Discrimination In The Black Panthers

The Black Panther Party had a great deal of negative outlooks portrayed on them by not everyone, but more than half of the society. Without a doubt, the Black Panther Party addressed multiple situations with violent acts that implemented negativity towards them. The late Martin Luther King believed that he could obtain equality without having to use violence as a lament, instead the Black Panther’s believed that King’s non-violence movement had failed, and that violence was necessary to get through to the people who saw black communities and minority groups as insignificant. Although, the Black Panther Party only granted membership to African Americans, they weren’t anti-white, the Black Panther Party considered themselves

     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’s beliefs were based on Malcolm X. Malcolm spoke for a militant revolutionary. He said that it should be done with dignity and self-respect, to stand up and fight for equality for all oppressed minorities. The Black Panthers followed Malcolm’s idea of international working class unity. The way the party enforced this was by uniting with various minorities and white revolutionary groups. The Party had four major goals: equality, housing, employment, and civil rights. For this the party had “The Point Program.” This was a set of guidelines for the Black Panther Party ideas and ways of operation. Every Black Panther member had to follow these set of rules.

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.

In general, they felt that African-Americans had been treated as second-class citizens since the end of the Civil War solely because they were Black. The Panthers developed a platform called the “Ten Point Program” that described the changes they demanded to see in American society. They wanted a country in which Black children are provided the same educational opportunities as White children, and thought that Blacks could only progress by being taught the true history of Black oppression in the U.S. They demanded that Black Americans have jobs that paid the same wages as Whites and weren’t limited to labor intensive positions. The party also felt that the police force instigated more conflict and violence than protection, and believed they needed to provide security for Blacks by themselves. Although they were known for using gun power when necessary, the Panthers envisioned a peaceful society under a just government where all races could live together. Simply put, the Black Panthers felt the United States government was not allowing Black Americans to the live in the land of equal opportunity, but rather denying them the freedoms and liberties constitutionally entitled to them. The Black Panthers wanted African-Americans to be able to determine their destiny.

Community outreach Members even demanded to be compensated for what the government had economically robbed them of. The Black Panthers were against what the military, judicial, and police institutions stood for. The Black Panthers did not support participating in military service if the government was not protecting black peoples’ rights. The Vietnam War, which coincided with the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of black power, forced a draft of black soldiers to defend and die for a country that did not grant them equal rights. The Black Panthers started identifying with the enemy as victims of white racial aggression and wanted to destroy the system from within. Because the Vietnam War was the first war in which the U.S. armed forces were desegregated, many fights broke out amongst black and white

After the creation of the Ku Klux Klan, one of the most vicious and racist groups that the United States has ever seen, a new group was formed to counteract their hatred: the Black Panther Party. In October of 1966, the leaders of this group, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton of Marrit College in Oakland, California, saw the Civil Rights movement as being too passive and decided to form a more reactionary group, to combat the racism and oppression that they experienced in Oakland (Ware, par. 1-2). Eventually, the group evolved into one that emphasized “black love” and programs to better their community. Stereotypically, the Black Panther Party is associated with violence, almost to the same level as the KKK. This is due to the fact that they sought to protect their communities from racists via an armory of guns and weapons in their homes. Also, the symbol of the Black Panther Party is a black man with a gun,

Since the government felt that they were gaining too much power, as usual, they decided to take matters into their own hands and extinguish their organization. Their methods however, were extremely violent and inhumane. In the documentary, Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, police brutality is ubiquitous throughout the film. The members were beaten, gunned down, sprayed with powerful fire hoses, and verbally abused by law enforcers whose sole job is to protect human life. Although the vanguard’s techniques may have been radical, they were simply attempting to preserve the lives of people of color at any means possible. One of these techniques included following law enforcement officers around with firearms to ensure that black citizens were being fairly treated. Even though they were performing these actions for a good cause, it ultimately led to the deaths of several members and the disbandment of the

The Black Panther Party made the decision to use force to achieve their goal which was the only way to defend oneself. “I don’t even call it violence when it’s in self-defense; I call it intelligence”(Malcolm 1). When the party began to grow in population and strength they released the Ten-Point

Black people in the 1960s didn’t walk with prided,they walked with fear for what's gonna happen to them.African Americans weren’t getting medical health care,lived urban areas ,and had a lot of police violence.The police behaviors is what really made African American irritated.The police would jump on them,beat them up,and put a gun to their head. Until 2 junior college students from decided to create The Black Panthers.The Black Panther served as a way to protect black residents and them together.The Black Panthers were founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland California.

The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary party that was for the encroachment and prolongation of the Black community and the freedom of their social and economic rights that come with finally being recognized as first class citizens. The head of this revolution, Huey P. Newton, started the party along with Bobby Seale in order to set the path for the Black people to follow, even long after they pass. The constant struggle for social and economic freedom among the Black community would soon end, thanks to this sudden revolution and its well-prepared planning. With each small step of watching police officers and the paying for the bail of every person they followed to the jail, the Panthers were slowly, but surely, wearing down the walls of their racist and prejudiced prison. Using the Little Red Book and guns, along with the amazing power of numbers and the art of self-defense, the Black Panther Party transformed the Black revolution and made it into not only fighting racism and inequality, but also made it into a movement for the Black community to love themselves and their culture instead of wishing they were white so they would not have to go through what they were going through. Self-love, along with education and children, was one of the more important parts of the revolution because what is the point of getting to the top of a deep pit that you and your ancestors have climbed for centuries, only to take a single step and fall into another great pit, this deeper

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.

What comes to mind when you think of the Black Panther Party? Do you even know who the Black Panthers really were? They helped transform the lives of many African Americans in the U.S and helped empower the community. The Black Panther has a huge background of history, goals, and beliefs. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale from Oakland, California founded the Panthers in 1966. Initially, they were an African American self defense force and were highly influenced by Malcolm X’s beliefs. The Panthers had many goals such as;freedom, protecting blacks from police brutality, and helping African Americans obtain a jobs. Despite the negative stereotypes of the Black Panthers as people who ran around with guns, fighting police, they were a major group during the Civil Rights Movement because they practiced self defense, established revolutionary socialism, and stimulated Malcolm X's influence. In the following I will discuss the successful changes the Black Panther Party, had on the African American community during the civil rights movement.