Black Panthers

Reliving the Revolution

Reliving the Revolution of Black Nationalism

A Retrospective of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense

R. Leigh Baker

Humanities 105: Black Thought & Culture

Dr. Bennie C. Thompson

9 March 2009

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Abstract

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was the premier Black Nationalist group in the 1960s. Emerging in 1966, the Party’s goals were community activism and protection against police brutality, while making strides for equality in the black community. Two Men, Huey P. Newton, and Bobby Seale, created this organization after witnessing injustices in their local communities. Their ideas and philosophies touched a nation of neighborhoods and communities of disenchanted and despondent Blacks. Their self-defense tactics along with their outreach programs provided Blacks from all lifestyles with a sense of unification. This unification, along with the methods used to achieve this goal, attracted the attention of the Federal Government, which used covert tactics in its intent to destroy the Black Party. This infiltration, along with party divisions led to the demise of this great organization. The Party legacy is debatable to some, and obvious to others. Never the less, the revolution of the Black Panther Party is apparent in the foundations of similar groups, and resonates in the voices of a new, inspired generation.

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The Black Panther Party (BPP) was one of the most prominent Black

Power organizations to emerge during the 1960s. It organized thousands of

militant Blacks who were committed to an armed struggle and socialist revolution.

A massive state repression campaign used infiltration and deadly force to exploit

political differences and add to the internal chaos inside the organization, which

contributed to its demise. With its origins in 1966 thru the height of the party in

the early 1970s the Black Panther Party, not only stirred up a nation, but left a

legacy still apparent today; long after the party’s demise in the early 1980s.

Robert George Seale, better known as Bobby Seale, and Huey Percy

Newton, founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland, CA in

October of 1966. The original inspiration was the Lowndes County Freedom

Organization (LCFO), an organization created by the Student Nonviolent

Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which utilized electoral and militant political

strategies of building independent black power. Many leaders of the SNCC, like

Stokely Carmichael, felt that most blacks in the region viewed working with whites

as dangerous, and nonviolent activism was a suicide mission. The LCFO chose a

snarling black panther as the organization’s symbol, which represented the black

leaders of the organization. Soon, with media recognition, the LCFO came to be

the Black Panther Party.

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The LCFO activists willingly armed themselves in self-defense, a tactic that

inspired black militants everywhere, especially those following the teachings of

Malcolm X. At this time in Oakland, California Blacks were frequently abused,

hurt and arrested blacks on trumped and offensive charges by local authorities.

These reasons inspired Newton and Seale, who was a former solider that Newton

met in college, to form the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. This new

organization came about after the two read a pamphlet entitled, How the People of

Lowndes County Armed Themselves (Patterson, 1995). After this, the pair adopted

the Black Panther as the symbol for their organization and officially. The Black

Panther movement eventually organized neighborhood patrols and began to “police

the police” in their neighborhoods, ready to defend any black who would be

abused by the police. This tactic was often effective in that the number of police

abuse incidents against blacks lowered considerably as the police feared that there

would be reprisals made by the organization.

The original vision of the Black Panther Party was to serve the needs of the

oppressed people in their communities, and defend them against their oppressors.

“The Black Panther Party fed the hungry, protected the weak from racist police,

and presented a new paradigm of Black political and social activism” (Seale B. a.,

1990). The Party’s survival programs, such as free health clinics, food giveaways,

and free breakfast programs for children, were successful and well received in

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Black Neighborhoods. When the Party was born, they knew that these goals would

raise the consciousness of the people and motivate them to move more firmly for

their total liberation.

The focal point of this vision was the “10 point program”. The first 9 points

stated what the party “wanted” for black Americans, and what the party “believed”

about why and how these conditions should be met. The “beliefs” associated with

the “wants” were large elaborations on these themes, and justification of the

demands the demands were tied to the longstanding economic exploitation of

blacks. The 10th point in the program was a general overview, stating the

demands for “land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace” (The

Black Panther Party, 1966). It also called for a united-nations supervised plebiscite

held throughout the “black colony” to determine “the will of the black people as to

their national destiny”:

1. We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community. 2. We want full employment for our people. 3. We want an end to the robbery by the white man of our Black Community. 4. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings. 5. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society. 6. We want all black men to be exempt from military service. 7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people. 8. We want freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails. 9. We want all black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their black communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States. 10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace. And as our major political objective, a United Nations-supervised plebiscite to be held throughout the black colony in which only black colonial subjects will be allowed to participate for the purpose of determining the will of black people as to their national destiny (The Black Panther Party, 1966).

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This policy was in essence the 10 commandments of the Black Panther Party, and

represented the formal policies in which they would demand equality.

With the creation of its Newsletter, The Black Panther, the doctrines, and

goals of the party, along with the violent tactics used for self-defense, were widely

disseminated, resulting in a nation-wide interest amongst frustrated blacks,

especially those with militant ideas. This interest created a large following within

the black community, and in under three years, the organization established more

than 30 chapters throughout North America, with its membership estimated to be

between 10, 000 to 30,000 young militants (Finkleman, Barnes, Graham, Horne, &

Wintz, 2007).

The newspaper also encouraged the “Rhetoric of the Gun”- the promotion of

arming themselves in opposition of the white establishment (Courtright, 1974).

The use of this promotion was effective because the influence over poor blacks

gave them the advantage of unity and strength. This was achievable because most

of the members were from the ghetto and shared similar backgrounds. The leaders

of the BPP knew this strategy would be successful:

[We] wanted brothers off the block, brothers who had been pimping, brothers who had been peddling dope, brothers who aint gonna take no shit, brothers who had been fighting the pigs (Calloway, 1977).

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The BPP also felt strongly about accomplishing group goals and unity of members:

members were reminded that the values and goals of the party were the only hope of making life better in the black community and that it was their duty to see that their goals were accomplished (Calloway, 1977).

The newspaper spread these goals by using propaganda such as slogans;

“power to the people”, “Die for the people”, “Revolution in our Lifetime”;

speeches, and cartoons. These methods were crucial to gain and hold the attention

of the regular members of the party. The Black Panther also used the images of the

police and labeled them as “pigs” in order to keep a high level of resentment

towards the “establishment”. The radical and revolutionary tactics of the BPP gave

them status in the black communities. Many of these ideas, especially violence as

self-defense, came from Malcolm X. Another major influence was Frantz Fanon

(Author: The Wretched of the Earth), who believed that whites had destroyed the

blacks native culture by imposing their own, and that the only solution would be

total separation from white oppression and the encouraged the use of violence

(Lackey, 2002). To the Black Panthers:

Fanon was to us the apostle of violence. For us the Wretched of the Earth was like a road map to the revolution at the end you know there was the armed struggle, and this is what we were talking about in the fall of 1966 (Courtright, 1974).

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The last of their beliefs come from the Marxist and Lenin revolutions. From these

they learned that in order to start a social revolution, they would have to increase

tensions between the establishment and the communities.

No amount of unity, strength, ideas, or propaganda would save the BPP

from its demise. The BPP had become a target of the FBI Counterinsurgency

Intelligence Program called COINTELPRO (Finkleman, Barnes, Graham, Horne,

& Wintz, 2007). This program was founded by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover in 1968,

with the orders to “exploit all avenues of creating dissension within the BPP”, and

by the “submission of imaginative proposals designed to cripple the BPP”. The

overall mission of COINTELPRO was to “expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or

otherwise neutralize the activities of Black Nationalist, hate-type organizations and

groupings” (Layman, 1994).

The FBI used varying tactics to accomplish this disruption. Some of these

methods included the newly created “Harassment Laws”, and the arrest the Black

Panthers on charges such as assault, robbery, weapons charges, and attempted

murder often with little or no evidence. Other methods used were those of

disruption, infiltration, and surveillance, which primarily caused internal divisions

within the party. The FBI began sending anonymous letters to contributors to

various programs such as the free breakfast for children program, attacking the

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party’s newspaper, disrupting the party’s speaking engagements, and using false

rumors to create paranoia amongst members.

There was also tension in the party about the sexist treatment of women.

The role of women in the party was very complex. Leadership positions were male

dominated and more often than not, those in power exhibited a patriarchal, sexist

attitude, especially in the formative years of the party. Most notable was the

gender-based distinction between “Panthers” and “Pantherettes,” along with

Eldrige Cleaver’s “Pussy Power” slogan(Brown, 1992). Women in the BPP tended

to have their opinions discredited, and were not viewed as members but as sexual

objects. As the BPP began to commit to women’s rights and gender equality, the

attitudes towards women in the party began to change, and they subsequently

dropped the Pantherette distinction. However, the change in sexist attitudes had

come too late for some, and they left to join other Black Nationalist organizations.

Other FBI tactics made it so that it was easier to establish police raids of

Black Panther chapters across the U.S. Many times the police relied on members

of the BPP to be informants. Examples of this resulted in the deaths of Fred

Hampton and Mark Clark, where an FBI informant provided information to the

Chicago Special Forces that which helped to stage an operation, in which the two

leaders died (Seale B. a., 1990).

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In another case, Geronimo Pratt, leader of the Los Angeles Chapter, was

captured and imprisoned in 1971. At his trial, an FBI informant testified which

resulted in a conviction. In addition, the FBI began to use violence to increase

their repression of the BPP. During the height of COINTELPRO during 1968-

1971, more than 28 Black Panther members were murdered, and those that had

received jail time, exile or forced into hiding totaled over 300.

Between the FBI interference and a difference in existing philosophies,

strategic rifts within the party became intense. At the center of these internal

disagreements were Huey Newton, who increasingly felt that the party should

place a greater emphasis on its domestic community service programs, and

Eldridge Cleaver, who believed that the party should advocate a violent revolution

and increase ties with other international revolutionary movements (Carpini, 2006).

The result of this disagreement split other national black leaders, as well as state

and local leaders, into two different camps.

During this split, Cleaver went to exile in Algeria. This left Newton in

control over the national BPP. He began to shift the party to meet his ideologies,

and moved away from the more militant stance of Cleaver. He reintroduced

community programs and launched health care reforms, which caused Cleaver, and

other national, local, and grass roots leaders to object. The split led to a series of

purges and expulsions, which left many members disenchanted.

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In 1971, during a local San Francisco news broadcast, Cleaver and Newton

agreed to have a phone forum to address their differences. Instead, the two

engaged in an intense argument, which led to the two expelling the other from the

party. Although Newton remained in control of the national organization, many

state and local chapters aligned themselves with Cleaver.

In 1972, Newton convinced the party leadership to close the state and local

chapters of the party and concentrate all of the members and resources on the

elections of Bobby Seale for Mayor of Oakland, and other party members for city

council seats. Many of the chapters agreed with this plan, but other members felt

differently and they opted to close their chapters instead of relocating to Oakland.

Although this move proved to be a rebirth for the Oakland Chapter with its interest,

it proved to be fatal for the National organization. After Seale and other members

lost their election bids, the party became a single chapter in Oakland, and thus

continued on a downward spiral as Newton became authoritarian and erratic in

leadership.

In addition to losing its national base, the party under Newton, who was now

dependent on Drugs and Alcohol, became involved in criminal activities. The

“security cadre”, whose original intent was to provide protection for BPP election

candidates, now forced payment from Oakland’s criminal groups as a right for

continuation of their acts.

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For this reason, Bobby Seale eventually resigned which forced other

prominent leaders to do the same. Newton became prone to violence, and after

being accused in the murder of a prostitute, he fled to Cuba in 1974. Party member

Elaine Brown, one of the few women who did not leave amid the sexist

environment, took control of what was left of the party. From 1974-1977, Brown

was able to revive the party (which now held 200 members) into a local

community services organization, even receiving government funding for some of

the initiatives (Brown, 1992).

Upon Newton’s return from exile however, he once again took control of the

party following the dismissal of his murder charges. Again, under his control, the

party became involved in illegal activities, and financial mismanagement. The last

publication of The Black Panther was in 1980, and with the closing of the Oakland

Community School, the Black Panther Party was officially over.

Too many, the Black Panther Party is indeed alive and well. When a drug

dealer killed Huey P. Newton in 1989, four thousand people attended his funeral.

When Bobby Seale rose to speak, he raised both fist and shouted “Power to the

people”, all in attendance stood on their feet, giving thunderous applause.

Following this, several former members began publishing The Commemorator and

The Black Panther: Community Service, in efforts to keep the party’s legacy alive,

and provide commentary on progressive politics.

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The party itself continues to serve as a symbolic reference for militant black

politics. Some activist, such as Pratt and Dhoruba Bin Wahad remain incarcerated,

but others such as Stokely Carmichael (now Kwame Toure), and Bob Brown

became active in other militant parties. Still other former panthers have made

successful transitions into politics and community organizations.

The greatest legacy of the Black Panther Party may be its status as a cultural

icon. It still resonates as a symbol of black freedom, and black power. You can still

use “Power to the People” to signify unity at progressive movements. A raised fist

still resonates as a sign of black pride. Black Panther philosophies have crossed

into the lyrics of hip hop and rap artists, such as Dead Prez, Mos Def, Common,

Talib Kweli, and, most notably, the late rapper, Tupac Shakur, who is the child of

Former BPP members Afeni and Dr. Mutulu Shakur, the nephew of Assata Shakur,

and Godchild of Geronimo Pratt. The legacy of the Black Panther Party echoes

deeply in Shakur’s work, and thru the music of the other mentioned artist, you can

hear the spirit of the Panthers, as they speak out against police brutality and

fighting for the “revolution”.

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References

Brown, E. (1992). A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story. New York: Pantheon Books.

Calloway, C. (1977). Group Cohesiveness in the Black Panther Party. Journal of Black Studies ,

8 (1), 55-74.

Carpini, M. X. (2006). Black Panther Party 1966-1982. In I. Ness, & J. Ciment (Eds.), The

Encyclopedia of Third Parties in America (Vol. 2, pp. 190-197). Armonk, NY: M.E.

Sharpe.

Courtright, J. A. (1974). Rhetoric of the Gun: An Analysis of the Rhetorical Modifications of the

Black Panther Party. Journal of Black Studies , 4 (3), 249-267.

(2007). In P. Finkleman, L. D. Barnes, R. H. Graham, G. Horne, & C. D. Wintz, Encylopedia of

African American History 1895-Present (pp. 273-275). Oxford University Press.

Lackey, M. (2002). Frantz Fanon on the Theory of Colonization. Journal of Colonialism and

Colonial History , 3 (2).

Layman, R. (1994). American Decades 1960-1969. Farmington Hills: Gale Cengage Learning.

Patterson, C. (1995). The Civil Rights Movement. New York, NY, United States of America:

Facts on File, Inc.

Seale, B. a. (1990). Birth of the Black Panthers 1966-1967 "We wanted control". In H. a.

Hampton, Voices of Freedom: An oral history of the civil rights movement from the

1950's through the 1980's (pp. 349-372). New York, NY: Bantam Books.

Seale, B. (1991). Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton.

Baltimore, MD: Black Classic Press.

The Black Panther Party. (1966, October). The Ten Point Plan. Retrieved February 17, 2009,

from BlacK Panther Index Page: http://www.blackpanther.org/TenPoint.htm

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