The book details Rodney's struggles and triumphs at trying to create a Black Power Movement in Jamaica in the 1960s, and explains the relevance of a Black Power Movement to the West Indies as follows: "Black Power can be seen as a movement and an ideology springing from the reality of oppression of black peoples by whites within the imperialist world as a whole.  Now we need to be specific in defining the West Indian scene and our own particular roles in the society. You and I have to decide whether we want to think black or to remain as a dirty version of white"