The Black Panther Party by Josephine Hill

Assignment

josephineh10 — 2025-04-17 19:05:13 UTC

Find three important figures from your movement. Add images. Find biographical details. What qualities made them a strong leader? Include a quote from each leader that exemplifies their beliefs.

Assignment

josephineh10 — 2025-04-17 19:05:13 UTC

What challenges did your community face? Did they experience de facto or de jure discrimination? If so, how? Record your findings and sources here.

Assignment

josephineh10 — 2025-04-17 19:05:13 UTC

What role did the government/law enforcement play (positive or negative) in your movement? What laws were changed as a result of your movement? Add significant events, Supreme Court Cases, or new laws here.

Assignment

josephineh10 — 2025-04-17 19:05:13 UTC

Research collective actions taken by your group. Research the who, what, where, when, why of these actions and add them here. What role did cooperation play in these actions?

Assignment

josephineh10 — 2025-04-17 19:05:13 UTC

Research how culture changed as a result of your movement. How does this movement impact how members of the community live today? What changes still need to be made? Find 3 news articles that respond to these questions. Add your findings here.

Lack of Self-determination for Black communities

2025-04-18 20:26:58 UTC

The Black Panther Party felt the lack of control of the institutions in their communities for example the schools and the banks. This was a form of de facto discrimination through the disempowering of the black people. The first point on the 10 point program is: " We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our black and oppressed communities."

Police Discrimination

2025-04-18 21:24:48 UTC

The main challenge that the Black Panther Party faced was police discrimination. The Black Panther Party was hated by and discriminated against. They thought that MLK Jr's thought process of nonviolent protests was not working, so they took the protection of the Black people into their own hands. The police discriminated against them by committing police brutality against any Black person wearing a beret, which was an obvious indicator of them being apart of the Black Panther Party.

https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/black-panther-party-challenging-police-and-promoting-social-change

Huey P. Newton

2025-04-18 21:33:21 UTC

He co-founded the Black Panther Party with Bobby Seale

Born February 17, 1942, in Monroe, Louisiana

Moved to Oakland in the 1940s.

George Jackson

2025-04-23 16:30:35 UTC

He was born September 13, 1941 in Chicago, Illinois but moved to LA as a youth. He grew up very impoverished but with family that emphasized self-respect and black pride. During his teenage years, he had many encounters with the law climaxing in his sentencing of 1 year to life for stealing $70 at a gas station. In prison, he became a communist revolutionary. He also met Huey Newton and agreed to organize a prison movement tied to the BPP. He advocated for a People's War against amerikkka involving urban guerrilla warfare and the decolonization of the continent. He was framed for murdering a prison guard and became a well-known political prisoner. He was assassinated on August 21st, 1971 by prison guards.

George Jackson ultimately brought lot of attention to the prison movement and organizing prisoners as a key part of black liberation. He helped inspire many militants to take up arms and form guerrilla undergrounds such as the Black Liberation Army, the Weather Underground, and the May 19th Communist Organization.

"Settle your quarrels, come together, understand the reality of our situation, understand that fascism is already here, that people are already dying who could be saved, that
generations more will live poor butchered half-lives if you fail to act. Do what must be done, discover your humanity and your love in revolution." - George Jackson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlATI1BzRtc

Jackson, George. Blood in My Eye. Black Classic Press, 1990.

Robert George Seale (Bobby Seale)

2025-04-23 16:34:34 UTC

Born October 22, 1936, in Liberty, Texas.

Moved to Oakland during WWII.

He co-founded the Black Panther Party with Huey P. Newton. Throughout the movement, he led as a prominent figure in the Black Panther Party.

"Our position was: If you don't attack us, there won't be any violence; if you bring violence to us, we will defend ourselves."

-Bobby Seale.

This quote shows how Seale agrees with Malcolm X's ideology of "By any means necessary."

2025-04-23 16:52:01 UTC

The Black Panther Party did many collective actions to really help and engage with the black community. One of those things is opening up Community Health Clinics. This really helped with the community because they were pretty much neglected and treated unfair by the government and the health care in the US.

Who: The Black Panther Party
What: They opened free health clinics for people without access to doctors.
Where: Clinics opened in cities like Oakland, Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Boston.
When: Started in the early 1970s.
Why: Black communities had poor healthcare and high rates of illness.
How cooperation helped: Medical professionals volunteered, and Panthers helped run and organize the clinics.

Pien, Diane. “Black Panther Party’s Free Medical Clinics (1969-1975) •.” Black Past, 10 July 2020, www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/black-panther-partys-free-medical-clinics-1969-1975/. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Pig Patrol

2025-04-23 16:55:32 UTC

Even after the March on Washington and the "I have a dream" speech, America was still country built on the unmarked graves of the native people of this land, and the brutal enslavement of Black people. The police or pigs as they were referred to in the Black Panther Party, reflected this reality. Black people were constantly harassed, imprisoned, and murdered. Their crime itself was being Black in amerikkka. So Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale formed patrol cadres watching the police insuring the safety of their community. The patrols matched the violence of the police. If the police had their guns drawn, so did the Panthers. If the cops shot, so did they. The patrols were never just one person and thus took the form of a real militia or army. This way, if the police shot at the Panthers, it would turn into a shoot out instead of a one-sided tragedy. This was really effective in mobilizing the community against the Police and the government and for the freedom of their communities. When Malcolm X said "we need a Mau Mau", of course referencing the organization behind the anticolonial uprising in Kenya, the Black Panthers answered in part with these patrols.

Free Breakfast for Children Program

2025-04-23 17:07:41 UTC

The Black Panther Party started this program for the children of the Black community. The Free Breakfast for Children Program was started so that the children of the Black community could have a well-nourishing breakfast every morning, consisting of milk, bacon, eggs, grits, and toast. About 20,000 school-aged children in 19 cities across the United States benefited from and were fed by this program. This program. This program lasted from January 1969, responding to the widespread poverty that left many kids going to school on empty stomachs, and ended at the end of 1969. This project was full of cooperation because it brought the community together.

COINTELPRO

2025-04-25 20:24:49 UTC

2025-05-02 21:11:53 UTC

While many would like to think that the 1968 occupation of "Hamilton's Hall" was purely student driven without connection to Harlem political organizing outside the gates of Columbia University, this is just not true. There were many factions within the occupation that were connected with the Panthers or Panthers themselves. The same is true of the group of students that occupied the same hall last year. This more left-wing, radical faction took direct inspiration from the more radical segments of the 1968 action and have directly invoked the legacy of multiple Panthers including George Jackson in their different press appearances. The legacy of the Panthers and the movement they created lives on today in hearts and minds of the brave students that chose to show true solidarity with Palestine last year.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Tu9UXZEeqBg0uGKPTqm08?si=noB4pIKcShia6GSYpKtnJw - An interview of one of the organizers.

2025-05-02 21:16:51 UTC

The government and police treated the Black Panther Party in a negative way. The FBI started a program called COINTELPRO to spy on the on them, spread lies, and cause problems. They even helped plan a raid that had caused the death of Fred Hampton, a young leader, in 1969. Police often raided their offices and homes with a lot of force. The government made the black panthers look dangerous and bad and ignored the good things they did, like giving free breakfasts to kids and running health clinics. Even though some leaders noticed the problems the black panthers talked about, most of the government just tried to stop them instead of listening and helping.

PBS. “A Huey P. Newton Story - Actions - COINTELPRO | PBS.” Pbs.org, 2019, www.pbs.org/hueypnewton/actions/actions_cointelpro.html. Accessed 2 May 2025.

2025-05-02 21:29:10 UTC

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has changed culture and how people live in many communities. It started because people were upset about how Black people were being treated unfairly by the police. (police brutality) Over time, BLM grew into a big movement that made more people talk and be more open about racism and want to change things. Schools, businesses, and even TV shows started to show more Black voices and stories. In some cities, police rules were changed to make things safer for everyone. Today, people feel braver to speak up for what’s right. Even though everything isn’t perfect or equal yet, BLM helped people understand each other better and work toward fairness for all.

Ray, Rashawn. “Black Lives Matter at 10 Years: 8 Ways the Movement Has Been Highly Effective.” Brookings, 12 Oct. 2022, www.brookings.edu/articles/black-lives-matter-at-10-years-what-impact-has-it-had-on-policing/?

Accessed 2 May 2025.