"The most dangerous organization in America": forty years after the founding of the Black Panther Party, new books amplify the story of courage, martyrdom and futility.It was fitting that David Hilliard David Hilliard is a member of the Black Panther Party. He was Chief of Staff in the party. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of New Mexico. Radio U.S. African American revolutionary party founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale (b. 1936) in Oakland, Calif. Its original purpose was to protect African Americans from acts of police brutality. cofounders Huey P. Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989), was co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, a black internationalist/racial equality organization that began in October 1966. and Bobby Seale Bobby Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American civil rights activist, who along with Dr. Huey P. Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party For Self Defense in 1966. posing in front of their party's headquarters in Oakland, California “Oakland” redirects here. For other uses, see Oakland (disambiguation). Oakland (IPA: /ˈoʊklənd/), founded in 1852, is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. . Both Seale and Newton are wearing black leather jackets "<B>Black Leather Jackets</B>" is an episode of the American television anthology series <em>The Twilight Zone</em>. <H2>Details</H2>*Episode number: 138*Season: 5*Production code: 2628*Original air date: January 31, 1964*Writer: Earl and black berets. Seale is also wearing a Colt 45, and Newton has a bandolier full of shells slung over his shoulder and is holding a shotgun. Like most student activists during the turbulent days of the late '60s, I had that poster on my bedroom wall. As I stared almost daily at the images of these two handsome, bold-looking young black men, it seemed almost as if they weren't real, as if this was somehow a poster for a Hollywood movie. The word "revolution" was thrown around quite a bit during that period, but here was something truly revolutionary. For the first time in American history, here was a group of black men openly challenging official firepower, with firepower of their own. Bloodshed for a Cause Soon, revolution became real enough, as the body count started to mount. First, Huey made national headlines as a photo of him lying wounded and manacled to a hospital bed flashed across television screens all over the nation. He had just killed a police officer and wounded another, and he himself was badly wounded in the deadly confrontation. After he was quickly convicted and sent to jail for the shooting, supporters launched the famous "Free Huey" movement, which brought even greater attention to the Black Panthers Black Panthers, U.S. African-American militant party, founded (1966) in Oakland, Calif., by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Originally espousing violent revolution as the only means of achieving black liberation, the Black Panthers called on African Americans to arm . Then young Bobby Hutton Bobby Hutton, or "Lil' Bobby," was the very first member of the Black Panther Party. He joined soon after the conception of the BPP in 1966 at the age of 15. On April 7, 1968, he was killed by Oakland Police after a firefight. was killed in a shootout Shootout Venture capital jargon. Refers to two or more venture capital firms fighting for the startup. with the Oakland Police Department, and best-selling author Eldridge Cleaver Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an author and a prominent American civil rights leader who began as a dominant member of the Black Panther Party. Born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas, Cleaver moved with his family to Phoenix and then to Los Angeles. , of Soul on Ice (McGraw Hill, 1968) fame, barely escaped with his life during that same incident. Later, Black Panther's Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter and John Jerome Huggins were killed in a shootout on the campus of the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). at Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. (UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX ) involving members of Ron Karenga's US organization and the Los Angeles branch of the Black Panther Party. Soon after, while still in their beds, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were murdered by the Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the city mayor. . Clearly, this was not Hollywood. A Borrowed Symbol There have been many excellent books written over the years about the Black Panthers, including one of my personal favorites, Bobby Seale's Seize the Time (Black Classic Press [reprint], 1997). Just in time for the 40th anniversary of the Black Panther Party, a number of new books follow in this tradition and attempt to fill in the gaps in our knowledge about this pivotal time in black American history. While Hilliard's is the most satisfying because, like Seale, he was at the very center of the action, several of these books give us the political background to better understand why these black men felt the need to "pick up the gun." David Hilliard, former chief of staff of the Black Panthers, with assistance from writers Keith and Kent Zimmerman, ably gives us an inside look at the minds of both Seale and Newton when they were searching for a way to help end the oppression of blacks in Oakland: "It was mid-October 1966, when Huey and Bobby met up at the Oakland War on Poverty office ... Huey and Bobby's organization and 'political party' was about to be officially unveiled. Unlike any other association, this would be an organization founded on action, not merely on talk and debate." That night, the two men drew up Huey's Ten Point Program. They now had a party but needed a name. Help came in the way of a letter Bobby received on October 21, 1966. It was from the Mississippi Lowndes County Freedom Organization. On its letterhead, it had adopted a striking logo for the group: a black panther. "What do you suppose this black panther means?" Bobby asked. "Must be a political party or something," Huey said. "Something like how the Republicans and Democrats use an elephant and a donkey." "Well, a black panther kicks a donkey's and elephant's ass any day," Bobby replied. Thus, the Oakland Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was named, complete with a logo so conveniently provided for them. Armed and Vulnerable It didn't take long for the official powers in both California and the federal government to take notice as armed black men started shadowing the Oakland police. What Newton and Seale had done when they created the Black Panthers was to take advantage of a state law that said you could carry weapons openly. Newton also found an obscure California ruling that said all citizens had the right to stand and observe a police officer carrying out his duty. In one of Huey's most outrageous moves, the Panthers descended on the California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members to the Assembly, representing a relatively equal amount of constituencies, with each district having a population of at least 420,000 citizens. carrying their weapons. That day the Assembly was debating a bill, which passed, outlawing armed-citizen patrols like those the Panthers were carrying out in Oakland. They were all arrested, but news of their action was on television screens and front pages of newspapers around the world. Now, they were big-time, but they had just made a powerful enemy--J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI. Hoover quickly branded them "the most dangerous organization in America" and unleashed the full power of the FBI to destroy them--he used the infamous COINTELPRO Between 1956 and 1971, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a campaign of domestic counterintelligence. The agency's Domestic Intelligence Division did more than simply spy on U.S. (Counter-Intelligence Program) operation. This is an exciting story, and Hilliard tells it well, making us marvel at the sheer courage and often-reckless folly of these men and women who became Black Panthers. Lesser-Known Soldiers Peniel E. Joseph's Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America (Henry Holt and Company, July 2006) makes interesting reading in tandem with Hilliard's Huey. Professor Joseph, who teaches at SUNY-Stony Brook, gives us a thorough, highly readable understanding of the underlying intellectual currents and players that shaped the actions and thoughts of men like Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. One of my major gripes gripe v. griped, grip·ing, gripes v.intr. 1. Informal To complain naggingly or petulantly; grumble. 2. To have sharp pains in the bowels. v.tr. 1. about books on the liberation movement to bring real democracy to America is that the movement is too often portrayed as involving only a handful of people. The usual suspects--Du Bois, King, Malcolm--are invoked over and over again. Not so in this case. Joseph did his homework, calling well-deserved names I never thought I would see in print and showing how broad-based the movement really was, how local community activists, intellectuals, artists, clergy, students and journalists from every corner of the country were all major players in moving this country forward. He especially deserves credit for recognizing the great source material that is archived in the black press and black periodicals of the era. The expression "Black Power" first entered the mainstream at the James Meredith March Against Fear, in June 1966, when the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC, pronounced "snick") was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. chairman Stokely Carmichael shouted it out to the world, as news cameras followed the March. "The demonstrators, led by Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael," writes Joseph, "marched through the Magnolia State in defiance of white terror." James Meredith, the first black to attend the Old Miss law school during a whirlwind of violence, had been shot on a planned solo march a few days earlier, and this hastily put-together event was to continue what he had started. But, as Professor Joseph indicates, "Patti Robeson, Richard Wright, and Adam Clayton Power had used the term (Black Power) just as the activism of Malcolm X Malcolm X, 1925–65, militant black leader in the United States, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, b. Malcolm Little in Omaha, Neb. He was introduced to the Black Muslims while serving a prison term and became a Muslim minister upon his release in 1952. , Robert E Williams and Gloria Richardson had embodied the phrase, even before its widespread use. The writings of Lorraine Hansberry and Harold Cruse, the music of Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, and the traveling urban pageants of the African Jazz Arts Society also reflected the movement's diverse cultural forbearers." In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , Carmichael had just used this march to carry this message to black communities throughout the nation. Obviously, Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton heard it loud and clear. From the Ranks On the other hand, Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the A. Forbes, one of the hundreds of foot soldiers across the nation attracted to the Black Panthers, seemed to have heard very little of the ideas floating around at that time. From reading his book, Will You Die With Me? My Life and the Black Panther Party (Atria Atria The heart has four chambers. The right and left atria are at the top of the heart and receive returning blood from the veins. The right and left ventricles are at the bottom of the heart and act as the body's main pumps. Books, July 2006), Forbes was no heavy thinker; but he did rise to the position of deputy chief of staff, in charge of ordnance, meaning he kept track of all the guns. Like many young black men at that time in American history, Forbes wasn't a thinker like Newton. He just had a deep hatred of the white police who were brutalizing black communities across the nation and wanted to do something about it. It's important to hear his story because in any revolution it is the common grunt like Forbes who carries the movement forward. Forbes is an unknown survivor who emerged from his long, dangerous experience with the Panthers neither a dead martyr nor a well-known spokesperson. His only reward thus far has been a long prison term on a second-degree murder rap. But with the publication of Will You Die With Me? written in a plainspoken plain·spo·ken adj. Frank; straightforward; blunt. plain  spo street voice, maybe now he will get the recognition he so deserves. Archives of the Movement: For History's Sake Select titles on the Black Panthers: The Black Panthers in the Midwest by Andrew R. Witt Routledge, January 2007 $95, ISBN ISBN abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-415-98148-4 The Black Panther Party (Reconsidered) Edited by Charles E. Jones
The Black Panthers Speak Edited by Philip S. Foner, Foreword by Clayborne Carson Da Capo Press (reprint; 2nd edition) August 2002, $17.50, ISBN 0-306-81201-0 A Panther Is a Black Cat: An Account of the Early Years of the Black Panther Party-Its Origins, Its Goals, and Its Struggle for Survival by Reginald Major Black Classic Press, November 2006 $16.95, ISBN 1-574-78037-9 In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement by Jama Lazerow and Yohuru Williams Duke University Press, November 2006 $23.95, ISBN 0-822-33890-4 Huey: Spirit of the Panther by David Hilliard Thunder's Mouth Press January 2006 $25, ISBN 1-560-25837-3 Huey P. Newton: The Radical Theorist by Judson L. Jeffries University Press of Mississippi The University Press of Mississippi, founded in 1970, is a publisher that is sponsored by the eight state universities in Mississippi:
The Huey P. Newton Reader Edited by David Hilliard and Donald Weise Seven Stories Press, May 2002 $17.95, ISBN 1-583-22467-X Liberation, Imagination, and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Panthers and Their Legacy Edited by Kathleen Cleaver and George Katsiafica, Routledge, February 2001 $36.95, ISBN 0-415-92784-6 Murder in the Model City: The Black Panthers, Yale and the Redemption of a Killer by Paul Bass and Douglas W. Rae Basic Books, August 2006 $26, ISBN 0-465-06902-9 Seize the Time by Bobby Seale Black Classic Press (reprint edition), September 1997, $18.95, ISBN 0-933-12130-X The Shadow of the Panther: Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America by Hugh Pearson Addison Wesley Publishing Company April 1995, $18.95, ISBN 0-201-48341-6 Target Zero, Eldridge Cleaver: A Life in Writing Edited by Kathleen Cleaver Palgrave MacMillan, February 2006 $27.95, ISBN 1-403-96237-5 (See NONFICTION REVIEWS, BIBR BIBR Bay Islands Beach Resort (Roatan, Honduras) BIBR Backward Indicator Bit Received , May/June 2006.) Waiting 'Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America by Peniel E. Joseph Henry Holt and Company, July 2006 $27.50, ISBN 0-805-07539-9 We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party by Mumia Abu-Jamal South End Press, May 2004 $18, ISBN 0-896-08718-2 Will You Die With Me? My Life and the Black Panther Party by Flores A. Forbes Atria Books, July 2006 $26, ISBN 0-743-48266-2 Fred Beauford, a BIBR contributing editor, is the author of five novels, including The King of Macy's (Morton Books, Inc. January 2006). |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion