Who Were the Black Panthers?

As a child, I remember running around with other kids my age whom I barely knew when I lived in my old house. We rode on bikes, went to each other’s houses, and shared toys. My cousins and other family members came over frequently as well—almost every weekend. We’d have dinner, barbecue, or play games together. Being surrounded by loving people was the biggest highlight of my childhood.

But now that I’m freshly seventeen, I’ve been wondering why there’s been such a disconnect recently. Not just in my family, but in my friends’ and even strangers’ online. In my race, community has been a big part of our culture, yet it seems to be slowly dying.

For my blog, instead of becoming emotional and talking about how much I miss my childhood, I thought that I should highlight one of the biggest impacts in African American culture.

 

The Black Panther Party.

The Black Panther Party (BPP) was a militant organization founded in 1966 by two “radicals,” Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. I’m sure you may not be familiar with those individuals or their group—but don’t worry, I’m here to enlighten you!! This is an incredibly difficult topic to cover. I’ll talk about the rise and fall of this organization as well as their achievements.

For context, the civil rights movement began in the 1940’s when laws were being passed to benefit people of color. Laws such as the Executive Order that desegregated defense jobs. Nobody really considered it a “movement” until Emmett Till’s murder in August of 1955. It sparked national outrage, and the country was divided for well over a decade. After that day, many historical accomplishments were made, and the Civil Rights Act was finally passed in 1964. Yet, things didn’t end there.

History may have advertised that the terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan, may have died down after the Civil Rights Act was passed. I can assure you that is a lie. If anything, the white supremacists grew angrier and more violent. They bombed, lynched, and set fire to innocent African Americans, leaving them fearful for their lives during that period of what should’ve been celebration. None of them were really charged or punished for their actions because many of them controlled their communities, such as police officers and other individuals who were highly respected.

So how does this tie into my introduction?

Well, since many African Americans were displaced, other people decided to lend a helping hand. People like Newton and Seale. They founded their revolutionary group in 1966 to help those who suffered from discrimination and violence. The founding of the group lasted for decades, even all the way into the 21st century. 

 Malcolm X’s assassination was the catalyst for this group’s formation, as they realized they must take care of one another. Their original purpose was to protect black neighborhoods from police officers. Crazy right? The party opened up “survival programs” for healthcare, education, and food for the youth. In today’s world, many churches and after-school clubs continue to help out those in need as well as the youth by feeding and clothing them. The BPP’s efforts in their community of Oakland, California, made a positive impact.

Not only did they help their communities, but they also had an agenda to follow—“The “Ten-Point Program”— published on May 15, 1967. Their agenda can be simplified to wanting peace, freedom, justice, education, equal economic opportunities, good housing, and representation in law.

The end of the BPP was caused by their internal conflicts. The most notable was that the visions of Newton and Eldridge Cleaver didn’t align, which sparked animosity between them. The party became divided between community service and self-defense, or confrontation with the American government. Eventually, Newton expelled Cleaver—This was known as “the split”. Once gone, Cleaver made his own group called the Black Liberation Army (BLA). The split turned violent when members of the BPP and the BLA began murdering each other, a total of four deaths. This caused hundreds of members to resign from the BPP.

Speaking of violence, this led to the “Free Huey!” campaign. On October 28, 1967, a police officer named John Frey was shot to his death. One of the founders, Newton, was there when this murder occurred. He was known for being involved with violent crimes and was charged with first-degree murder and other felonious crimes for Frey’s murder. This sparked outrage in the leftist part of the United States. Eventually, he was released three years later.

The party formally ended in 1982 due to gender inequality and embezzlement of drugs. Their impacts—both negative and positive—still lasted for decades. Their boldness in exercising authority and kindness in taking care of the people in their race will be forever highlighted.