The Black Panther's Ten-Point Program

The major role played by African American women in the reconstruction era is revised and illustrated in Tera W. Hunter’s To Joy my Freedom and Elsa Barkley Brown’s article Negotiating and Transforming the Public Sphere: African American Political Life in the Transition from Slavery to Freedom. Both documents analyze the participation and involvement of black women in social and political activities inside of their communities. To Joy my freedom, written by Tera W. Hunter provides an inner look into the lives and strives of African American women – mainly working class – living in Atlanta between the eighteenth and nineteenth century, in the middle of one of the most belligerent environments created in the era of Reconstruction.

African Americans face a struggle with racism which has been present in our country before the Civil War began in 1861. America still faces racism today however, around the 1920’s the daily life of an African American slowly began to improve. Thus, this time period was known by many, as the “Negro Fad” (O’Neill). The quality of life and freedom of African Americans that lived in the United States was constantly evolving and never completely considered ‘equal’. From being enslaved, to fighting for their freedom, African Americans were greatly changing the status quo and beginning to make their mark in the United States.

“Long, hot summers” of rioting arose and many supporters of the African American movement were assassinated. However, these movements that mused stay ingrained in America’s history and pave way for an issue that continues to be the center of

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.

On May 2, 1967, Huey P. Newton, the minister of defense of the Black Panthers, said that “the time has come for black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late” (Document F). The group had changed to a violent point of view after they saw nothing was happening when they were

It had newspapers circulating, fostered a deep sense of pride and community, and served the people of their communities. Despite their progress, the Party faced extreme difficulties and complications. Two of the most detrimental and destructive forces acting against the Black Panther Party were the U.S. government and the FBI. As previously discussed, Huey Newton had thoroughly studied gun laws in order to be completely well versed on the subjected. He wanted to ensure that the Panthers were operating legally in terms of their open-carry tactics.

Cozette Fortune Professor Collingwood POSC 171 23 November 2015 The Black Panthers 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.

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.

In his book titled American Babylon: Race and Struggle for Postwar Oakland, Historian Robert Self places the actions of two groups together in Post-World War II, Oakland, California: a movement centered on black power that stressed community defense and empowerment in ending Jim Crow laws, which notably included the group known as the Black Panthers, and another movement that was primarily white property owners intent on creating a secure economic environment. Both of these two groups, with their own political agendas, argues Self, were instrumental in the development and growth of the political culture not just in the postwar suburbs of Oakland, but in the entire state of California. Charting the rise of these two groups as well as how their

The Black Panther Party and Latino Solidarity The Black Panther Party (BPP) originally formed in Oakland in the year 1966, was funded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. It was a so-called self-defense organization. They were a group fighting racial oppression which had a unique way of fighting for equality and the end of discrimination within the systems. The BPP played an essential role in inspiring other racially oppressed groups to create similar organizations to fight against white racism.

His can-do attitude is shown after the riot when African Americans begin to arm themselves and fight back. The author focuses on these two to prove the point that the African American people, while able to make decisions for themselves, were heavily influenced by the media, fear, and black leaders of their

These 10 demands were known as their famous ten point program. The Ten point program was established in 1966 by Huey P.Newton and Bobby Seale, the leaders of the Black Panther Party. The first thing they wanted was freedom, they wanted more power on the future of the Black community. This followed by employment for the people which is what they wanted so that there can be a rise in the businessmen of color. The party wished for end of robbery by the capitalist.

All they wanted was “to save the soul of America” (King, Beyond, 42). Martin Luther King Jr is an African American preacher and civil rights activist that along with every other African American male and female in 1976 was waging a war in America for their not-so-natural born rights. Not only were they fighting for their own rights in 1976, but they were sending away the son, husbands, brothers of other Americans thousands of miles away to the country of Vietnam to fight an unjust war for the rights of the people in Southeast Asia. Martin Luther King Jr proves to all throughout his speech “Beyond Vietnam --- A Time to Break Silence” that the Vietnam war was unjust by his use of emotional diction, the allusion of Jim crow, and repetition.

The Panthers would take anyone that would help them. Newton and Seale wanted to not just protest Black rights, but also wanted to get involved and help black families in poverty. They started a free breakfast program, and had a school for inattentive kids. “In addition to challenging police brutality, the Black Panther Party launched more than 35 Survival Programs and provided community help, such as education, tuberculosis testing,

The Panthers were fighting for equal housing, jobs, employment, education, and an end of police brutality across the nation on blacks and their support of civil rights movement and equality for all blacks. Newton and Seale devised a 10 point plan to empower blacks focusing on their rights as citizens with some of their views being unrealistic ie: having blacks released from prison and protesting the Vietnam War and the killing of