{"id":1544,"date":"2010-10-21T12:37:17","date_gmt":"2010-10-21T18:37:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/?p=1544"},"modified":"2013-01-29T14:43:22","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T20:43:22","slug":"the-black-panther-party-its-legacy-and-impact-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/the-black-panther-party-its-legacy-and-impact-today\/","title":{"rendered":"The Black Panther Party: Its Legacy And Impact Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published in Issue 398 of The Black Commentator on October 21, 2010<\/a>
\nRepublished in thepeoplevoice.org on October 21, 2010<\/a>
\nBy Larry Pinkney<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not willing to die for it,\u00a0put the word \u2018freedom\u2019 out of your vocabulary.\u201d<\/strong>
\n -Malcolm X [el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you tremble with indignation at every injustice then you are a comrade of mine.\u201d<\/strong>
\n -Ernesto \u2018Che\u2019 Guevara<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Black Panther Party (for self Defense) was formed in\u00a0October\u00a0<\/em>of 1966, in Oakland, California. Thus, it is appropriate that especially during this month of October, 2010, an examination be made of the intrepid legacy of the Black Panther Party, what circumstances brought it into existence, and its continuing impact today.<\/p>\n

The Black Panther Party was initially organized in response to police brutality and the deplorable economic and social conditions in Black communities throughout the United States. In a relatively short period of time the Party grew to systematically link and encompass the related issues of U.S. imperialistic wars abroad and corporate hegemony at home. Strong and active political alliances were also made between the Black Panther Party and other progressive and radical organizations of\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0colors around mutual concerns that affected everyday poor and disenfranchised\u00a0 people—no matter what their gender or color.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Ten-Point Platform and Program<\/a>\u00a0of the Black Panther Party represented a crisp and concise analysis and action-plan re the goals and objectives of the Party.<\/p>\n

The Black Panther Party grasped the enormous importance of regularly disseminating news and information relevant to Black and poor people communities. Therefore, its primary organ of getting this relevant news and information in printed-form,\u00a0out to everyday people nationally and internationally, was\u00a0The Black Panther<\/em>\u00a0newspaper, later known as the\u00a0Black Panther Intercommunal News Service<\/em>. An informative glimpse at some of the issues of that newspaper can be found in the book,\u00a0The Black Panther: Intercommunal News Service 1967-1980<\/a><\/em>, edited by David Hilliard. Further views of and from various issues of\u00a0The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service<\/em>, in addition to a wealth of information on the Black Panther Party\u00a0as a whole<\/em>,\u00a0have been made available by Billy X. Jennings, at the\u00a0It\u2019s About Time<\/em>\u00a0website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One of the rallying cries of the Black Panther Party was, \u201cServe The People Body & Soul.\u201d In this vein,\u00a0the Party established nationwide, numerous programs in service to the everyday people. These programs included\u00a0Free Breakfast Programs, Free Clinic Programs, and Free Clothing Programs<\/em>, to name but a few. Some of these programs which were first begun by the Black Panther Party,\u00a0still function today<\/em>\u00a0in one form or another, despite the ultimate decimation of the Party by way of the vicious and murderous COINTELPRO (Counter Intelligence Program) U.S. government subterfuge. Nevertheless, as Black Panther Party veteran Billy X. Jennings succinctly put it: \u201cThe programs of the Black Panther Party\u00a0set<\/em>\u00a0the stage<\/em>\u00a0for many of today\u2019s programs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Black Panther Party, in harmony with point #5 of its Ten-Point Platform and Program, which called for an \u201ceducation\u201d that teaches \u201ctrue history\u201d and \u201cour role in the present-day society,\u201d engaged in many specific\u00a0actions to provide young people with an education that is relevant to\u00a0reality<\/em>. One outstanding example of this could be found in the establishment of, and support by, the Black Panther Party of the Oakland Community School in Oakland, California. This school included in its ranks economically disenfranchised children of varying colors and backgrounds, reaching\u00a0well beyond<\/em>\u00a0serving only the children of members of the Black Panther Party. Despite many serious challenges and hardships, the Oakland Community School existed and functioned for approximately ten years in the community,\u00a0and in service to the people of the community. The Black Panther Party was also very active on college campuses nationwide as it allied itself, and worked with, college students in their struggles to obtain a decent, equitable, and\u00a0relevant<\/em>\u00a0education, free from exorbitant tuition.<\/p>\n

Notwithstanding the bold, necessary, and important leadership of the Black Panther Party on the national level provided by persons including Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Kathleen Cleaver, Eldridge Cleaver, and Erica Huggins,\u00a0etc<\/em>.; it was in fact\u00a0the rank and file<\/em>\u00a0members of the Party who were its heart and soul, and who through long hours and daily hard work, sustained its very existence.\u00a0 Moreover, it was the rank and file\u00a0women<\/em>\u00a0of the Black Panther Party who were an invaluable part of the\u00a0very<\/em>\u00a0backbone<\/em>\u00a0of the Party\u2014 a fact which is all too often overlooked. For more information pertaining to women in the Party,\u00a0reference \u2018Women of the Black Panther Party<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Lest anyone seek to romanticize the Black Panther Party, it should be clearly understood that (as Black Panther Party veteran Kiilu Nyasha is wont to remind us) quoting the poignant words of Mao Tse-tung (Mao Zedong): Life in the Black Panther Party was one of \u201cplain living and hard struggle<\/span><\/em>.\u201d It was anything\u00a0but<\/span>\u00a0romantic. It was hard, labor-intensive, and often dangerous\u00a0work<\/em>\u00a0full of victories, set-backs, and always\u00a0constant struggle<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The reaction by the U.S. government and police nationwide to the political organizing and community programs of the Black Panther Party was\u00a0swift and exceedingly brutal<\/em>.\u00a0<\/strong>Every conceivable and devious method was utilized by the government and police to \u201cdiscredit, frame, imprison, or murder<\/em>\u201d members of the Black Panther Party.\u00a0No action was deemed to be too despicable, too underhanded, or too amoral<\/em>\u00a0in order to \u201cneutralize and\/or destroy\u201d members of the Black Panther Party. The corporate-stream media chimed in to\u00a0misinform and<\/em>\u00a0dis<\/span>inform<\/em>\u00a0the public in every possible manner about individual members of the Black Panther Party(BPP) and the entire BPP as an organization.<\/p>\n

As a direct result of these actions many BPP members were murdered, including Bobby Hutton, Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, John Huggins, Alprentice \u2018Bunchy\u2019 Carter, Welton Armstead, and a seemingly endless list of other members of the Black Panther Party nationwide. Members of the Black Panther Party were abducted and\u00a0physically and psychologically tortured<\/em>\u00a0by the police and government agents (as in the case of the \u2018SF 8\u2019\u2014San Francisco 8). The U.S. government,\u00a0through the use of agents, informants, and strategically placed\u00a0fake<\/em>\u00a0information also viciously\u00a0created\u00a0<\/span><\/em>deadly internal dissension within the BPP itself, which caused the deaths of even more BPP members, which was of course the government\u2019s primary objective. Meanwhile, as lives were lost or ruined, and families and relationships torn asunder by government and police subterfuge, the infamous COINTELPRO activities were ratcheted-up to a fever pitch by U.S.\u00a0 government authorities. All of this in a so-called \u2018democracy\u2019 of, for, and by the people.<\/p>\n

Other casualties of the U.S. government\u2019s war against the Black Panther Party\u00a0remain<\/em>\u00a0in plain view\u00a0today<\/span><\/em>;\u00a0Political Prisoners<\/strong>.\u00a0In the year 2010, in the United States of America, there are scores of political prisoners, most of them veterans of the Black Panther Party; and all of them the victims of government subterfuge, terror, injustice, hypocrisy, and repression. Moreover, some, including Black Panther Party veteran Assata Shakur, and William Lee Brent (now deceased) of necessity fled into the confines of exile.<\/p>\n

While we must\u00a0always remember and support<\/em>\u00a0our beloved Leonard Peltier and Lynne Stewart; let us\u00a0not even for an instant<\/em>, forget about the Black Panther Party veterans who have been languishing in the U.S. prison gulag system for\u00a0at least<\/em>\u00a0one, two, or three decades or more. Some have died in prison such as Bashir Hameed, while numerous others, including Herman Bell, Eddie Conway, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Safiya Bukhari, Chip Fitzgerald, Abdul Majid, Jalil Muntaqim, Jamil Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown), Mondo Langa, Sundiata\u00a0 Acoli, Sekou Odinga, Ed Poindexter, Russell Shoats, Sekou Kambui, Kamau Sadiki, Teddy \u2018Jah\u2019 Heath, Kuwasi Balagoon, Woodfox & Wallace (of the \u2018Angola 3\u2019), Albert \u2018Nuh\u2019 Washington, Veronza Bowers, Jr., and Seth Hayes, etc.,\u00a0continue<\/em>\u00a0being held in the clutches of this ghastly, beastly U.S. prison system. These afore names only\u00a0begin<\/em>\u00a0to\u00a0scratch the surface<\/em>\u00a0of those unjustly held in the confines of gulag hell, yet, it is also very important to include the names of Hugo \u2018Yogi\u2019 Pinell and Ruchell \u2018Cinque\u2019 Magee, who have for so long now been dehumanized in this unspeakable travesty against humanity of mass incarceration and brutalization in this\u00a0twisted, distorted,<\/em>\u00a0hypocrisy<\/em>\u00a0called \u2018democracy,\u2019 in the United States of America.<\/p>\n

The ever-present reality of the U.S. government\u2019s COINTELPRO outrages can be seen in the numerous amount of political prisoners\u00a0still being held in this nation to this very day<\/em>. Numerous veterans of the Black Panther Party remain as political prisoners in this year of 2010, as a direct result of the murderous machinations carried out by the U.S. government. This too, is a part of the Black Panther Party\u2019s ongoing legacy of struggle.<\/p>\n

In the name of justice, Black Panther Party veterans who are political prisoners must be freed. Indeed,\u00a0all<\/em>\u00a0political prisoners must be freed!\u00a0 (Reference this cartoon by Carlos Latuff.<\/p>\n

\"Illustration<\/a><\/p>\n

Lessons for Today<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The case of the Black Panther Party beckons critically thinking and conscious people\u00a0today<\/em>\u00a0to learn from, and act upon, the lessons that its legacy presents.\u00a0 The triumphs, trials, and tribulations of the Black Panther Party continue as an important part of the ongoing struggle of everyday Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people for complete and uncompromising justice and human rights.<\/p>\n

Its lessons\u00a0are not romantic ones<\/em>. Nevertheless,\u00a0they are\u00a0extremely relevant and significant to the present day<\/em>. There remains, for example, the absolute need to have real community control of the police.\u00a0The need for<\/em>\u00a0economic parity (including decent jobs and housing),\u00a0relevant and attainable education for everyone, social and environmental justice, and an end to avaricious corporate hegemony are paramount; perhaps more so now than ever before in the history of this nation. And certainly the need to bring about an end to heretofore perpetual U.S. wars abroad and repression at home is of the utmost urgency.<\/p>\n

The stalwart legacy of the Black Panther Party continues as strong as ever, which is one reason why the corporate-stream media, even in the 21st century, continues in its attempts to distort and disfigure its legacy.\u00a0But said media will not prevail. The everyday people will!<\/p>\n

This has been but a synopsis of the Black Panther Party\u2019s legacy. Additional information can be found in a number of books including the following:\u00a0THE ASSASSINATION OF FRED HAMPTON: How the FBI and<\/em>\u00a0the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther<\/em>\u00a0by Jeffrey Haas,\u00a0TO DIE FOR THE PEOPLE<\/em>\u00a0by Huey P. Newton,\u00a0FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP: An Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King<\/em>\u00a0by Robert Hillary King,\u00a0ASSATA: An Autobiography<\/em>\u00a0by Assata Shakur,\u00a0WE WANT FREEDOM: A Life in the<\/em>\u00a0Black Panther Party<\/em>\u00a0by Mumia Abu-Jamal [Introduction by Kathleen Cleaver],\u00a0\u00a0PANTHER ON THE PROWL<\/em>\u00a0by Elbert \u2018Big Man\u2019 Howard,\u00a0AGENTS OF REPRESSION: The FBI\u2019s Secret War Against the American Indian<\/em>\u00a0Movement and the Black Panther Party<\/em>\u00a0by Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall, LIBERATION,\u00a0IMAGINATION, AND THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY<\/em>\u00a0by Kathleen Cleaver and George Katsiaficas [editors],\u00a0THIS SIDE OF GLORY<\/em>\u00a0by David Hilliard and Lewis Cole, and\u00a0SEIZE THE TIME: The Story of the Black<\/em>\u00a0Panther\u00a0Party and Huey P. Newton<\/em>\u00a0by Bobby Seale .<\/p>\n

The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Jeffrey Haas<\/p>\n

To Die for the People<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Huey P. Newton<\/p>\n

From The Bottom Of The Heap: The Autobiography Of Black Panther Robert Hillary King<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Robert Hillary King<\/p>\n

Assata: An Autobiography<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Assata Shakur<\/p>\n

We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Mumia Abu-Jamal [Introduction by Kathleen Cleaver]<\/p>\n

PANTHER ON THE PROWL by Elbert \u2018Big Man\u2019 Howard<\/p>\n

Agents of Repression: The FBI’s Secret Wars Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall<\/p>\n

Liberation, Imagination, and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Panthers and Their Legacy<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Kathleen Cleaver and George Katsiaficas [editors]<\/p>\n

This Side of Glory: The Autobiography of David Hilliard and the Story of the Black Panther Party<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by David Hilliard and Lewis Cole<\/p>\n

Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton<\/a>\"\"\u00a0by Bobby Seale<\/p>\n

The Black Panther Party existed during a period of special people living in special times. Yet, each of us\u00a0today<\/span>\u00a0are\u00a0also special people living in special times<\/em>. More than ever, it is important to heed the words of Ernesto \u2018Che\u2019 Guevara, when he said, \u201cIf you tremble with indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Onward then my sisters and brothers! Onward!<\/p>\n

Larry Pinkney<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is a veteran of the Black Panther Party, the former Minister of Interior of the Republic of New Africa, a former political prisoner and the only American to have successfully self-authored his civil\/political rights case to the United Nations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In connection with his political organizing activities, Pinkney was interviewed in 1988 on the nationally televised PBS News Hour, formerly known as The MacNeil\/Lehrer News Hour, and more recently on the nationally syndicated Alex Jones Show. Pinkney is a former university instructor of political science and international relations, and his writings have been published in various places, including The Boston Globe, San Francisco BayView newspaper, Black Commentator, Intrepid Report, Global Research (Canada), LINKE ZEITUNG (Germany), 107 Cowgate (Ireland and Scotland), and Mayihlome News (Azania\/South Africa). He is in the archives of Dr. Huey P. Newton (Stanford University, CA), cofounder of the Black Panther Party. For more about Larry Pinkney see the book,\u00a0Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker<\/a>, by William Mandel [Introduction by Howard Zinn]. (Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to read excerpts from the book.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published in Issue 398 of The Black Commentator on October 21, 2010<\/a>
Republished in thepeoplevoice.org on October 21, 2010<\/a>
By Larry Pinkney<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not willing to die for it,\u00a0put the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1544"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1565,"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544\/revisions\/1565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.blackactivistwg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}