The Black Panther Party by Nancy Weinberg

(She wrote this in 2016 when she was 93!)

This paper is about the Black Panther Party who were revered by some and reviled by the greater number. I’d like to acquaint the reader with often unknown aspects of this controversial movement. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, young students at Oakland, California community college, fought long and hard about the need for a viable program designed to address the dire needs of the Black community. The basic philosophy which Newton and Seale adopted for the Panthers was inspired by two major figures: Malcolm X and Che Guevara whose writings they absorbed. 

Malcolm X’s great influence on urban youth was based on his understanding of them. His experience with life on the streets plus his extensive book learning were instrumental in his appeal. Malcolm X’s legacy and his challenge to blacks were to achieve freedom “by any means necessary.”

The other major influence was Che Guevara, a charismatic, Marxist revolutionary leader from Cuba, whose dreams were of a worldwide Socialist revolution to establish the rule of the underclass, thus eliminating both racism and Capitalism.

After Malcolm X’s murder in 1965, Newton and Seale driven by this absorbing need for a black militant program, began preparing for their new organization. After much study of books based on revolutionary struggles around the world and the material about Black Civil Rights, they embarked on their project. 

So, in 1966, was born the Black Panther Party for Self-defense. Their agenda was contained in a Ten Point program. These included the need for full employment, decent housing and education, to more radical aims. Point 7 was a call for the ending of police brutality and murder of Black people by the police. This was the primary issue in the hearts of Black urban America, and thus became the focus of the new party determined to carry guns and monitor police abuses on the streets of Black communities. The 10th Point summarizes their agenda for Black Liberation. “We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.”

The initial goal of the new party was to curb the police excesses on their streets, with knowledge of ongoing brutality and often murder of Black youth. The Panthers armed themselves and patrolled the police’s actions in the community. The Panther party grew rapidly–young Black men, angry at the unwarranted police attacks, eagerly joined the Panthers to eradicate the many injustices. The Panthers advocated a program of International Socialist revolution, to embrace and fight alongside other nations in their struggle for Black Liberation, particularly those in Africa.

Newton’s aim politically was the elimination of Capitalism. He said, “We realize that this country became very rich on slavery and that slavery is Capitalism in the extreme. We have two evils to fight, Capitalism and racism. We must destroy them both.”

One of the first interventions the new party engaged in concerned the death of Denzil Dowell, a young black man, who had been pursued by the police as he was running from them. He was then executed, although unarmed, with his hands in the air, and of course, the police were exonerated. It sounds like today. The Panthers had early established themselves as major organizers—therefore, they became involved in this case. 

The Panthers confronted the police who harassed Dowell’s family, helped mothers in the community organize against abuse, organized street rallies in which hundreds came and joined the party. As Revolutionary Socialists, the Panthers addressed the needs of Black communities across the nation. 

In 1967, following the introduction of a gun control bill by the California State Assembly, passage of which would make the Panthers carrying guns illegal, Bobby Seale and 29 members of the Panthers went to the state Capital to protest the bill. Seale spoke, exhorting his listeners to arm themselves against violence. He spoke to black and white America stating that the racist California legislature, by banning guns were aiding racist police and terrorizing and repressing Black communities with no means of self-defense.

They were all arrested but they gained recognition as a new symbol of black militancy. New members joined in great numbers and people from all over the country called, wanting to start new chapters. 

Despite their active monitoring of police brutality and the fact that they carried guns to protect themselves, I reiterate, the Panthers were multifaceted. They created alternative schools, served breakfast to hundreds of hungry children, cared for the needs of the elderly, amassed and distributed hundreds of bags of food for poor families. Despite these great deeds the law conducted vicious witchhunts, by the FBI and local police, in which large numbers of Panthers were charged with various crimes and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. The charges were later proven unfounded, trumped up and downright false. During this time offices and homes of the leaders were broken into, searched and often destroyed. Party leaders were being killed across the country.

Obviously, the law was bent on the elimination of the militant Panthers and used their militant activities as a pretext for their destruction. President Nixon took notice of their, to him, frightening aspect and gave his tacit approval to his director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, to destroy the Panthers “by whatever means necessary. Hoover took immediate steps to execute this order. He organized a counter-intelligence agency, COINTELPRO. 

In 1969, the COINTELPRO, terrified of the notion that Panthers were attempting to coalesce with other Black nationalist groups orchestrated the murders of two Panther leaders at UCLA. The murdered men had been facilitators of the possible coalitions. Hundreds of assaults were perpetrated against Panthers across the country. By 1968, Hoover publicly denounced the Black Panther Party as “the single greatest threat to the internal security of the United States.”

From then on it was open season on the Panthers by the FBI as well as the many, many local police agencies throughout the country. In 1968, Newton was convicted, charged with manslaughter in the killing of a white policeman. He was sentenced to 2-15 years. The FBI was aided by agent provocateurs who infiltrated every level and disrupted and destroyed the Panthers. They were aided and abetted by the misinformation disseminated regularly by the media which further damaged the Panthers in the prejudiced view of the public. 

In 1968, Huey Newton was charged with manslaughter in the killing of a White policeman, arrested, and convicted. He was sentenced to two to fifteen years. Meanwhile Panthers were being murdered every night in 1968. Newton spent 2 years in jail in 1970 his conviction was overturned and he was released. 

In that same year Bobby Seale was tried for allegedly inciting to riot at the Democratic Presidential Convention in Chicago. Meanwhile, Panthers were being murdered every month. This war was waged by government forces against any groups’ efforts to help, whether Black, Native American, or Hispanic. Police and FBI their primary target the Panthers. Instead of a war on racism or poverty, America was embroiled in a war against Black activism and indeed, against Black people.

Following the introduction of a bill for gun control, passage of which would make the Panthers carrying guns illegal. Bobby Seale and 29 members of the Panthers when to the state capital to protest the bill. Seale spoke “exhorting his listeners to arm themselves against violence.” They were all arrested but they gained recognition as a new symbol of Black militancy. New members joined in great numbers and people from all over the country called, wanting to start new chapters.

In the saga of Fred Hampton, the leader of the Chicago chapter was a charismatic, brilliant organizer. At age 14 he increased local membership at the NAACP junior chapter from 7 to 300 in 7 months. The FBI took note of this and opened a file on him. As a 21 year old, he fed 3,500 kids breakfast daily among many other successful ventures. Finally, in 1969 murder of Hampton had to happen. Orchestrated by the FBI, Illinois’ attorney general Ed Hanrahan and 14 policemen stormed Hampton’s apartment, a floor plan having been given to them by his body guard who also drugged Fred into a state of insensibility. 14 police stormed in, riddled his body and room with 100 bullets, killing both him and Mark Clark, an associate. It was the most heinous of White power gone berserk.

Bobby Rush, a high ranking Panther, remembers the Hampton massacre. The Chicago police, when question always told reporters that the Black Panther Party was criminals. Rush repudiated that. The Panthers had programs. We were not criminal, we were a political party. We had programs for the people. We were organized and disciplined in philosophy and ideology. We sacrificed our lives for the people. We considered ourselves the Vanguard of the revolution. I’ve said little of Newton’s aspirations to create a global revolution by nations fighting for their independence would be aided the party. Huey had enjoyed a meeting with Mao’s trusted aid (check) The Panther’s helped revolutionary forces in Mozambique to achieve self-rule, as well as working with Zimbabwe with similar goals. Photos of Panther members in China and Palestine reveal the essence or this global. His dream of a global revolution where Capitalism was abolished and a society would prevail where the common man would enjoy justice and peace. This was akin to the philosophy of Che who was murdered in 1967 in jungles of Bolivia, with a CIA rep present. 

After three years in prison, Newton was released in 1970, his conviction having been overturned. Upon his return, he saw the troubled state of his party. He embarked on a program which he called “survival program.” He sought to change the image of the Panthers from police patrolling with guns, to a peaceful agenda designed to rebuild relations with the Black community. The Panthers opened many schools, provided a huge breakfast program for children “which later was adopted by the United States government.” They helped old folks with their grocery shopping and in rough neighborhoods provided transportation to help folks safely cash their social security checks. They founded newspapers, organized strikes, provided sound medical care with excellent doctors from nearby hospitals, free of course. A poll revealed that Black people judged the Panthers most likely to help in their struggle for liberation. However, despite Newton’s efforts, the deadly mix of police and FBI killings, jailings and internal strife caused the denouement of the Black Panther Party. The crimes of government forces had worn the Panther members down. 

As I write this paper I am compelled to add a timely element, in July 2017, our eminent President Trump found time and energy to request Cuba to expel Assada Shakur and former Panther and aunt of Tupac. She had fled to Cuba thirty-three years earlier, having been perused as a suspect in a murder of a policeman. She was granted asylum by Cuba and has lived there to this day. This is likely another example of the sorts of lies and unjust charges that were brought against her.

The Black Panther Party today is a memory to some of us and energetic dedicated movement, that had it been allowed to survive, grow and flourish, would undoubtedly have produced a freer society and a peaceful environment. But of course the current picture is a terrible continuation of then. Fraught with police violence, poverty and a sense of hopelessness; especially in the young. But I err—today has produced Black Lives Matter—all is not lost.

In the brief period of the Panthers existence, 11 years, they accomplished so very much. Making amazing strides in their passionate quest for better lives for the Black communities across the country. So short a time—yet filled with such promise and with such dedicated effort and so many achievements.

And the question arises, how well is the rich legacy of the Panthers known or appreciated by the American people today? It is sad but—the Black Panthers are hardly remember or not heard of at all. Howard Zinn, prominent educator and writer of People’s tells us that a few of the major textbooks don’t even mention the Panthers while most offer a sentence or two. Even the small number that offer a few paragraphs gives little context to their actions and distort their ideology. Chicago, like many other towns and cities strongly need a resurgence of the Panthers and their program.

I wrote this paper as a tribute to the Black Panther Party and I am proud that my painting is to be a small part of the traveling exhibit, the Chicago segment, celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. Finally “…they leave a legacy, a human legacy that is a beacon from the past, for those of us searching still to cross the abyss of human barbarity that seems written into eternity.” Fredrica Newton, wife of Huey.