Bold
Driven
Fearless
Rebellious
Revolutionary
Persistent
Unbothered
Unintimidated
Unapologetically Black
"We use the Black Panther as our symbol because the nature of a panther. The panther doesn't strike anyone, but when he's assailed upon, he'll back up first. But, if the aggressor continues, then he'll strike out." - Huey P. Newton
These are some of the many words that describe the Black Panther Party originally named the Black Panther Party for Self Defense founded on October 15th, 1966 in Oakland, California by two African-American men Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The Black Panther Party was formed in response to police brutality and encouraged all African-Americans to arm themselves for protection from the police. The Panther Party was developed around a 10 point program that outlined their principles and purpose.
Not only this, but also they created 35 survival programs that provided a variety of community help. Their most popular program was "Free Breakfast for Children," which began in January of 1969. They started this program because many families could not afford breakfast for their children, and studies showed that children were more attentive in their classes if they ate breakfast.
Their main goals were to build community and confront corrupt systems of power. So the real question is, why did former FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover, name the Black Panther Party “the greatest threat to national security?” He named them a threat because of their survival programs, not because they armed themselves. Hoover saw any form of Black people coming together as a threat because it was against the status quo, and he thought Black people were becoming too powerful. The government feared them because they brought people from all different backgrounds together, not just African-Americans. The Panthers started a revolution, and had a huge influence on the world, not just the United States. Their influence became so big, that the government was shook, and that's why the government named the party the greatest threat to national security.
Huey P. Newton created the Panther Party by using one tool: Education. Newton, studied the law, and he used the law against the people who enforced the law: The police. They exercised their 2nd amendment, the right to bear arms, against the police by monitoring them. When a black person was stopped by the police, the Panther Party would stay a legal distance away from the victim and the officer. With their guns in their hands, they ensured that the police did not treat the victim improperly. Unfortunately, a year after the Black Panther Party was created, Newton was accused of killing a police officer in October of 1967 in Oakland, California. This started the movement "Free Huey." During this movement, there were crowds of people from all different ethnic backgrounds. Their chant during this movement was "Black is beautiful! Free Huey! Set our warrior free! Free Huey!" The Black Panthers embraced Black beauty, and many of the men and women wore their afros with pride. Because of their influence in many communities and their performed actions that did not meet the status quo, the government began to call them terrorists and communists. After realizing how powerful the Panther party became, the FBI created COINTELPRO. It was a program created to discredit black nationalists groups such as the Black Panthers. The FBI stated that the program could not be made known to the public, and no one should know it existed. Stated in the purpose of the program was to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize the activities of Black nationalists." and "prevent militant Black groups from gaining respectability." In addition, this program made it legal for the FBI to interrogate and harass members of the Panther Party and their families. The FBI also tapped into the phones of many Panther members and their families to find information to use to destroy them. As a result, members created "Panther Pads." They did not want their families involved with the FBI, so many of the members abandoned them and stayed with other members of the Black Panthers . They would distribute responsibilities evenly to ensure 24 hour security. Someone would be on watch at every hour of the day for their safety. Although the FBI was trying to destroy the Black Panthers, they continued to promote their organization and sell Panther newspapers. The newspapers included their 10 point program and illustrations that revealed the feelings of many of the Black Panther members. One memorable and influential illustration by Emory Douglas was an illustration of the police as pigs. Moreover, the FBI had enough with the Black Panthers rebellion and wanted to cease all of their operations across the U.S. Therefore, the police attacked the Black Panthers at several of their offices and headquarters in the cities they had chapters in. Police arrived at scenes and raided them, but the Black Panthers were fearless. They grabbed their guns and shot back at the police. It is documented that the Panther Party had a 30 minute shootout with the police and also other shootouts over 2 hours. Many of the Panthers were sent to prison; however, many of them were eventually released. During these raids, one of the most influential leaders of the Panther Party during this time, Fred Hampton, was murdered by the police in December of 1969. The police raided the home of Fred Hampton with no warning, just gunshots. The police reported that it was a shootout, but it was actually a shoot-in. It is reported that only one gunshot came from a Panther Party member. Therefore, it was a political assassination by the police, and years later it was revealed that the entire shoot-in was planned by the FBI. After Hampton's death, the harassment from the FBI never stopped. The Black Panther Party did so much more than I could ever write in an article. Even though the party's operations were ceased in 1982, in my opinion, the Black Panthers were the full package. They helped the community while protecting their brothas and sistas from the police. Before the police started to raid them, all of their actions were legal because they educated themselves on their rights. I believe the Black Panther Party is a good example for African-Americans to follow today. We need to come together to help the black community and the community as a whole. We need to arm ourselves with education, and use the law against the criminal justice system that oppresses us, the law enforcement that oppresses us, and the government as a whole that oppresses us. We need to use the governments' tools of oppression against them. I believe this can only be done by arming ourselves with education, which is a bigger threat than any gun.