Martin Luther King's We Shall Overcome: The Reconstruction

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 end of the Civil War was followed almost immediately by a new wave that would see the African Americans face great suffering and discrimination. As newly freed slaves, African Americans were presented with a dilemma to either curve a new niche in a society that once viewed and treated them as mere properties than humans. It was during these difficult times that two key figures in the African American History rose as paramount leaders of two sharply contrasting philosophical camps. The Massachusettian William Edward Burghardt and the Virginian Booker T. Washington, both held two completely contrasting proposals about the best approach for African American to overcome and thrive in the mist of their suffering and racial discrimination. Although their approaches greatly differed, both of these noble men shared a common goal in uplifting the black community in history. The aim of this paper is to argue in the contrasting philosophies of these two key figures in the history of African America.

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.

The Black Panthers were initially organized as an armed police patrol to protect African American community residents from police violence. By 1969, with Bobby Seale as its chairman and Newton as its minister of self-defense, the organization expanded nationwide, with more than 40 chapters devoted to the daily concerns of urban African American communities. Newton was a Black Nationalist and posited that only black people's control of capitalists' institutions in their community could bring about African American empowerment. ( ) Newton's understanding of Marxism led him to embrace revolutionary socialism as an ideology necessary to seize economic and political power from the elite ruling class and end the exploitation of the poor and working classes. Several different Black Panther groups formed at this time, such as the Black Panther Party of Northern California, based in San Francisco. The Oakland organization, however, rejected cultural nationalism, the belief that whites should be condemned because of their race. ( ) Newton and Seale sought alliances with radical whites while promoting black self-determination. They supported black power with its pride for African American culture, but stressed politicizing the slogan to make it radical and claimed that the Panthers were not a racist organization "but a very progressive

Reconstruction failed for African Americans. By the 1890’s all optimism that came as a result of the Constitutional rights guaranteed to them by the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments was gone. Their reality, particularly for those in the South, was one of lynchings, Jim Crowe laws, and voting restrictions. They faced discrimination, segregation, limited educational opportunities, and a tenant farming system that only slightly differed from slavery. In the early twentieth century, visionaries such as Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. DuBois, and Marcus Garvey recognized the urgent need for change. These great leaders were in agreement that action was required to uplift the African American race. However, their philosophies on how to approach it were vastly different.

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

     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 Party formed as a result of Black Nationalism which came from a multitude of events that began to form decades before any mention of The Black Panther Party. To even begin to understand a group such as this, one must first attempt to grasp the historical context which lies behind them. Blake (1969) asserts that the initial onset began back in 1619 when the first of the colonial settlers accepted a number of captured Africans which were to be used as servants leading to the period of slavery which serves as a sore spot in this country 's history. One of the primary streams of thought behind this idea of Black Nationalism can be summed up as the hypocrisy felt by African-Americans during the era of slavery as well as after it 's end. These are a race of people characterized by their looks and were not given the same rights within the society, yet at the same time, were expected to meet the standards of “regular” citizens within the country creating that sense of inferiority.

The Black Panthers were an African American rebellious party that was founded in Oakland, California in the year of 1966. Huey Percy Newton and Bobby Seale were two organizers of the Panthers. Newton “saw himself as a revolutionary in his opposition to oppression and discrimination.” (Blake 248) Both Newton and Seale were in prison around the time that they created The Black Panthers. They sensed that violence was the only choice they had to get what they want. The Panthers usually set guards in the black communities to look out for police brutality and protected the people living there. The larger culture that the Black Panthers stood against is that of political and social domination. The Black Panthers wanted equal rights and opportunities. “Working class people of all colors must unite against the exploitative, oppressive ruling class. Let me emphasize again — we believe our fight is a class struggle, not a race struggle.” stated Bobby Seale. Bobby Seale felt like the issue was not about the race but more about the level they were at, at that time.

The Black Panther Party was an organization of which African Americans came together and challenged authority figures to stand up for their minority race. The historical backdrop

     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;

Shocking the United States with one symbol, the raised fist, the Black Panther Party delivered an ultimatum to the entire nation. Stand with us in the Black Power Movement or be against us by supporting the lying and deceitful government. Founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, they birthed the start to the American Public having their voice heard on tense issues. The Black Panther’s lasting effects on society are through their actions, philosophy, and modern day views of race.

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.

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.

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