Black Panthers

Origin:

Racial issues were thrust into the public eye during the 1960’s. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 promised “Prohibition against discrimination or segregation in places of public accommodation” The Act was originally outlined by John F. Kennedy, but after his assassination the Act was passed by Lyndon Johnson. Although the legislation was supposed to ensure equal access to African Americans, many Americans felt that equality was undeserved. Despite many African Americans losing their lives while fighting for a country that considered them second class citizens, the United States still was unable to secure rights for these men and women. As a result of the ineffectualness of the United States Government’s Legislation at curving racism, many different Civil Rights movements gained strength during the 1960’s. Martin Luther King’s movement advocated nonviolence. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was also a major advocate of nonviolent protest. In their founding statement, the Committee states, “We affirm the philosophical or religious ideal of nonviolence as the foundation of our purpose, the presupposition of our belief, and the manner of our action.” The Committee shared this philosophy with Dr. King. Many African Americans felt that this method was unyielding and too slow. They felt that there needed to be action taken immediately and that change needed to be expedited. Radical Leaders like Malcolm X called for more violent approaches to achieving change. As a reaction to Malcolm X’s assassination, the Black Panther Party was formed to try to continue his radical approach to achieving Civil Rights for African Americans. In October 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale crafted the Black Panther Party Platform and Program. The tenth point sums up the goals the the Black Panther Party, “We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.” The document continues and quotes the Declaration of Independence about the pursuit of happiness. By quoting such a sacred American document, Newton and Seale inflamed many people. They qualified their need to overthrow the American government by using the same Declaration used against the British in the 18th century. . The Black Panthers were a reactionary group to both the incompetence seen in American government concerning Civil Rights and the disagreement with other more peaceful movements.

"Black Panthers." Photo. PBS.org. Dated 2002. Viewed 2 Sept. 2008. http://www.pbs.org/hueypnewton/actions/actions_formation.html

Chronology:

• Significant events & actions
• watershed moments
• turning points and phases of the organization

October 1966 - Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale develop the Ten-Point Program and thus begin the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense

January 1, 1967 - The Black Panther Party opens its first office. The office is located in Oakland, California. February 1967 - Radical Eldridge Cleaver joins the party. April 25, 1967 - The Party publishes its first issue of their newspaper. The paper is called Black Community News Service.

May 1967 - The Black Panthers protest a gun law in Sacramento, California. October 1967 - Huey Newton is arrested after involvement in the murder of a patrol officer. December 1967 - The Black Panthers join with the Peace and Freedom Party to protest the Vietnam war and begin the Free Huey movement.

August 1968 - The Black Panthers protest at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Cleaver Runs for President under the Peace and Freedom Party.

September 1968 - Huey is sentenced to 2 - 15 years in prison for murder.

August 1970 - After many appeals and Free Huey Rallies, Huey is released and his manslaughter conviction is overturned.

November 1975 - Cleaver returns to United States.

Significant People:

• individuals both inside the organization and out who impacted it’s course

Bobby Seale - Co-Founder and Chairman

Bobby Seale pioneered the Black Panther party with Huey P. Newton. Seale was born on October 22, 1936 in Dallas, Texas. Bobby Seale started off with a rambunctious clash with authority. He served in the United States Air Force for three years, but was discharged because of bad conduct. Newton and Seale met at Merritt College in Oakland California. The two eventually went on to work together in the development of the Black Panther Party and its Ten Point Platform. Along with other members of the Party, Seale was arrested multiple times for standing up to bigotry. After marching on California’s capital in May 1967 to protest a gun bill, Seale was arrested. Later that month Seale was arrested again because he was carrying a gun while he attempted to bail out co-founder Huey Newton from jail. He unknowingly violated a law passed in 1887 that prohibited guns near jails. Because he Seale was in violation of this gun law, he was sentenced to three years probation in June of 1968 When asked about the charge, Seale told prosecutors that, “I know by the law, you could have a shotgun as long as it wasn't concealed and as long as you are in a public place, and I was actually in fact on a public sidewalk” . As seen in his cunning answers, Seale seemed to possess a firm grasp of the law and the basic American rights that should be protected. Seale was even charged for conspiracy of murder, but the charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence. Yet another clash with the law occurred at the 1968 Democratic Convention . The Panthers were protesting the fact that the Democratic National Party had not lived up to its promises concerning Civil Rights. The case against the “Chicago Seven” received national attention. The case was titled United States v. Dellinger, et. al. The 1969 case stated, “They, along with Bobby Seale, were charged with making certain speeches for the purposes of inciting, organizing, promoting, and encouraging a riot, after having traveled in interstate commerce to Chicago with intent to do so” . His unwavering dedication to the Black Power movement drove Seale to make sacrifices that often landed him on the wrong side of the law. He actually received a four year sentence for inciting riots, but that was overturned

Stokely Carmichael/ Kwame Ture- Honorary Prime Minister

Stokely Carmichael was born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in 1941. He attended Howard University where he recieved a degree in philosophy (king), and while at school, he became active in a number of non-violent student movement groups. However, he soon became frustrated with the often violent reactions that both white and black peaceful protestors recieved. Although lynchings had dramatically decreased by this time, police brutality and the assasination of African-American leaders [Violence in america] (namely Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X)pushed Carmichael towards more radical political ideaologies. He found a place to express and spread is new leftist views in the newly formed Black Panther Party, and he was appointed Honorary Prime Minister by Newton and Seale. He was vocal, active, and he coined the phrase "black power", which would basically represent the entire movement for years to come (king). But, less than three years after he joined the Black Panthers he removed himself from The Party because of their cooperation with white owned and managed organizations (Stokely). He had become and avid Pan-africanist, and in the later stages of his life, he went so far as to move to the African country of Guinea, where he stayed until his death in 1998 (king)

Eldridge Cleaver - Minister of Information

Eldridge Cleaver is known as one of the most radical members of the Black Panther Party. Cleaver was born on August 31, 1935 in a small town in Arkansas. Cleaver later died in 1998. Like Seale, Cleaver did not have a clean record for very long. In 1958, he was put in prison after being accused of assault. Eventually he was paroled and joined the Black Panther Party in 1967 as their Minister of Information. Many Americans became frightened after Cleaver called for an armed uprising to replace the current United States government with that of a Black Socialist government. After a year with the Panthers, Cleaver fled the country for Algeria with his wife to avoid a return to prison for his 1958 conviction. At this point the politics within the party begin to get out of control. Cleaver and Newton began to fight over control of the Black Panther Party. Seale and Newton were even kicked out of the party by Cleaver at one point and Cleaver was also kicked out of the party by Newton. This seemed to end his involvement with the Black Panther Party in the United States. When Cleaver eventually returned to the United States in 1975, his sentence was reduced to 1200 hours of community service. He could have been given over 70 years in prison for his crimes.