Great Wall Institute: The Process of the Great Wall of Los Angeles

Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was a revolutionary organization that was part of the Black Power movement and inspired by the self determination philosophy of Malcolm X. First established in 1966 by Huey P Newton and Bobby Seale as a neighborhood patrol for self defense against police brutality in Oakland, the Panthers quickly grew in influence.They eventually developed into a Black nationalist group having over 5,000 members with multiple chapters in major cities like Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and New York. The BPP sought not to integrate into society but to change it fundamentally, focusing on a 10 point program to emphasize their ideals and address the needs of the Black community. Taking these needs into their own hands, the Panthers organized free health clinics where they offered testing for sickle cell anemia. They also had free breakfast and education programs for school children. Through their food programs, BPP was feeding more children than the U.S. government. The Black Panthers served as an example for  government social programs that had since failed to provide free breakfast on such a scale. The Black Panthers also served as an example for other ethnic solidarity groups like the Brown Berets in Los Angeles and the Young Lords founded in New York.

Despite their positive societal impact, the media often portrayed the Black Panther Party as a terrorist group because of their militant approach. Through the FBI, The U.S. government created a counterintelligence program to illegally manipulate information and sabotage the party. This tension reached its height in 1969 when the Chicago Police Department raided the apartment where various BPP members were staying and opened fire killing two of the party’s leaders. This same year LAPD raided the South California Panther headquarter which resulted in a four hour standoff and the creation of the first SWAT team. 

In an interview with SPARC, former Minister of Culture and Black Panther artist  Emory Douglas remembers his experiences in the BPP. Douglas designed most of the Black Panther Party’s official newspapers. Distributed across the country the paper featured art, events, resources, calls to action, and both national and international stories. In alignment with their coalition politics, pages of the paper often included pieces on Africa, Latin America, and Asia.


Sources:
     “A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States: The Black Panther Party.” Vernon E. Jordan Law Library , Howard University School of Law, library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/bpp. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023. 
     “The Black Panther Party: Challenging Police and Promoting Social Change.” National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian, 23 Aug. 2020, nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/black-panther-party-challenging-police-and-promoting-social-change. 
     Easley, Barbara. “The Black Panther Party.” National Archives and Records Administration, National Archives and Records Administration, www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power/black-panthers. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023. 
     Hermida, Arianne. “Mapping the Black Panther Party in Key Cities.” Mapping American Social Movements Project, Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium / University of Washington, depts.washington.edu/moves/BPP_map-cities.shtml. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023. 
      Jones, Charles E., and Ollie  A. Johnson. “Explaining the Demise of The Black Panther Party.” The Black Panther Party (Reconsidered), Black Classic Press, Baltimore, MD, 2005, pp. 391–414. https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/ollie-a-johnson-iii-explaining-the-demise-of-the-black-panther-party

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