You ever felt the need to fight for something that you felt was wrong? Well, the black panther party did just that. It was a political party led by rebellious african americans who fought for equality during civil rights movements. According to History.com the Black Panther Party got its name due to the fact that the organization wore all black from head to toe. The Black Panthers were a group of strong and brave individuals that were not just fighting for their own rights but for the rights of future generations. The event took place in 1966 in oakland. They had some rights but that did not stop discrimination. Although slavery was over almost nothing had changed. The black panther party helped accelerate the civil rights movement by empowering African-Americans to fight for justice, gave confidence to black women, and embraced self defense against racist attackers.
The founders of the Black Panthers were Huey and Bobby. The Black Panther party can be compared to the recent black lives matter movement that begin to take place not too long ago. They were fighting for their rights, slavery was over but they still were not treated equally. Panther pads were 3-4 bedroom apartments that were shared among about 10 other. There was a 24 hr surveillance. Everyone would follow orders due to the fear or being taken to jail or killed. Men viewed women as sexual objects. The women to Black Panther party tried to switch roles that women should carry firearms and men would cook breakfast for the kids. Men were allowed to carry firearms as long as they did not have any convictions or felonies. Almost all of them carried weapons for security.
Huey taught himself how to read. He went to college and law school according to “britannica.com.” Huey knee the law very well and was well aware that it was legal for people to carry firearms as long as they were visible. When huey was arrested as they claim he shot a police officer. The Black Panthers protested that “Huey must be set free” later on they shortened it to “free Huey.” Black panthers made newspapers it cost them 12 cents to make and sold them for 25 cents. They started idolizing police as pigs. Today it can be compared to black lies matter, all the marches and protests are very similar to the Black Panther party. Bobby was one of the first people to be killed in the Black Panther party the day after his brother gave him a firearm he asked for. The basement he was hiding in caught on fire. No one wanted to burn to death so they surrendered. As the were coming out they had to take everything off and bobby only took off his shirt. He was gunned down. His older brother feels guilty for his death and wishes he had not given him the weapon. After the death of bobby the Black Panthers felt as they had to do whatever was necessary to defend themselves. As Malcolm X said “by all means necessary.” Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968 made a huge impact on the party. They felt like that was the last strike and now more serious actions need to be put in place.
The Black Panther style was black leather jackets and black clothing. All men rocked afros and that drew attention to kids and womens soon everyone was rocking afros. The Black Panthers always looked out for each other. They made breakfast for kids they gave out about 20,000 meals a weak. That program was one of their most successful programs and helped many out. Black women finally spoke what they believed. According to USA Today More than 50% of the members were women The group was “pro black” saying hat the blacks should be treated equally just like the whites and other americans.
Seeing people stand up and fight for their rights is something that is admired and looked at as a unbelievable act. A lot of people are always afraid to stand up for their rights and stand up for what they believe in. They are scared that authorities are going to punish them since they have done so with many. That is why it is good for one person to stand up because that is all it takes for others to be brave and follow and support them.
Mumia Abu-Jamal was part of the black panthers, he was mostly trying to retrieve justice due to when he was 14 he was beaten by police and white attackers. On Dec 4th, 1969, two Panthers were killed when the Chicago Police raided the home of Panther leader Fred Hampton. The raid was made by the police with the FBI. Hampton was shot and killed, and so was Mark Clark. There was only one shot reported that was fired by the Panthers, the police fired 80 shots.The only shot fired by the Panthers was from Mark Clark, it was determined to be the result of a reflexive death convulsion after he was struck in the chest by shots from the police at the start of the raid.
These impactful attacks were similar to the Trayvon Martin murder in 2013. A 17 year old black man was walking home from the store in his neighborhood. When he was attacked and shot by the neighborhood watch member, George Zimmerman. This event lead to the huge Black Lives Matter movement. After trayvon’s death, every year there has been many unarmed black men being killed by police officers. The police officers are also not getting charges for the murders. Eric garner was a black man soliciting at a gas station. When he was tackled and put into the headlock by the officers. Screaming “ I Can’t Breath!” he went into cardiac arrest and died. The deaths makes the problems become more aware and make the groups even stronger.
The good things about the issues they had are that they made the issues very visible for the government and helped accelerate their victory.
There were many women in the black panther party as well. Women were the ones primarily involved with administering the community projects the group held for the programs. The Black Panthers adopted a womanist ideology in consideration of African-American women, Womanism posited that traditional feminism failed to include race and class struggle. womanism promoted a gender role point of view that men are not above women, but they hold a different position in the home and community, so men and women work together for the preservation of African-American community and culture. In 1974, After Eldridge cleaver fled the country; Elaine Brown took the seat of chair for the Black Panther Party in Oakland. She was appointed by Huey Newton. Brown took over the group after Newton exiled in Cuba. She was the first chairwomen of the party. Panther leader Elaine Brown hired Betty Van Patter in 1974 as a bookkeeper.She was introduced to the Panthers by David Horowitz. After a dispute with Brown over financial issues, Van Patter went missing on December 13, 1974. A few weeks later, her severely beaten corpse was found on a San Francisco Bay beach.
