Black Panther Party Pros And Cons

     Organized in the 1960s at the height of the American Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panther Party emerged as a revolutionist group pioneering a strategy of militancy. The Party’s aims were to eliminate the discrimination challenging African-Americans in America since the time of slavery, and to protect their communities from police brutality. Inspired by contemporary radical leaders such as Malcolm X, the party recognized that in order to restructure American society so that civil equality was obtainable by all people, a much stronger opposition was necessary. Party members felt the passive resistance adopted by their predecessors fighting for equality proved

     The Black Panther had a huge background of history, goals, and beliefs. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, Ca 1966, founded the Panthers. They were originally as an African American self defense force and were highly influenced by Malcolm X’s ideas. They were named after Lowndes County Freedom Organization or LCFO. The Panthers had many goals like; giving back to the ghetto, protecting blacks from police brutality, and to help blacks get freedom and jobs. They also had many beliefs like;

The Black Panther Party was formed on October of 1966 in Oakland, California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Panthers had a very important part in the civil rights movement. The Black Panthers favored aggression, violent self defense of minority communities against the U.S government. The Panthers saw that Martin Luther King’s non-violence was not successful. The party fought to engage in a political revolution for socialism by organized and community based programs. The party agenda was to promote political equality across gender and color. They were active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. The Black Panther Party patrol black neighborhoods to keep track of police activities and protect the residents from police brutality.

Through the rise of groups such as the Black Panther Party, violence became increasingly prevalent. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense calls upon the American people in general and the black people in particular to take careful note of the racist California Legislature which is now considering legislation aimed at keeping the black people disarmed and powerless at the very same time that racist police agencies throughout the country are intensifying the terror, brutality, murder, and repression of black people (Document F).” As a result of the lack of movement on the bill previously proposed my Kennedy to remove segregation, many African-Americans began to give up on this method of peaceful protest. “All of these efforts have been answered by more repression, deceit, and hypocrisy (Document F).” This is because as it appeared to them, it was not working and had no effect on the government. Instead, they discovered a much more direct approach which, was assured to catch the eye of the government. This method was violence. “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense believes that the time has come for the black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late (Document F).” Through violent “black power” groups such as the Black Panthers, the previously peaceful Civil Rights movement began to take on a new

Imagine it is the 1960’s: conflict in Vietnam had sparked widespread protest at American college campuses, people all over the country were reading the The Feminine Mystique and fighting for increased equality among the sexes, and the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak. African Americans throughout America were uniting for the common cause of equality, however differing ideology and beliefs regarding how equality could be achieved divided them. Martin Luther King and Malcolm X rose as prominent leaders in the fight against racial inequality, the latter typically credited with the development of more violent methodology which excluded white involvement and conceived the movement of “Black Power.” The Black Panthers, members of a political party formed by college students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966, are typically associated with the idea of black power and the legacy of Malcolm X despite the fact that he had died a year prior to the party’s founding. While the idea of black power is easily and mis-conceivably associated with the idea of black supremacy and violence, The Black Panther Party primarily sought a spot for African Americans next to that of whites, not above. The Black Panther Party, despite its violent appearance and legacy, made a positive influence on American history through its platform based on equality, human rights, and patriotism.

Who would know that a ragtag group of a bunch of blacks would turn out to be the most influential black rights movement? A group so controversial that there are many perspectives of how the general public views them. The Black Panther Party strikes up an immense amount of controversy despite their inactivity of almost 35 years. From the law enforcement’s perspective, The Black Panther Party were viewed as radical criminals who randomly murdered innocent police officers. Though from the standpoint of many blacks of the time, they were viewed as heroes and martyrs, those who died and cared for their community. As James McBride vibrantly describes in his memoir, The Color of Water, his relationship toward The Black Panther Party was

The black panther party formed by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale was a revolutionary power unlike any other group in the 60s. They formed a militant to protect the black community after witnessing countless racial attacks and prejudice. The group was famous for there anything go’s thinking including violence against police brutality which was common even after the civil act laws took effect. They also installed programs

The Black Panthers were formed in California in 1966 and they played a short but important part in the civil rights movement by gathering African Americans and uniting them together so they can fight for what they believe in. The Black Panthers believed that the non-violent campaign of Martin Luther King Had failed and any proposed changes to their lifestyle via the ‘traditional’ civil rights movement, would take too long to be implemented or simply not introduced. The two founders of the Black Panther Party were Huey Percy Newton and Bobby Seale. They preached for a “revolutionary war” but their party was believed to be African-American and they were willing to speak out for all those who were oppressed from whatever minority group. However, the Black Panthers were generally targeted by the FBI and they used dirty tactics such as forging letters to provoke conflict between the BPP’s leaders; organising the murders of BPP leaders initiating a “Black Propaganda” campaign to convince the public that the BPP was a threat to national security. “Carmichael is adamantly against allowing whites into the black liberation movement, explaining whites cannot relate to black experience and have an intimidating effect on blacks." Carmichael is a Black Panther. He did not want whites in the Party because he felt they

The Black Panther Party was a militant group that believed in protecting minorities by using their 2nd amendment right. The fear of the party began when a group of activists stormed the California State Legislature armed. The reason for the sit in on the building was in retaliation for a gun control bill. The bill was thought to be a way that the government could take rights away from minorities. The party had multiple gun related shootouts with local cops and the FBI, which lead to the leader, Huey Newton, to be arrested. The arrest was for killing an officer. This started the decline of the cohesiveness of the party as new leaders were appointed.

In the mid-1960s, Newton attended Merritt College, where he met Bobby Seale. The two radical thinkers were ready to spread their message with a show of force. They began by making national news through protesting a gun bill on April 25th, 1967 by entering the California Legislature fully armed. Newton emerged as a leading figure in the black militant movement and The Panthers were instantly notorious. By the end of 1968 seventeen Panther chapters had opened across the country and thousands of members joined (Wasserman, Steve). Later that year Newton was arrested for allegedly killing an Oakland police officer, he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to two to 15 years in prison. Growing support from across the nation of Black Panthers sparked a “Free Huey” movement which helped Newton’s cause. The case was eventually dismissed after two retrials ended with a hung jury. Newton was greeted by thousands who came to show support outside of the prison.

The state repression could have very well been enough to dismantle the movement but it might not have happened at a rapid pace if it were not for influential allies no longer supporting the movement and the internal conflicts that saw the party run themselves to the ground. Politicalpower and shifting elite alignment may be less ambiguous and hard to be seen as a factor in the demise of the Black Panthers but if combined with the three other aspects than it does seem to make a difference. What if the Panthers had gained some political power? They might have been able to gain power holders and elites which could have potentially stopped the FBI and J. Edgar Hoover from going after the movement at such an extreme level. The four dimensions of the political opportunity structure and the internal conflicts within the movement, when combined, can best answer what led to the demise of the Black Panther Party. ConclusionIn summary, the Black Panther Party met its untimely demise due to their inability to secure political power, their lack of shifting elite alignment, influential allies no longer supporting the Panthers or their message due to criminal activities, internal conflicts within the movement that caused high tensions and disagreements, and most importantly the state repression which saw the FBI’s use of COINTELPRO dismantle the party with extreme methods.Reflecting back on my empirical case and the research data I scoured through and collected, I can say it was kind of disheartening to learn so much about the Black Panther Party. This year marks their 50th anniversary so many people have been paying homage to the movement; from Beyoncé’s Super Bowl 50 Halftime Performance to everyday Americans wearing black leather jackets with a black barrette. It is amazing seeing people honor the Black Panthers but it is also sad to see that 50 years later and the media is still against them. Their message is still misconstrued. Many people still consider them no good

The Black Panther members believed in socialist society because everything is equal or balanced. Also, they did not believe in a capitalist society which is built off of wealth and greed. Black Panthers fought for the rights of the African American community against racism, and police brutality. These problems are what the community

He was quoted saying that “had a white mob stepped on the campus where I lived, I would have without hesitation sprayed their guts over the grass” (Cain, 1990, p. 332). Blacks formed their own organizations aiming at retaliating against white violence. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, using “the discipline, pride, and calm self-assurance preached by Malcolm X” (Lazerow, Jama; Williams, Yohuru R. (2006). In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement. Duke University: Duke University Press.), founded the Black Panther Party: a formal armed organization which claimed to have used violence only in self-defense. Worgs argues that violence became a part of the African American man as he constantly justifies his use of violence for self-defense. He refers to David Walker’s Appeal to the Coloured Citizens of the World where the author makes it clear that the use of violence “was justified by the reality of the oppressor and the oppressive conditions of enslavement. Slaveholders were…willing to murder Blacks in order to maintain slavery. Thus, Blacks had to be willing to “kill or be killed” in their quest for freedom”. The realistic views of Robert F. Williams led him to argue that “Nonviolence is a very potent weapon when the opponent is civilized…But nonviolence is no repellent for a sadist” (Tyson, T.). In turn, African Americans were strongly associated with violence in both

They also felt that the government did not take into consideration how to support the children of the black communities as far as education was concerned. The Black Panthers wanted equal rights for education for the black- African children. They wanted for the children to be taught about how unfair blacks had been treated and what they thought was a racist government. The government made the young adults of the black community a priority by putting them into the military. These men felt that because of this, the government was racist and that the government did not protect the black men. They felt that they should not kill a single person because they were not fighting for what they believed in. They wanted black men to have military as an option.

This website provides an electronic copy of the reasons given for the Black Panthers use of self defense. The parties original purpose was to patrol African American neighborhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality. It was published online by the Encyclopedia Britannica. This source was originally intended for the African Americans citizens of Oakland California, as well as the rest of the country, to take up their constitutional