Formation of the Black Panther Party Essay Example

the community so that the people could organize and provide a high standard of living for all the people in the community by employing them and offering sufficient income. The civil rights are the protections and the privileges that are given to the citizens by the law of the country.

The party was based in the south where the habitats were segregated in many ways. There was segregation of buses, schools, waiting rooms, lunch counters, and even parks. The party fought for education for the black people teaching on history and their role in the society. The education was supposed to expose the true nature of the decadent society of America through teaching the true role of black community in the present day. The party believed that the black people had the right of self-knowledge.The lack of knowledge of the self, and the position held in the society made it hard to relate to anything in the world (Cleaver, and George, p. 64). The black people were in need of free health care and health facilities through the development of preventive medical programs.

They fought for land, housing, clothing, justice, peace and having community control at the time. During the reconstruction period, after the emancipation of slavery, the ex-slaves had been promised forty acres of land and two mules. However, the promise had not been delivered and the party felt that the promise was overdue. Therefore, the party wanted the promised to be fulfilled and robbery of the black community to come to an end. The party believed that the white man and the racist government had robbed the black community what rightfully belonged to them since

the promise had stayed for a hundred years without being fulfilled (Murch, p. 73). The restitution for slavery labor and the mass murder of black people was supposed to be fulfilled. The party demanded the promise to be given in currency and then the money would be distributed to the communities. The German had murdered six million Jews while the American had murdered more than fifty million black people, therefore, the BPP felt that it was just for them to be given compensation in monetary form (Rhodes, p. 115).

The black people did not have decent housing fit for shelter of human beings and the party wanted the people to be granted the civil right. The land was not cooperative hence the black people could not build their own houses therefore, it was necessary for the land to be made cooperative. The party members felt that the white landlords were not capable of giving the black people decent housing and the only way forward was to make the land cooperatives. The police were very brutal to the black community and as a result, murder was a common occurrence to the blacks and people of other minority colors. The party fought for the end of this brutality calling for the country to end all wars of aggression and the conflicts that existed in the United States ruling circle (Cleaver, and George, p. 57). The group believed that ending police brutality was possible through organizing self-defense groups dedicated to the black people. The group planned to make use of the second amendment that allowed people to bear arms for self-protection.

BPP called for all political prisoners to be freed

and trials to be done by juries that represent the black community. It was believed that the black people in jails and prisons had received unfair trials. The constitution of the country stated that the jury should try peers hence the BPP demanded black people be included in the jury. The group defined peers as people who come from the same economic, social and geographical background as well as the environmental, historical and racial background. Therefore, it was necessary for the court to select a jury from the black community since the whites that tried the black people did not understand the black people (Bloom, and Waldo, p. 117).

The party called for the exemption of black people in military service since they believed that the people in military service were forced to be there and they had the right to make their own choices. The black people were forced into the military service to fight for the government that did not protect them and also discriminated them. The party members believed that the government only used the black people to kill other people of different colors who were victims just like the black people in the country. Therefore, it was necessary for the black people to protect themselves from the force and violence of the police and the military by any means that was necessary. The party felt that there was evidence that showed that the black community was being discriminated by the white community. All men should be treated the same since the creator endowed all people with unalienable rights which include life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The government is the institute

that secures these rights by delivering just powers and failure to do that the people have the rights to alter all the principles (Cleaver, and George, p. 72).

Formation of the party

Black Panther Party was one of the most powerful movements that fought for social change in the United States. In the early sixties, one of the founders of the party, Bobby Seale was a student at a college in Oakland and he realized that there was a pioneer day celebration annually whereby all the history settlers were honored. The student body consisted of more than 45 percent blacks and they realized that the African Americans were not mentioned in the settlement (Murch, p. 79). As a result, the students created a black group calling for the school to cover African history. Bobby and Newton founded the Black Panther party thereafter believing that the black community was only meant to flourish through claiming power. The assassination of Malcolm X was one of the reasons that drove the two men to found the party. Malcolm had represented the militant revolutionary with both dignity and self-respect as a way of fighting for equality. He was a standing role model and he sought for positive social change among the oppressed groups and BPP was determined to uplift the actions. As a result, BPP followed the beliefs of Malcolm in working unity across the color and gender spectrum uniting minority and white revolutionary groups. All workers were required to take over the production means forcefully.

Newton was a law student therefore, he was aware of the law in California. The law allowed people to carry loaded weapons provided that they were

concealed. The group made a decision to walk in the streets of California with loaded guns to intimidate and unite the police that harassed the black people. The objective of the group was not on the guns rather, to empower the black people in the face of the racist system. The aim of the party was to empower black communities economically whereby the civil right movement hoped to achieve civil rights for the black community. The party hoped to achieve self-determination, decent housing, full employment, education and an end to the police brutality. The party garnered goodwill and support from the black community across the nation especially after their free breakfast program for the kids, the food banks, education outreach and the health clinics. According to Abu-Jamal, (p. 115), most of the party members by 1970 were women comprising of more than fifty percent of the party members.

The Legacy of the BPP

The party distinguished between the racist and the non-racist whites, unlike other civil groups that came before. The party also believed that all African Americans were not oppressed and some were capable of exploiting and oppressing their fellow blacks especially the African American working class. Unlike other parties that relied on language and imagery to liberate the African Americans, the Black Panther Party believed that such systems were ineffective in liberating the black community. The party launched 35 survival programs and helped the community in several areas (Bloom, and Waldo, p. 128). For instance, they launched tuberculosis testing, legal aid, assistance in transportation, ambulance services and education as well as the manufacture and distribution of free shoes to the poor people. The most significant

program was the feeding of children during breakfast that was spread throughout the country.

The party took a transnational character that created support groups. Social organizations have been known to incorporate the works of the party like activists in Australia. In India, the representatives of Vietnamese National Liberation Front used the model of BPP and even adopted the name by calling themselves the Yellow Panthers. The legacy of the party still remains in the United States whereby the party is known to survive the public imagination due to the publication of memoirs and the use of rap music as its rhetoric (Cleaver, and George, p. 64).

Significance of Black Panther Party

The party decided to take their constitutional rights and implement the philosophy that was introduced by Malcolm X by patrolling the police. They decided to make the move during a time when the police were brutal and were known to beat down and kill black people randomly. The police were known to recruit the police from the south to work on the ghettos where the black people lived. The party was known to be aggressive and they did not show any fear to the police. For instance, the party members once witnessed a police stopping and searching a young guy and they reacted by going over to the scene and watching their guns on full display. The police intimidated them and threatened them with arrest but the founder of the group had full knowledge of the law and responded by quoting it hence ruled out the relevance of the situation. The party members informed the police of their rights to carry weapons and the right of the

citizens to observe police officers while they carried out their duties provided there was a reasonable distance. The members also stated to the police what was defined as a distance by the court (Murch, p. 93).

The party used community programs as a strategy. They demonstrated the irrelevance of politics in the lives of people by addressing the needs of people through feeding the hungry, providing clothing and medical care. They showed the importance of organization which was great achievements. For instance, the group was able to achieve a lot with minimal resources, unlike the government which had a lot of resources but was unable to cater for the needs of the citizens. The programs were revolutionary and they called for the government to implement change for a better system. One of the programs involved offering free breakfasts for children throughout the country (Bloom, and Waldo, p. 112).

The breakfast community program was admirable and respectable whereby the members of BPP would get donations from businessmen and the ones who refused to offer any donation was boycotted. The party would produce and distribute leaflets that would expose the business, hence ruined the reputation of the business. As a result, the businessmen did not have a choice but to offer their donations to the party (Rhodes, p. 114). The members were known to work hard starting work early in the morning from six to make sure that the breakfast was ready when the kids arrived. They would also entertain the kids by singing with them and then clear up the church halls. The rest of the day would be spent collecting provisions for the following day. The group

has a high number of women followers and there was a point where the women had a seventy percentage membership. The party had different roles set for men and women whereby the women did the childcare and traditional roles while the men took care of the politics and leadership.

The movement of the Black Panther party showed that inequality and racism was a common practice in America despite the struggles and fights for civil rights that the black community had gone through. The party was determined to look for new ways to solve the problem of discrimination regarding skin colors. The movement took several forms like militant confrontations and police ambushes. The experience of the party portrays personal heroism and sacrifice (Rhodes, p. 116). The members of the party instilled street toughness with nationalism hence displayed black power. The party was able to make the black community discover itself and as a result, they were determined to achieve equality. The black people were determined to flourish and live through the self-discovery that was instilled in them by the BPP. The group displayed knowledge of the law and were able to use it to their advantage as a way of empowering themselves and standing against police brutality.

The party was able to make people have a black identity and rediscover their African heritage hence helped the disadvantaged people in the community. The party broughthelp to many black people in terms of education and health as well as opening up initiatives that were successful. The people who lived in the northern ghettos benefited politically and economically. The party was able to highlight and appeal the changes that were required

by the black people hence they showed success in liberation and emancipation of the black people especially the ones who lived in the north. The group had a lot of influence in the media and the entertainment industry like the support from Bill Cosby. The media showed a positive image of the black people through playing the roles of certain black people. The party approached emancipation of the African Americans in a new and radical way making the group popular and significant (Abu-Jamal, p. 110). Many lives across America were unified and the lives of black people were uplifted in several ways. Therefore, the movement was successful because it was able to help many people especially the black community.

Conclusion

The Black Panther Party played an important role in the civil right movement. The party was formed after the death of Malcolm X and the party members believed that the efforts of Martin Luther were not successful as a result of using non-violent campaigns. The founder of the party came up with the idea after discovering that the education system did not recognize the black community and history. The public stance and the language of the party were violence through revolutionary war. The party was willing to use violence to achieve civil rights and equality from the white community. The party was important in the 1960s and 1970s since it was able to bring success and achievements. They brought about black power and helped many black people in the country. The group was able to highlight the changes that they required from the government and they used whatever means possible to ensure that they were successful. Through

the party, the black people gained self-identity and education on their true history as well as their role in the American society.

Work cited

1. Abu-Jamal, Mumia.We want freedom: A life in the Black Panther Party. South End Press, 2004.
2. Bloom, Joshua, and Waldo E. Martin.Black against empire: The history and politics of the Black Panther Party. Univ of California Press, 2013.
3. Cleaver, Kathleen, and George Katsiaficas.Liberation, Imagination and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Black Panthers and Their Legacy. Routledge, 2014.
4. Murch, Donna Jean. Living for the city: migration, education, and the rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California.UNC Press Books, 2010.
5. Rhodes, Jane. "Fanning the Flames of Racial Discord The National Press and the Black Panther Party." The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 4.4 (1999): 95-118.