CNN - Former Black Panther Stokely Carmichael dies at 57

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LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Former Black Panther Party member and civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael died Sunday in Conakry, Guinea, where he had lived for the past 33 years, a spokesman said.

Dedon Kamathi said Carmichael died of cancer.

Also known as Kwame Ture, Carmichael rose to national prominence in the 1960s as an organizer of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, participating in sit-ins, freedom rides and numerous demonstrations of non-violent civil disobedience.

Carmichael co-authored the book "Black Power: The Politics of Black Liberation," which popularized the slogan used throughout civil rights demonstrations.

Born Stokely Carmichael on June 29, 1941, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, he later emigrated to the United States. He earned a degree from Howard University in 1964 and received an honorary doctorate from Shaw University in 1971.

In 1960, Carmichael formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. The SNCC was a student desegregation and civil rights group recognized for organizing massive voter registration drives in the 1960s.

In 1967, Carmichael became honorary prime minister of the militant Black Panther Party. He called for unity among the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, NAACP, and Nation of Islam so they could work together in their struggle for civil rights and equality.

Carmichael and his then wife, famed South African singer Miriam Makeba, moved to Guinea in 1969. He founded the All African People Revolutionary Party and became an aide to Guinea's Prime Minister, Ahmed Sekou Ture. Carmichael promoted economic and political partnerships between Africa and civil rights institutions in America.

He is survived by his mother and two sons.

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