Angela Davis was a part of the Black Panther
Party.
T/F
Angela Davis is an activist,
scholar and writer who
advocates for the oppressed.
She has authored several
books, including Women,
Culture & Politics. She was
not a member of the Black
Panther Party, she just
associated herself with them.
The Black Panther Party was racist against
white people.
T/F
Mission Statement. The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation is a community-based,
non-profit research, education, and advocacy center dedicated to fostering
progressive social change. By preserving the history of multicultural activism and
community self-determination, by educating the public about this history's
continued relevance, and by creating a crucible for practicing ongoing progressive
change, guided by the writings and teachings of Huey P. Newton, the Foundation
seeks to empower all people, but especially urban youth, to be builders of a true
global community.
The number one woman wanted for murder
in the United States is Assata Shakur.
T/F
My name is Assata ("she who struggles") Olugbala (
"for the people" ) Shakur ("the thankful one"), and I
am a 20th century escaped slave. Because of
government persecution, I was left with no other
choice than to flee from the political repression,
racism and violence that dominate the US
government's policy towards people of color. I am an
ex political prisoner, and I have been living in exile in
Cuba since 1984. I have been a political activist most
of my life, and although the U.S. government has
done everything in its power to criminalize me, I am
not a criminal, nor have I ever been one. In the
1960s, I participated in various struggles: the black
liberation movement, the student rights movement,
and the movement to end the war in Vietnam. I
joined the Black Panther Party. By 1969 the Black
Panther Party had become the number one
organization targeted by the FBI's. because the Black
Panther Party demanded the total liberation of black
people, J. Edgar Hoover called it "greatest threat to
the internal security of the country" and vowed to
destroy it and its leaders and activists.
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1966 the Black Panther Party (BPP) was founded
The Original six members of the Black Panthers included Elbert “Big Man”
Howard, Sherman Forte, Reggie Forte, Little Bobby Hutton, and Newton
and Seale.
The Party was established to monitor police activities and protect the
residents from police brutality. The BPP combined elements of socialism
and Black Nationalism it also promoted the development of strong Blackcontrolled institutions, calling for Blacks to work together to protect their
rights and to improve their economic and social conditions. The Panthers
also emphasized class unity, criticizing the Black middle class for acting
against the interests of other, less fortunate Blacks.
https://diva.sfsu.edu/
collections/sfbatv/bu
ndles/190417
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 men 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.
•
•
•
•
•
Freedom
Education
Safety
Rights
Basic human
needs (ie food,
shelter, land)
•
•
No set religion for the BPP
Instead had guidelines to live
and work by
•
examples of guidelines:
o
“No party member can have narcotics or
weed in his posession while doing party
work”
o
“No party member will commit any crimes
against other party members or black
people at all, and cannot steal or take
from the people, not even a needle or a
piece of thread.”
o
“No party member will use, point, or fire
a weapon of any kind unnecessarily or
accidentally at anyone.”
1. Speak politely.
2. Pay fairly for what you buy.
3. Return everything you borrow.
4. Pay for anything you damage.
5. Do not hit or swear at people.
6. Do not damage property or crops of the poor, oppressed
masses.
7. Do not take liberties with women.
8. If we ever have to take captives do not ill-treat them.
•
Took up the demands of Northern African Americans.
•
Sticking Together!
•
The Black Panthers instituted a variety of community social programs.
•
The BPP wanted equal opportunity in the workforce for all African
Americans.
o
They believed that the federal government is responsible and
obligated to give every man employment or a guaranteed income.
o
Also believed that if the white American businessmen will not give full
employment, then production should be taken from the business man
and placed in the inner city black communities so they can organize
and employ all of its people and given a higher standard of living.
A picture of a young child trapped in poverty, but she holds a
picture of a boy in the Panther free breakfast program and
stands in front of 1968 presidential candidate Shirley
Chisholm. "A vote for Chisholm is a vote for survival."
•
The BPP wanted education for African Americans
o
•
They believed in an education system that gives the people knowledge of
one’s self. If a man does not have knowledge of himself and his position in
society and the world, then he has little chance to relate to anything else.
BPP members started to teach others about the history, also practicing ongoing
progressive change, and by teaching practical lessons of community service.
•
•
•
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Black Panthers against…
Vietnam War
LAPD
FBI
Oakland Police
Disc 1: Library Newsreel Films
01. Off the Pig
02. Mayday
03. Repression
RELEVANT TIMECLIPS
1)
(00:07 – 03:17)
2)
(08:49 – 09:22)
3)
(10:29 – 12:08)
How is the Black Panthers Party (BPP) dealing with the challenges of
widespread and rapid change and all the worldviews that they are faced
with the same challenges of advocating for in acceptance, adaption,
incorporation of and resistance or rejection to these changes?
“One of the problems is that the community does not
have a structured organization or vehicle which serves it's
needs and represents the people's interests.” — HPN
Continuum of Community Acceptance of Violent Activities by
Terrorists & Political Insurgents
Lack of acceptance
and active
resistance.
<-------------------------------------------------------------------------->
Passive acceptance
Genuine
Active participation
due to
acceptance/widespread by community
silencing/coercion
favorable opinion.
members.
Figure 1 - (Springer Science + Business Media, 2013)
•
There is a wide literature in political science regarding the ways in which violence often organizes
around shared group identity, such as ethnicity or religion” (Figure 1).
·
•
Groups in mainstream society are excluded from political and social participation.
Not as noticeable, charitable movements by minority groups are often provoked by same segregation.
•
The Black Panther Party was created during a period of stress when “Black people
were moving away from the philosophy and strategy of non-violent action toward
sterner actions (“Black Panther.org.).
•
Compared to 1966 when the BPP was formed, today conditions for black
Americans are worse, Blacks die of:
o
Poverty
o
Cancer
o
AIDS
o
Infant mortality rate doubles whites
•
More so today than when the initial BPP began – intervention and liberty is still
needed.
“We have been slandered, kidnapped, gagged, jailed and
murdered. We know now, more than ever before, that the
will of the people is greater than the technology and
repression of those who are against the interests of the
people. Therefore we know that we can and will continue
to serve and educate the people’ (“Black Panther.org.)
What events or developments or
pressures have the BPP’s attention
and how are they responding to
these events, developments or
pressures?
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•
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Free healthcare
Free medical clinics (lack of decent medical facilities in black communities)
Breakfast for children
Clothing and shoe programs
Education
Support – standing up and resisting against police brutality
Free legal aids and bussing-to-prison programs
Showed “acts of compassion, protection and love through social service provision
and commitment to bear arms” (Pope, Flanigan).
•
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Revolution is a process.
Be ready to respond creatively to new conditions and
perceptive.
•
Fight oppressive forces creating need for government
assistance.
•
“As guardian of the true history of the Black Panther Party, the
Foundation, which includes former leading members of the Party,
criticizes the NBPP’s exploitation of the Party's name and history
(Black Panthers.org).
•
The NBPP is trying to “steal the names and pretend to walk
in the footsteps of the Party's true heroes, such as Black
Panther founder Huey P. Newton, George Jackson and
Jonathan Jackson, Bunchy Carter, John Huggins,
Fred Hampton, Mark Cark (Black Panthers.org).
•
The NBPP known to be extremists.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/the-new-black-panther-party/
•
Forty years later when Arnold Schwarzenegger was Governor of
California, the BPP is still considered to be a threat.
•
Today, racism and poverty is still a huge challenge and problem for
African Americans as back in the 1950s and 1960s.
•
Exception: today, the BPP does have far greater and affluent black,
middle class Americans.
•
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These complications created terrorism – Eldridge Cleaver.
Cleaver, former BPP leader – a flawed radical who believe greatly in
change in political orientation in his worldview.
•
Failure to adopt a “rounded-out Marxist approach” (Socialist Party
Magazine. (2006).
•
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The BPP beliefs are in unity and strength (10 Point Program).
BPP ensured affirmative rights of women to play full, active role.
Works Cited Page:
“Black Panther.org.” The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. Springer Science+Business. Media New York.
http://www.blackpanther.org/FAQs.html
Lavelle, Ashley. (2012). From “Soul on Ice’ to ‘Soul for Hire’? The political transformation of Black Panther Eldridge
Cleaver.”
Race & Class. Vol. 54(2): 55-74. 10.1177/0306396812454985
National Geographic. (1996-2014). “Inside the New Black Panthers: The New Black Panther Party.” National
Geographic Society. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/the-new-black-panther-party/
Pope, Ricky J., Flanigan, Shawn T. (2013). “Revolution for Breakfast: Intersections of Activism, Service, and Violence in the
Black Panther Party’s Community Service Programs.” Soc Just Res 26:445-470. DOI 10.1007/s11211-013-0197-8
Works Cited Page:
Socialist Party Magazine. (2006). “Lessons from the Black Panthers. Socialism Today. Issue
104. http://www.socialismtoday.org/104/panthers.html
http://www.blackpanther.org/index.html
http://www.franciscodacosta.com/articles/BPP.html
http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/Chapter_History/FBI_War_LA_Chapter.html
http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/unknown-date/party-rules.htm