The Black Panther Party By Jessica C. Harris

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.

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

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.

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

Racism is still a very prominent issue in America today. Yes, it has improved from the days of slavery, and we do have a black president; but society is nowhere near equal, and that is not acceptable. White Privilege by Paula Rothenberg truly opened my eyes to the extent of the social injustice on African Americans. Just by being white, one is oppressing another race because the privilege and respect that comes with the skin color. Whether intentional or not, the racism is still there and present and that is not acceptable. Being white, I’ve never suffered from the repercussions of racism, but after reading and becoming more aware of the suffering of African American’s, it is significant to write and spread the knowledge about racism and especially implicit racism. Everyone is surrounded by racism on a daily basis, and it’s important to be aware of your actions and the effects they have on society.

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 New Jim Crow book written by Michelle Alexander and Michelle McCool addresses the racial dimensions of the War on Drugs. The book disputes that the federal drug policy purposefully targets lower minority groups and communities of color to keep black people incarcerated and off the streets. The book starts of disproving the idea that racism no longer exists by proving that racism is still very much alive.

What started out as a need to supply only African Americans with the services and needs of their efforts, was soon labeled as black racism, not only by the white establishment but from within the leaders of the Black Panthers as well. As a result, the Black Panthers soon expanded their circle of influence to previously deprived white groups, usually Communist and other socialist groups which had been set on the fringe of society by America. The focus in the later years of the Black Panthers was on social issues as their Ten Point Plan will attest. Even though the reign of influence within the Black Panther party, as it related to a national movement, lasted less than a decade, in that time, positive social change eventually sprang up from its origins and efforts of the masses. The Panthers assumed a Robin Hood type roll of distributing money and services to the community. Through legal and illegal money the Black Panther Party was able to improve many of the facilities that were used by African Americans. They

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

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.

Empowerment is the act of giving power or authority to; to enable or permit (“The Definition” 1). Black empowerment in my opinion is the uplifting of African Americans to achieve a greater purpose in life, while enhancing the black community as a whole. Black empowerment can be achieved in many ways, such as influences from musical artists as well as popular actors and actresses. They become major influences based on their celebrity status. Numerous people in our society disregard the influence that literature impacts our culture, especially in earlier time periods. A reason for this is possibly because of the emphasis on education during that time because African Americans wanted to overcome the stereotypes of not being as educated as whites. Another reason literature was an influence on the culture of the black society is that at the time there was no social media. The lack of social media results in people trying to send a message in a different way, such as poetry. Maya Angelou and Claude McKay are perfect examples of black empowerment through literature in the area of poetry. They were both voices of power for blacks and were faces well known in the black community for their activist roles. In McKay’s time, which was early 1900s, there were many violent riots as well as blacks being killed ruthlessly from whites who showed no remorse nor faced any punishment. Specifically, the 1919 Race Riots also known as the “Red Summer” which was the inspiration to McKay’s poem “If

Black Feminism argues that sexism, class oppression and racism are linked together. Mainstream feminism that more than often benefits white women, strives to overcome class and gender oppression, however they do not recognise that race can discriminate against women also. Activist, Alice Walker states that black women experience a different kind of oppression when compared to their white counterparts. Professor of Sociology and social activist, Patricia Hill Collins summarises that Black feminism is ‘a process of self-conscious struggle that empowers women and men to actualise a humanist vision of community.’ Her quote welcomes individuals of any gender, whom understands black women’s struggle to fight with them. [Collins, 1991:39]