Historical
context: The Black Panthers
The
Civil Rights movement that took place during the mid 50’s in America, featured
some of the most iconic protest in history. It also gave birth to some radical
protest groups. One of those is ‘The Black Panthers’. A group that started with
two men made with one goal in mind and that was to give not only African
American, but every single person who was oppressed or part of the lower class
equality. Equality in school, healthcare and overall living. They went about it
in different ways, some violent and others not so violent, but they fought in
ways they thought were necessary to gain their goals for equality.
To
start we must look at the beginning of the black panthers and what led to their
creation. The group was founded in the mid 60’s by Huey P Newton and Bobby
Seale after they met at Merritt College. Huey had received a month long prison
term for knife assault just before meeting Seale. (Carpini 191) Newton and Seale
formed the Black Panther Party during a time of war. The U.S. was in the middle
of the Vietnam War and African American men were being drafted to go fight over
for that war. The thinking was that why would they go fight overseas when there
was a war to be won at home. (Nelson, Black Panthers Vanguard of the
Revolution)
The
Black Panthers had put together a ten-point program which outlined all their
wants to better their group and their people. To begin they wanted freedom, and
full employment opportunities, as they felt like they weren’t able to get the
same type of jobs white folk had. The Black Panthers wanted to bring an end to
capitalism that they felt were robbing their communities. The Black Panthers
also wanted, descent housing, an equal school system and free health care not
just for black people, but for all of the oppressed. They wanted to end the
police brutality that was happening throughout that city of Oakland and all
across the country. One point they made was to have all conflicts around the
world be stopped. And, finally, they wanted a fair justice and a chance to have
an equal playing field with technology, food, healthcare and other items that
the white folk had access to. (North American Review 16-17)
While
The Black Panther Party had a list of what they wanted to get accomplished,
they also did things on their own. One of those things was healthcare. It’s
something that people don’t really know and also something that most books never
talk about. By 1965 the Black Panthers had 13 different health care clinics set
up across the country. (Bassett, 741) A
couple of those places being Boston, Massachusetts and Mississippi. Not bad for
a group started by two people in Oakland. The main message that the BPP wanted
to get across by doing this is that healthcare is not a privilege but a right,
something that people believe and still call back to today. (Bassett, 743)
Continuing
the talk about the healthcare that the BPP had set up, they also went after
doctors who had graduated college and wanted to make people feel as though they
were at a clinic that was better than most that the privileged folk had. The
first clinic which was opened thanks to Ronald Satchel and Fred Hampton in
Lawndale, Chicago were able to attract good doctors to the clinic. One doctor
name Quentin Young did doctoring work at the Chicago clinic. He went there
because of what he had seen in terms of how one-sided health care had been
while he attended the University of Chicago. Young says that the whites had
received health care at the school, while the blacks were sent away to whatever
run down hospital would take them in. Young also says that the medical clinics
were used as a tacrical and survival strategy. They served as a way for members
of the BPP to stay out of the police line of sight and stay low. Young’s
partnership left a long term positive association wit professional alumni.
(Brown 756-757)
As the clinic was
gaining exposure and people were happy with the job being done, authorities
thought it was their duty to step in. They came in and tried to hand down
different health violations, mostly fabricated, that would result in the
shutdown of the clinic. The attempt would not work and the clinic still remains
open to this day helping anywhere from twenty to thirty people on a daily basis
according to a volunteer. Along with still being open, and helping people, a
Black Panther advocate stays at the center and personally conducts interviews
with almost every single patient. (Quentin Young, 754-755)
Of
course the Black Panther Party was more famous for their more radical and what
some would call extremist measures. A section of the Black Panthers called
themselves the Vanguard, and this most likely is where they got the more
radical image from. Members of this vanguard would walk around with guns out,
because at the time if you carried a gun you had to carry it out in the open.
The only way that it would be a crime is if the person who had the gun was
already a felon. They took their guns everywhere with them, so that if they
spotted any police action going on they would stand at a far distance sweeping
their guns back and forth, not aiming, but intimidating. Standing at a distance
could ensure that police could not say they were a distraction, or interfering
in an arrest. The Vanguard did this so that no police brutality could happen or
would stop immediately if it was going on. (Nelson, Black Panthers Vanguard of
the Revolution)
The
Black Panthers had no screening process for members, they needed people and
were willing to bring in whoever and whenever. With a joining process so easy
the Panthers would often get some more crazy members that would add on to this
radical image. Enter Eldridge Cleaver, a man who was a literary writer and
would always try his best to invoke craziness and violence. Over time, Eldridge
would become a new face for the black Panthers.
On
October 27th, 1968 Huey Newton would fatally shoot an Oakland police
officer. Eldridge with his newly found leadership held a press conference where
he wanted Huey Netwon to be free. He went on to say that if the police did not
free him then it would be very hard for the Oakland police to avoid an open
armed war sweeping across the nation. Protests were then held for days on end
with the tagline of “Free Huey!” Huey would be convicted and released in 1970,
a short time thanks in part to the protests that were being held almost daily for Huey.
The
Black Panthers were a hip group that changed the civil rights movement that was
once started and gained traction by Martin Luther King Jr. People wanted to
dress like them, they wanted to move like them. The Black Panthers helped shape
a community and give a personality to those that were oppressed.
In
1989, Huey Lewis would be shot and killed in Oakland Calidofrnia. Tyronne
Robinson admitted to the killing of Huey. Police believe that Robinsons, who
was a drug dealer, would not sell Newton drugs. After arguing for a few minutes
Newton tried to steal the drugs leading to the fatal shooting.
Work
Cited
1. Bassett, Mary T. "Beyond Berets: The Black
Panthers as Health Activists." American Journal of Public Health 106.10
(2016): 741-743. Web
2. "The Black Panther Ten-Point
Program." The North American Review 253.4 (1968): 16-17.
Web.
3. "Quentin
Young on the Black Panther Party Free Clinic in Chicago." American
Journal of Public Health 106.10 (2016): 754-755. Web.
4. Brown,
Theodore M. "Working With the Panthers to Transform Health Care for Poor
Black Communities." American Journal of Public Health 106.10
(2016): 756-757. Web.
5.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBTgeHX7jn0rjSViu7EE92A.
"'The Black Panthers Vanguard Of The Revolution' Full Film Documentary
2015." YouTube. YouTube, 2016. Web. 11 Nov. 2016.
We
all know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was all for non violent protests. We
all remember his march on Washington, and the infamous “I Have A Dream Speech”
but the Black Panthers were different. It’s important to explore how the
Panthers differentiated themselves from MLK and how they preached violence,
while also preaching peace. The only thing the Black Panthers ever actually
wanted was equality. Equality through any means necessary.
Some
people, and writers, have their own views about what exactly the BPP were
protesting and why. David Oppenheimer a writer for the University of California
Press wrote about the Black Panthers. He wrote that the members are nothing
more than a race of people who were proud of their identity. (Oppenheimer,
University of California Press) This way of looking at the BPP protests is a
new way, and one that I never saw until I started writing this paper. It is a
new way of looking at the group, but it is also, maybe a misconception.
The
first part that I would like to talk about from that statement above, is what
does he mean by their identity? Could he be talking about the the way the group
has gained a face as a more extremeist and radical group? As stated in the
historical context, the group gained that more radical look because they
carried guns in the open and forced California and the country to change that
law. To say that the BPP were only proud of that extremist identity, would
almost have to be wrong. Because the BPP were not only about causing violence,
they wanted to generally help those that were oppressed, and looked down upon,
It’s also important to note that white men also took part in the “Free Huey”
protest, so as we can see the BPP were not only a group of radicals.
You can also make
the case that by saying that about the BPP, the writer is discrediting them of
their impact on society. They brought a new wave of clothing, changed not only
laws, but pop culture as a whole. People wanted to be a Black Panther. They
wanted to dress the part and be the part. Bobby Seale and Huey Newton made the
group to end the oppression and racism, but the lasting effects left a huge
mark on our nation and for a group of people as a whole.
We can also see
that in the way that protests have come around our country, one of the most
recent being Colin Kaepernick and his protesting of the flag. He is spreading
the message of the BPP by wearing shirts that feature the famous panther and
spending time in more oppressed areas, to get a message out. Just recently he
created a Black Panthers inspired youth camp. (Finlay, Huffington Post) Other
stars such Beyonce have even brought the organization back into the spotlight
with her recent performance in the Super Bowl halftime show. To sit and write
that the Black Panther Party was only a group proud of their identity is kind
of a harsh generalization.
After Beyonce had
done her Super Bowl performance some analysts called the Black Panther Party militant
thuggery and propaganda. One Milwaukee county sherrif even had this to say
about it. “Them
coming out, Beyonce, in those Black Panther type uniforms, would that be
acceptable if a white band came out in hoods and white sheets in the same sort
of fashion? We would be appalled and outraged.” (2)
As
I was doing research I found another first thanks to that sherriff. I had never
heard anyone compare the Black Panther Party to the Ku Klux Klan. Comparing
those two groups together is kind of like comparing apples and oranges. Sure
the Black Panthers were all about force and aggression, but they were not
trying to harm anybody, or a single race of people for the sake of doing it. As
ive said countless times throughout this paper, their sole mission as a group
was to end the oppression, by any means necessary. MLK had the same goal, the
only difference here was that he wanted to do it peacefully.
Looking
at what the KKK wanted to do, they wanted to keep on oppressing the black
people that were in KKK territory. We all know thow they would go about doing
those things is something we all know of, and we have all heard the story of
Emmett Till so no further explanation is needed there, but the Similarities
between the KKK and BPP only come across with the violence. While the Black
Panthers wanted to have their guns out at all times and really instill fear and
intimidate police and anybody who helped the oppressions, the KKK wanted to be
violent at all times.
The KKK philosophy was to hurt or kill everyone
who wasn’t white, or to hurt those that helped the blacks. The Black Panthers
wanted everyone to help end the oppressions. White people would gather with the
Panthers to help protest issues and voice concerns of their own. For an officer
of the law to make that sort of comparison is outrageous in its own right. I’m
sure he hasn’t been the first and most likely will not be the last but it is
still a crazy comparison to begin with.
Another thing to talk about it the comments
made by some analyst that I mentioned earlier. Calling the Black Panthers
‘militant thugs’ and ‘propaganda’ is another harsh generalization. A thug is a
violent person, and while the Black Panthers definitely practiced violence and
had a do whatever it takes attitude, they never engaged in open warfare with
the police unless they felt the need to do so. They did practice propaganda,
but the propaganda they preached wasn’t one of hate, they only wanted to spread
peace and equality. Even if through getting that peace and equality a bit of
blood had to be spilled.
Looking at the different ways that the Black
Panthers have been talked about and how their legacy still lives on through
sports stars and pop culture. Its easy to see they were a very influential
group and faction. The fact that we still talk about them today by way of what
has recently happened with the cop shootings and sport stars such a Colin
Kaepernick creating a youth group inspired by the Black Panthers, its hard to
say that they weren’t just a violent group of people that were only proud of
their race.
1. "Colin
Kaepernick Just Started A Black Panther-Inspired ..." N.p., n.d. Web. 11
Nov. 2016.
2. Wfld. "Milwaukee County Sheriff
David Clarke Sounds off on Beyonce." WFLD. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov.
2016.
3. David Oppenheimer, 2016, University
of California Press
QUESTIONS!!!
1. The Black Panthers have a long history, what is one way to maybe make the historical context flow better?
2. What would you guys like to learn more about regarding the group?
3. What general tips do you have in regards to giving the paper a better flow.
P.S. - I am fairly sure that all the in paper citation are wrong, I am working on that as this is typed.
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