Tori Nino
English III- Block F
23 May 2013
Mr. G. Chavez
Revolutionary Heroes
Throughout everyone’s education they are informed on the notorious works of
Martin Luther King, touch base on the views of Malcolm X, and hear the courageous
story of Rosa Parks. However, many other people who helped gain racial freedom are
rarely acknowledged. One party is the Black Panthers, who used the tactic of self-defense
to spark the civil rights reform. People viewed them as more of a violent nuisance deeply
hated by the police rather than actual reformers. The Black Panthers are not a radical
group that urged for violence and persecution of whites, but instead hoped for change and
racial freedom. People have a misconstrued view of what the Black Panthers truly
represented and should be informed on the cruelty and numerous obstacles the party
faced in order to achieve their goals.
By the mid 1960s, Huey Newton, one of the cofounders of the party, had become
disillusioned with the Civil Rights movement and previous student groups in the Bay area
(Jeffries 5). “Newton argued that the traditional civil rights organizations such as the
NAACP, the Congress On Racial Equality (CORE), and the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC) were not protecting African Americans from the heinous
crimes inflicted upon them by white racists” (Jeffries 5). Newton also believed that the
organizations did little to create a better livelihood for the majority of people of African
descent (Jeffries 5). Newton and Bobby Seale, the other cofounder of the Black Panthers,
were so dispirited over the inaction of black-oriented revolutionary groups that they
began planning a bank robbery (Jeffries 5). They concluded to this because they
recognized that they needed money in order for the revolution to occur (Jeffries 5).
“Newton's and Seale's plan had a historic precedent: Joseph Stalin had once robbed banks
in tsarist Russia to get money for the Russian Revolution” (Jeffries 5). One day Newton
jumped up and said,
Later for a bank. What we're talking about is politics. What we're talking about
essentially is the liberation of our people. So later for one jive bank. Let's
organize the brothers and put this together. Let's arm them for defense of the
black community, and it will be like walking up to the White House and saying,
'Stick 'em up, motherf*cker. We want what's ours.' (Jeffries 5).
By doing this, Newton had already begun implying that the Panthers did not urge for any
extinction of whites but the almost impossible equality of blacks during this time. Seale
and Newton wanted to be respected and because of the approach the party made instantly
sparked concern by police.
In October of 1966, Newton and Seale cofounded the Black Panther Party for
Self-Defense (Jeffries 6). As the organization evolved, the word “self-defense” was
dropped from the title (Jeffries 6). “The emergence of the Black Panther Party was the
culmination of a year that saw many segments of the black community exert themselves
in a way that had not been previously witnessed” (Jeffries 6). The founding of the Black
Panther Party came at a critical time in the life of many black Americans (Jeffries 6). The
beginning of the Black Panthers did have a background of criminal behavior but both
leaders knew better than taking that approach. Never did Newton or Seale want to
execute the white race, they simply wanted the equivalent rights and privileges given to
Caucasians. They valued the work of Dr. King and Malcolm X, engraining those beliefs
into their own Party.
The Black Panther party believed they worked within the tradition and spirit of
Malcolm X but also drew on the ideas of other Black organizations that had emphasized
the need for self-defense (Bayes 48). The initial purpose of the Black Panther
organization was to diminish the problem of police brutality in the Black community of
Oakland and eventually nationwide (Bayes 48). Similar to other successful Black
organizations, the Panthers were keenly aware of symbols and codes in developing their
tactics (Bayes 48). Paying close attention to the law, the Panthers made it their policy to
carry weapons for the purpose of self-defense and dared to follow police cars on their
rounds (Bayes 48). Wherever and whenever the police made an arrest, the Panthers
would observe the arrest and sometimes read from a law book the legal rights of the
offender (Bayes 48). The Panthers believed that the government was the enemy, "the
agency of a ruling clique that controls the country" (Bayes 49). The Panthers did partake
in riots but did not plan to receive their equality with violence. Violence was only used
when they felt as if they were being attacked or physically harmed.
The Panthers' self-defense message involved the particular problem of a
nonviolent campaign and addressed itself to developing self-identity in the Black
community (Bayes 50). To bear arms and advocate the need for self-defense was a tactic
that attracted young Blacks especially in the West coast (Bayes 50). To the extent that the
Black Panthers were successful in standing up to the police, they won the admiration of
others in the community (Bayes 50). Some people may conclude that although the Black
Panthers carried guns that gave a leeway to harm others especially the authorities. That
was not the case however; they used weapons to show they as well had rights. Not only
did the Panthers advocate equality and freedom of arms but broke the stereotypes of
women’s role in society.
Female Panthers stretched the boundaries of the largely masculinized Party
structure as well as male Panthers (Collier-Thomas and Franklin 244). Many of these
women held low or no formal positions of rank, yet their heroic actions pushed them into
positions of prominence inside and outside of the Party (Collier-Thomas and Franklin
244). Women, such as Joan Bird, Afeni Shakur, and other unnamed members, fought
figuratively and literally for the revolutionary principles and platform of the Party
(Collier-Thomas and Franklin 244). Many women were involved in armed confrontation
with police authorities alongside Panther men (Collier-Thomas and Franklin 244). By
doing this, they challenged the old Party notions of community defense being a man's job
(Collier-Thomas and Franklin 244).
The brutal treatment of these women by authorities made it clear to the entire
black community that they could expect no comfort or benefits from stereotypes of
women as fragile and weak and needing to be protected by men (Collier-Thomas and
Franklin 244). This construction of womanhood had never been applied to black women
by the larger society nor could the idea that black women somehow received special
treatment from government agencies or U.S. society in general, remain intact (CollierThomas and Franklin 244). Once these black women, involved in militant organizing
efforts, stepped outside of roles traditionally associated with women or African
Americans, their treatment resembled the experiences of their black male counterparts
than those of white women (Collier-Thomas and Franklin 245). Racist and sexist
government agencies and a racist and sexist mainstream polity responded to Black
Panther women as black people who did not “know their place” with respect to their
gender, race, or class (Collier-Thomas and Franklin 245).
From the beginning the police did not view the Panthers as a group that needed to
be respected. In fact, this hatred towards the Party led to a conspiracy murder of one of
the organization leaders, Fred Hampton. The government used an alias, William O’Neal,
who served as Hampton’s bodyguard to conspire Hampton’s murder. At approximately 4
a.m., on the morning of December 4, using O'Neal's invented floor plan the raiders then
departed for Monroe Street, where Hampton lived, very heavily armed.
Once the police arrived, they divided into two "sub teams" and at about 4:30, they
launched an assault upon the Panthers, shooting a member, Mark Clark, in the chest with
a .30 caliber M-1 carbine (Churchill and Vander Wall 71). Clark, who had apparently
nodded off in a front room with a shotgun across his lap, barely had time to stand up
before being killed instantly (Churchill and Vander Wall 71). It was the only round fired
by the Panthers during the raid (Churchill and Vander Wall 71). Two policemen opened
fire and shot throughout the apartment (Churchill and Vander Wall 71). All forty-two
shots fired by the pair converged on the head of Hampton's bed, pinpointed in O'Neal's
floor plan (Churchill and Vander Wall). One of the bullets struck Hampton in the left
shoulder, seriously wounding him as he slept (Churchill and Vander Wall 71). While this
was going on, the second sub team, firing as they came, crashed through the back door
(Churchill and Vander Wall 71).
The Black Panther Party was plagued by internal dissension and demoralized by
the continuing toll inflicted on Panther members by police raids, arrests, trials, and prison
sentences (Bayes 53). In October 1967, the Oakland police stopped Huey Newton in a car
at night leaving he and one policeman wounded, and another policeman dead (Bayes 51).
The Black Panthers used his arrest to mobilize a "Free Huey" campaign that emphasized
the idea that Huey Newton could not obtain a fair trial under the racist circumstances that
governed the courts and juries (Bayes 51). Neither the grand jury nor the trial jury had
Black representation proportional to the Black population of Alameda County (Bayes
59). After a series of trials and appeals, Newton was released from prison in August 1970
and finally acquitted of charges in 1971 (Bayes 59). In 1969, Bobby Seale, along with
seven others, was arrested because of conspiring to provoke a riot at the Chicago
Democratic Convention in 1968 and was again charged in May 1969 with murder and
conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of Black Panther, Alex Rackley, in
Connecticut (Bayes 59. Seale was convicted of contempt of court, but the murder charges
were finally dismissed in May 1971 (Bayes 60). The government closely watched the
Party almost waiting to arrest a member for a slight misdemeanor. The government had a
close eye on the Party because each member did not cave in when it came to their rights.
By late 1971, Huey Newton admitted, "the Party was very wrong to think that it
could change the police forces in the way we tried to do it. All we got was a war and a lot
of bloodshed." (Bayes 53). According to Newton, to become more effective the Party had
to return to the community and listen to the desires and needs of Black people (Bayes
53). Throughout the 1970s, the Black Panthers continued to work for reform of the
courts, juries, and prisons, speak out against police brutality and mounted campaigns
against the Bakke and Watson cases which tested "reverse discrimination" in admission
programs and in job opportunities. Newton began to acknowledge the wrong approach
the party made to gain their freedom. If the Black Panthers had been the radical violent
group the police claimed them to be, their own leader would not admit to their
wrongdoing for racial equality. By then, however, the Black Panther party had a frowned
upon reputation and the police titled them as violent and at the very least worthless of
respect.
Law enforcement was not in favor of the party and because of the police being
biased it has led to an innocent man on death row for a crime he did not commit. Mumia
Abu Jamal is falsely accused of murdering a policeman (Jamal 195). He served time in
prison and still was trialed (Jamal 196). His trial went on for many years, an all white
jury eager to convict him of the murder (Jamal 198). Jamal did admit to shooting the
officer, but was harmed himself during the innocent. He was stripped of his right of
representing himself in court (Jamal 205). During his awaited trial, law enforcement did a
background check on Mumia when they discovered he was a former Panther (Jamal 207).
The mistreatment of this case is an example of the stereotype police placed on the
Panther party. Because of the historical background a man was charged for a crime he did
not commit. Abu Jamal could not get a fair trial because his participation in the party. If
authorities did not use propaganda on people about the Black Panthers then there would
most likely not have been a reason to fear them and view them as radical assassins.
The Black Panthers eliminated their aggressive tactics replacing them with placid
behavior. The party would eventually see their vision of racial equality come true. It is
unjust to believe the Black Panthers were enraged violent Blacks because during their
time period, police brutally beat blacks without any remorse. The police would continue
to assault blacks until the 1990’s. The goal of the Party was the same goal every activist
desired: racial equality and the right to vote. The Black Panthers succeeded in pressuring
the government into giving Blacks the awaited freedom.
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale exemplified the need to continue to strive for
success despite the trouble or obstacles placed in the way. The Panthers truly handled
each situation peacefully until authorities overstepped their boundaries. If a police shot, a
member shot as well. There were no random mass murders or people being held hostage
because the Panthers did not contemplate such events. The government assumed illegal
activity was all Newton or Seale advised their members to do, but in fact almost every
arrest was due to a conspiracy theory, and most trials were acquitted. Without the
creation of the Black Panther Party blacks would still have feared the police and not use
self defense when being attacked. Furthermore, women’s roles would not have been
changed and the civil rights movement would have been extended due to the inequality
black women faced. If the Party never came into existence, the civil rights movement
would have not been such a profound event.