By: Joe Kuebrich THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY

How would I fight for the freedom and rights that I deserve? This is the question that Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale asked themselves when they created the Black Panther Party. They had a dream just like Martin Luther King Jr. Although the Panthers used different methods to achieve these dreams they wanted the same thing, equality for everyone. You may say their system was wrong or that they had no effect on society at all. The only way to find out is to start at the beginning of it all.

I. THE BEGINNING OF THE BLACK PANTHERS The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey p. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California in The Panthers had 4 goals. They wanted equality in education, housing, employment, and civil rights for everyone. The Panthers believed in the use of guns to obtain these goals and also for self defense. Realizing that civil rights practices weren’t working the Panthers armed themselves and promised change through revolution. With help from the organized rage of the oppressed ghetto youth the Black Panther Party worked hard to achieve their goals.

I. THE BEGINNING OF THE BLACK PANTHERS There were 10 points to the party’s platform. They were 1) Freedom; the power to determine the destiny of the oppressed communities. 2) Full Employment; give every person employment or guaranteed income. 3) End to Robbery of Black Communities. 4) Decent Housing Fit for the Shelter of Human Beings. 5) Education for the People; teaches the true history of African Americans and their role in present day society. 6) Free Health Care; health facilities which develop preventive medical programs. 7) End to Police Brutality and Murder of African Americans and Other People of Color. 8) End to All Wars of Aggression. 9) Freedom for All Political Prisoners; trials by juries that represent our peers. 10) Land, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice, Peace, and Community Control of Modern Industry.

II. THE PANTHERS’ INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY The Black Panther Party achieved their power through their politics of self defense. During the 60’s young African Americans wanted to challenge poverty and ghettoization. As Black Panthers they could stand up to the police, fight economic exploitation, and stop political exclusion. By 1970 the Panthers had reached the pinnacle of their influence. The Panthers’ national headquarters worked hard to maintain control and support of the Party. In 1970 the Panthers opened offices in 68 cities. In the same year the New York Times published over 1,000 articles in reference to the Black Panthers. To observe the Black Panther Party as purely a revolutionary movement is wrong. In 1969 they decided to start giving back to the community. Social services became the focus of their national activities. They opened free food programs, free medical research health clinics, and shelters for homeless. These organizations greatly strengthened party support.

II. THE PANTHERS INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY At the time Edgar J. Hoover was the head of the FBI. He called the Panthers “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country. Hoover ordered field operatives to introduce measures that would cripple the Black Panther Party. The FBI infiltrated the Panthers with undercover agents to create chaos and destroy alliances the Party had made.

III. HOW THE PANTHERS AFFECTED MODERN SOCIETY The legacy that the Black Panther Party left behind shows what a group of people will do if repressed. Repression breeds resistance. Today the black middle class has access to things the Panthers fought for. They can attend the nation’s elite colleges and universities, they can participate in politics. They are no longer discriminated in getting jobs or buying property. All these things did not happen because of the Black Panther Party alone, but they did play a part in getting these rights.

WORK CITED PAGE Bloom, Joshua, and Waldo E. Martin. Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party. Berkeley: University of California, Print. "The Black Panthers." The Black Panthers. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: World Book, Print.