The Black Panther Party (BPP)

The Black Panthers were a Black Power group that wanted equality for everyone. The Black Panther Party for Self Defense helped shape the Civil Rights movement immensely. Who they were, what their core beliefs were, and how they shaped the Civil Rights movement, and America today will be covered.

In general, the non-violent protests orchestrated by Dr. Martin Luther King and other successful black political leaders were viewed as a success as the mistreatment of African Americans had improved. However, racism is viewed as deeply rooted and it was going away overnight or years to come. The whites were still finding ways in the law to discriminate against African Americans and believe the non-violent protest didn’t benefit them so, this sector of the African Americans led to existence of black power.

As a result, the magnitude of the accomplishments obtained by the Young Lords is not properly communicated through the author’s detailed memoir. Melendez’s writing is very fixated with recounting every detail of the Young Lords that he does not mention other social movements or events taking place at the time. This flaw leads the reader to ultimately overlook the monumental achievements of the activist group because they did not properly understand the historical importance of the Young Lord achievements. If Melendez mentioned other similar historical events like the massive Vietnam protest at Columbia University or the formation of the Black Panthers, the reader would have gained a better contextualization to the turbulent Period. In the late 1960’s, the Black Panthers also created community social programs similarly to the Young Lords but Melendez does not mention the accomplishment of the Panthers at all. With a better understanding of the overall explosion of social change and radicalization taking place in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the reader would understand the overall importance of the Young Lords as a grassroots

One such member was Fred Hampton. Fred Hampton was a young member of the party, but one of the strongest revolutionaries. Hampton was a chairman of the Illinois Black Panther chapter at the age of 20. At 15 he organized NAACP chapters at his high school. Hampton was well known as the charismatic party member. His most influential ideology was education. He believed that radical change was nothing without education because after the revolution occurs, the same type of oppression would just repeat itself. Hampton was widely beloved because he appealed to all groups of oppressed people. He preached the unity of all races against government exploitation, capitalism, and racism. The Black Panther Party was able to form strong relationships with

During the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was a big topic and controversy with all of the United States. It was quite clear that African Americans did not get treated the same way that whites did. It had been ruled that it was constitutional to be “separate but equal”, but African Americans always had less than the whites did. For example, the schools that they had were run down, and had very little classrooms, books, and buses. Martin Luther King had a large role in the Civil Rights Movement, as did Malcolm X, and others. There were many changes that occurred in the 1960’s in specifically in the goals, strategies, and support of the movement for African American civil rights. While the movement started as peaceful, as the years went along,

Jackie Robinson was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He was the first African American to play in the major leagues in the modern era. Jackie Robinson was born January 31, 1919 on a carpet plantation near the town of Cairo, Georgia. He was the youngest of five children. Not long after Jackie's birth his father, Jerry Robinson, left the family in 1920. Soon they would move to Pasadena, California. As a child growing up with poverty Robinson and his minority friends were often times excluded from many recreational activities. As a result Robinson ended up joining a gang but was soon persuaded to leave it by one of his friends.

The Black Panther Party was originally created in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby G. Seale in 1966. Newton and Seale attended community college at Merritt and they acquired their exposure to politics by being active in various political organizations. The pair soon realized that the organizations on campus were not enough. They wanted to cater to inner-city Blacks as well to the low income populace. The Black Panther Party began to pick up popularity in the late 60s because they were ready to fight police brutality. The Black Panther Party received media coverage that boosted their social presence and members. They became a national and

Fred Hampton was a former NAACP organizer and the chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party. Fred Hampton was murdered due to the FBI program COINTELPRO, which targeted social and political threat organizations. Due to his impressions left on African Americans as an effective leader, the FBI wanted to eliminate Fred Hampton. One of Hampton’s accomplishments was emphasizing that racial and ethnic conflict between street gangs would be more effective if they collaborated against police brutality. In the documentary, “Eyes on the Prize: A Nation of Laws” shows that Fred Hampton is significant for how he instilled the sense of pride, dignity and self-determination in African Americans. Throughout the class, we have studied multiple individuals

In contrary to peaceful protest and marches led by Martin Luther King there were other leaders who had more radical approaches to protest. Amongst these radical leaders are Malcolm X, Robert Williams, and the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers, a group created by in 1966, by Huey P Newton and Bobby Seale protected black communities patrolling areas with loaded firearms, monitoring police activities involving blacks. Since they were known for carrying loaded firearms FBI Director J Edgar Hoover considered the Black Panthers “the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States” (To Determine the Destiny of Our Black Community). The Black Panthers created the Ten-Point Program. The Ten-Point Program was a rundown of ten things the

October 15th, 1966. This was a memorable one for the population of Oakland California. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale came together in meeting, and founded the Black Panther Party (Originally the Black Panther Party For Self Defense). This party worked for many reasons, including the assassination of Malcolm X and police brutality. The black population in America had been suffering from economic and social inequality for what it seemed forever. At this point, Huey and Bobby though their society has had enough. Oakland needed someone with enough power and grit to reestablish the long needed equality for African Americans. That someone would be the Black Panther Party. This party has changed the history of civil rights.

The Black power movement was more than just a raised fist. It was an influential movement established in the 1960s, and began to slow down in the 70s, it promoted self-sufficiency among the black and African community, and they fought for equality and power among those who faced discrimination in society. The Civil Rights Movement and the Black Power Movement were two different movements with very similar motives, but different ways of going about their fight for equality. Symbolism played a significant role in representing the Black Power Movement, and helped unify the group by using one symbol that all recognized.The movement began as a reaction to the Civil Rights Movement and continued into the 1970s as a force for good. Imagine being discriminated against just because of the skin color you were born with. In addition to promoting more power for the people of color in society these strong people were pushing for equality among everyone.

Hatman Turbow once said to Martin Luther King Jr., “This nonviolent stuff ain’t no good. It’ll get ya killed.” (Cobb 7). Dispelling the notions held by numerous individuals, groups who had guns to protect non-violent protesters during the American Civil Rights movement. Moreover, pronounced in both Charles Cobbs, activist and author interview and book, This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible is that particular viewpoint. Indeed, the typical narrative force-feed to many people of leaders not practicing self-defense is false and deeply problematic as it prevents a true understanding of one of many dark chapters in American history.

The Communist Party continued, even after splits and defections left it much smaller, into the 1960s. The parties’ fortunes appeared to revive for a while when party members such as Angela Davis became associated with the most militant wing of the Black Power movement. The party did not, however, reap any long-term benefits from this brief period of renewed exposure: it did not establish any lasting relations with the Black Panther Party, which was largely destroyed by the early 1970s, and did not recruit any significant number of members from those organizations or win them to its politics. The party 's abandonment of militant Black struggle went hand in hand with its support for Roosevelt, its accommodation to liberalism, and its turn away

This paper will discuss the difference between the Ku Klux Klan and The Black Panther Party two extremist groups. The historical foundation of these two groups along with the comparison of their extremist activities, and the motivating factors which fueled and heighten their motivational actions. The movement of these two groups were prompted by the two different beliefs with the Ku Klux Klan motives being from racism, and the Black Panther forming for the protection of their communities from racial tension.

Malcolm X once said “Early in life [he] had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.” The Black Panther Party lived by this quote. The party rose from the foundations of Malcolm X. The party was much different from other civil rights movements. They went by direct confrontation. The Black Panther party, a very misunderstood but known civil rights party held a strong legacy. They achieved this through their actions such as their famous strategies, their demands from the ten point program, the numerous outreaches in media, their relationship towards authorities, and their effects towards the current generation.