Resistance of Black Panther Party

8/12/2019 Resistance of Black Panther Party

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Joshua Park

Professor Osborne

Writing 140

12 November 2013

Assignment 4

Resistance of the Black Panther Party

The failings of a governing society can ultimately lead to revolt and corruption

within a nation. In order to overcome the weaknesses of the government, different groups

and organizations are created to write the wrongs and to address democratic flaws. The

Black Panther Party, established in 1966, is a black socialist group that gained popularity in

its involvement in the Black Power movement. The organization is primarily recognized for

self-defense, but supported many different programs to help the community alleviate

poverty and health problems. Although it is portrayed only as a violent group, the Black

Panther Party demonstrates legitimate responses to the deficiencies of a democratic

society. The groups self-defense and oppression tactics are legitimate if they pertain to the

lack of equality, justice, and freedom.

Legitimate responses are defined as actions that are justified and reasonable.

Although the law was created for citizens to follow, if the policies are inhumane and

detrimental towards the people, breaking these certain laws could be a legitimate

response. The failings of a democracy influence and lead people to respond against

governing societies. If the democracy loses the ability to bring flourishing growth towards

for people, then the governing society has failed its basic and most crucial function. As

stated by Zena Hitz on the failings of democracies, the standards of majority rule and

standard by lot are not the right standards for political decisions; democracies pursue the


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dominant end of liberty at the expense of the true end of politics, human flourishing (Hitz).

The government was unable to meet the needs of the people. Because of flawed

democracies, groups and organizations were brought up to create resistance. Different

groups of people fought for different reasons, but the true purpose was to fight against the

corrupted democracy. Even in groups, legitimacy within actions was determined if the

responses were concerned with the lack of equality, justice, and freedom. Eventually, the

rise of the Black Panther Party was in existence.

Parties and organizations were established with the aspiration to fight against

wrongful democratic rulings. After a ruthless and wrongful police beating in Oakland,

California, Bobby Seale and Huey Newton founded the Black Panther Party, originally

named the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The Black Panther Partys main objectives

are to fight oppression and inequality presented in the countryprimarily pursued to

neglect the use of violence unless deemed absolutely necessary. According to Khalid

Raheem, the Black Panther Party initiated and maintained a number of programs aimed at

serving the people (Raheem). As an act of service, these actions were in response to the

failings of the government. Because the government was unable to provide fundamental

rights for the people, the Black Panther Party formed many contrasting methods and

servicesall with the same vision to fight the governing society.

The Black Panther Party formed numerous amounts of community programs that

were produced and acted upon for legitimate reasons. Established in January 1969, the

Free Breakfast for School Children Program initiative was in place for poor communities.

The programs purpose was to provide and serve free breakfast for children in need.As

Andrew Witt asserted in his dissertation, the Panthers knew they had to provide this


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service [free breakfast to children] to their communities, because the government was not

adequately addressing the problem (Witt 63).This act of service was justified and labeled

as legitimate; the democracy in the United States was unable to provide a basic necessity

for communities. Starving children in the country were not given the ability to eat food and

sustain their bodies. The lack of concern, drawn in by the leaders of the government,

garners injustice towards students that are not economically blessed. In response to the

lacking government, the Black Panther Party acted legitimately in aiding the people

through the construction of the Free Breakfast for School Children Program.

In addition to the Free Breakfast for School Children Program, the Black Panther

Party created free health clinics in response to the governmentsshortcomings. Before

1965 in Watts, California, not a single hospital was available for the black community (Witt

66). Black communities were isolated and not given opportunities towards basic medical

needs. Many crowded black communities solely served for the white communities, leaving

others isolated and abandoned. Reported by Ronald Satchel, analyst from the Chicago

Chapter, the medical profession is not responsive to the medical needs of the people and the

medical profession within this capitalist society is composed generally of people working for

their own benefit and advancement rather than the humane aspects of medical care (Witt 66).

Citizens serving their time as medical professionals are responding to the capitalist society,

causing them to work for themselves. The democratic society in the United States led to the

creation of a capitalist economy. The establishment of free health clinics within black

communities is reasonable because of the governing society; their absence in medical needs for

all members of society lead to inhumane outcomes for citizens.


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Additionally and most emphasized, the unlawful brutality from policemen triggered

the Black Panther Party to implement self-defense as one of their core values; although

violence against others were deemed to be unjust, the legitimacy of attacks were qualified

if based on the equality, justice, and freedom. In account of Malcolm X he stated, the time

has come to fight back in self-defense whenever and wherever the black man is being

unjustly and unlawfully attacked (Steven).Although the Black Panther Party did not want

to bring violence upon the police department and government, the rise and increase of

unjust beatings from the police, against black citizens, forced the party to use self-defense

to create a safe environment for the community. Racial segregation was present as cops

would base and assume crimes upon someone because of their skin color. Because the

Black Panther Party and the black community were being abused and ridiculed for so long,

the words of Malcolm X brought fourth confidence and strength to unlawfully fight the

governing society with violence. These actions were legitimate, as the party sought for

equality with the whites within the democracy.

To be aware of the responses and treatment from the police, the Black Panther Party

placed patrol officers on the streets to monitor cop activity. According to Steven from

Libcom, whenever black people were stripped by the police, armed Panthers would be on

the scene, making sure their constitutional rights were not violated (Steven).The

continual outburst of unfair treatment from the police caused the party to enforce their

communities, making sure that safe and fair discipline would be distributed to the people.

The legitimacy of members patrolling the streets can be found in the pursuit of equality,

similar to basic self-defense. Despite the fact that violence against the government is illegal,


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committing acts of attacks can be made reasonable if the democracy fails to give civil rights

to all people.

The armed violence of the Black Panther Party is justified to a certain extent;

conflicts and outbursts that occurred because of the failings of the government, which led

to a lack of civil rights, are considered legitimate actions. On December 4, 1969, the Black

Panther Party, apartment of the Illinois party, was unjustly raided by a large group of police

officers in Chicago. As asserted by Ted Gregory of the Chicago Tribune, Sgt. Daniel Groth

knocked on the front door. When there was no answer, he knocked with his gun. The next

seven minutes of gunfire became one of the most hotly disputed incidents of the turbulent

1960s (Gregory). After the shooting, Fred Hampton, the leader of the Illinois party, and

Mark Clark, the leader of the Peoria party, were shot dead. The violent response from the

Black Panther Party, although lawfully unjust, was backed up because of the wrongful

attack and raid by the police department. The governing society failed to provide justice

and freedom for both of the party leaders. An illegitimate response from the government

allowed for a legitimate violent response from the Black Panther Party.

Although the Black Panther Party performed actions against unjust crimes and

errors from the failing democracy of the United States, frequent illegitimate responses

were displayed by the party. On the night of November 14, 1969, members of the Black

Panther Party incorrectly attacked two police officers on duty. Recorded on a officer

memorial page, it states as the officers entered a gangwaythe man [a member from the

party] opened fire with a shotgun from a porch below, striking Officer Rappaport in the

chest and Officer Gilhooly in the face and neck. The suspect then shot Officer Rappaport

again as he lay on the ground, killing him (Patrolman). The members of the party unjustly


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fired at the officers, causing one to die. If violence is abused wrongfully because of bad

intentions, the legitimacy of that action fails to hold righteousness. The Black Panther Party

responded illegitimately in situations that did not involve the governmentsfailings to

uphold civil rights for the people.

Albeit the portrayal of the group as violent, the Black Panther Party exhibits

legitimate responses to the shortcomings of a democratic society. The groups programs

and methods of approach are legitimate if they are in response to the lack of equality,

justice, and freedom from the government. The Free Breakfast for School Children Program

delivered a response to the lack of concern from the democratic society; this program

allowed students of all racial backgrounds to eat breakfast if they were unable to

elsewhere. Also while implementing free clinics, the inadequacy of the government to reach

the equality in hospitals forced the party to establish basic health needs for the

communities. The Black Panther Partys approach to self-defense and governmental attacks

were acceptable; the intentions pertained to the absence of humane rights from the

democracy. The failings of a democracy can influence illegal actions to be perceived as a

just act towards society.


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Works Cited

Gregory, Ted. "The Black Panther Raid and the death of Fred Hampton." Chicago

Tribune. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

.

Hitz, Zena. "Plato and Aristotle on the Failings of Democracy." Order No. 3154539

Princeton University, 2005. Ann Arbor:ProQuest. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

"Patrolman John J. Gilhooly." Officer Down Memorial Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.

2013. .

Raheem, Khalid. "Remembering the Black Panther Party."New Pittsburgh Courier: 1.

Oct 2011.ProQuest. Web. 18 Nov. 2013 .

Steven. "The Black Panther Party for Self Defense."Libcom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.

2013. .

Witt, Andrew. "'Picking Up the Hammer': The Community Programs and Services of the

Black Panther Party with Emphasis on the Milwaukee Branch, 1966--1977."

Order No. 3180965 Loyola University Chicago, 2005. Ann Arbor:ProQuest. Web. 18

Nov. 2013.
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Resistance of Black Panther Party