believed that all people of African descent had common interests and should work together in the struggle for their freedom.

Sort nationalisme var den ikke-voldelige borgerlige ret og sort magtbevægelse. det var en type nationalisme, der tilslutter sig troen på, at sorte mennesker er en race. De ønsker at udvikle og opretholde en sort race og national identitet. Formålet med organisationen var at fremme afrikansk enhed, internationalt samarbejde og økonomisk udvikling med bemyndigelse af de sorte samfund. Nationalisme betyder også, at en sort mand skal have kontrol over sit eget samfunds politik i sit eget samfund. Malcolm xs anmodning skulle bevæge sig fra borgerrettigheder til menneskerettigheder, og han mente, at alle mennesker af afrikansk herkomst havde fælles interesser og skulle arbejde sammen i kampen for deres frihed.