Is Violence the Answer? the Black Panther Party

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;

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.

America stands for equality, freedom, and choice, but upon looking into the history behind America the everlasting struggle of racism, bigotry, and inequality are revealed. Through the 1950s to the 1970s, the fight for civil rights by African Americans was prominent throughout America. Schools, restaurants, and all public facilities were segregated, African Americans were blocked from voting through literacy tests and poll taxes, and The KKK, a white supremacist group, would lynch African American men. The need for the immediate cease of these practices and the desire for equality gave way to the Civil Rights Movement. Leaders and groups arose from this movement, such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and the Black Panther Party. The overall goal was to achieve rights but there were two significantly different methods of achieving this goal, non-violent civil disobedience and “black power”. The shift from non-violent civil disobedience to “black power” was caused by the emotional toll of being complacent during personal attack and the truth that immediate change calls upon the use of force, and the result of the shift was the further spread of violence.

The party eventually built up a huge enemy, including the former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover who launched a program to discredit black nationalists groups. The program was dubbed COINTELPRO, or The Counterintelligence Program. Many of the FBI members involved in the program followed and stalked members of The Black Panther Party and their families. Though the program’s main priority were The Black Panthers, they did target other parties. Despite many government figures against The Black Panther Party, they recruited many members of the community through displaying their tasteful fashion senses. They equipped afros, leather jackets, and berets. This had a special appeal to many black Americans at this era. Many younger black kids wanted to join because of their stylish and unique fashion. “One of the things that Panthers did was prove that urban black is beautiful (Workneh and Finley).” Their strong belief was that black is beautiful, and it’s a god-given. “As I sat on the bus peering out the window at Mommy, the only white face in a sea of black face, a black man walked up with his son. He had a mustache and a goatee and wore black leather pants, a black leather jacket, a ton of jewelry, and a black beret (McBride [Page 35]).” This quote distinguishes the type of clothing Black Panthers wore and how they seemed more slick than the average black at the time. “I saw the Black Panther

In 1966, the Black Panthers began to play an important but short role in the civil rights movement too. The Nation of Islam was very active, but unlike MLK, they advocated retaliation, violence, and separation rather than peace and unity. Around this time, the cops would bring out dogs and have them attack blacks. The blacks felt as though they tried to fight fair for as long as they could, but they were being tired of being pushed around. The process of being equal was taking too long. It drove them to anger, frustration, repression, deceit, and hypocrisy. More vicious dog attacks were being set up by the police, and more police controls became familiar so the blacks began to think they needed to arm themselves. (Document F)

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

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.

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.

Founded on October 15th 1966 in Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense was an organization opposed to police brutality against the black community. The Party’s political origins were in Maoism, Marxism, and the radical militant ideals of Malcolm X and Che Guevara. From the doctrines of Maoism they saw the role of their Party as the frontline of the revolution and worked to establish a unified alliance, while from Marxism they addressed the capitalist economic system, and exemplified the need for all workers to forcefully take over means of production (Baggins, Brian). Mao was important to the Black Panthers because of his different stance on Marxism-Leninism when applied to Chinese peasants. The founders of the Black

October 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party in oakland. Their plan was to practice self-defense against the government, to establish socialism, and community based programs, the article stated. It states that “the party was one of the first organizations in U.S. history to militantly struggle for ethnic minority and working class emancipation.” In other words, they wanted to come together and be equal no matter what your race and gender is.

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

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