Seemingly pitched into a state of disarray, conflict, and debt by the mid 1960s, CORE and the local Black liberation movement embraced Black Power, drawing inspiration from a variety of new sources of energy, and direction. Rod Bush explains, “the call for Black Power was based precisely on Black people’s awareness that the civil rights movement did not address the key issues that would result in genuine empowerment. What was needed was not more ‘civil rights,’ but human rights. The problem facing the African American people was not a ‘Negro’ problem or an American problem, but a human problem that could not be solved merely by the attainment of civil rights; it required a long range strategy for independence and self determination.”1 CORE’s embrace of Black Power primarily took the form of promoting the development and growth of African American institutions and business enterprises, or Black Capitalism, as the necessary avenue to Black liberation. As Black Power was endorsed by the national organization, local affiliates such as St. Louis similarly promoted Black Power but infused the concept with meaning that addressed unique local circumstances. In addition to endorsing Black Capitalism, St. Louis CORE cooperated with other organizations throughout the wider region.