[1][3] Ellis Cashmore and James Jennings argue that Hamilton and Carmichael were the first to use the term institutional racism in a systematic fashion.

During his job as a professor, he was involved in activist groups like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which Kwame Ture was also a part of.

Hamilton and Ture made a deal with Random House to publish the book with a message before the first page, which reads as follows:[4] “This book presents a political framework and ideology which represents the last reasonable opportunity for this society to work out its racial problems short of prolonged destructive guerrilla warfare.

But if there is the slightest chance to avoid it, the politics of Black Power as described in this book is seen as the only viable hope.”[5] After the Nixon presidency, Hamilton worked with the Democratic Party as a strategist.

[4] Ellis Cashmore and James Jennings argue that Hamilton and Carmichael were the first to use the term institutional racism in a systematic fashion.

[5] Hamilton said he and Carmichael used this term to address the disconnect between the general (especially white) public’s perception of racism and the everyday reality of systemic oppression that black people in the United States face.

[6] Hamilton’s pioneering work on Black Power and institutional racism has left an enduring impact on political science and civil rights activism, influencing generations of scholars and activists.

His concept of 'institutional racism' reshaped public discourse, providing a framework for understanding systemic discrimination beyond individual acts of prejudice.

[6][7] Scholars and civil rights leaders have continued to draw on his work, citing his insights as foundational to the study of systemic racism in America.

[2] Lacey stated that the delay in revealing his death was due to the fact that Hamilton, who lived a modest and private life, was "concerned about what would or would not happen upon his passing.