Power to the people! The black panthers Flashcards
Key Questions: -What were the aims of the Black Panthers? -How did the Black Panthers' initiative seek to achieve their aims? -Who opposed the Black Panthers and why?
When was the Black Panther Party founded? Who by?
- 15th October 1966
- Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale
Who did both Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale see as their role model?
Malcolm X
What similarities did they have to Malcolm X’s ideology?
- critical of the civil rights leadership:
- who chose to work with white people
- who were too cautious
- failing to understand the needs of the black working class
Why was the Black Panthers conceived?
To organise the working class
What were the 2 aspects highlighted by Malcolm X that the Black Panthers focused on?
- self-defence
- economic improvements
What did the Black Panthers militia do? What was the Party slogan?
- patrol black neighbourhoods watching out for police brutality
- “Off the pigs!”
What was the Black Panthers second goal?
To improve the conditions in the northern ghettos
How did the Black Panthers try to improve the conditions in the northern ghettos?
- organised campaigns demanding the government invest in black neighbourhoods
- organise welfare schemes
When was the Black Panthers 10 point programme published?
15th October 1966
What were the 10 points of the programme (in full)
WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE.
WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE CAPITALISTS OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS.
WE WANT DECENT EDUCATION FOR OUR PEOPLE THAT EXPOSES THE TRUE NATURE OF THIS DECADENT AMERICAN SOCIETY. WE WANT EDUCATION THAT TEACHES US OUR TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN THE PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY.
WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE FOR All BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.
WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE BRUTALITY AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE, OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, All OPPRESSED PEOPLE INSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS OF AGGRESSION.
WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE NOW HELD IN U. S. FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY, CITY AND MILITARY PRISONS AND JAILS. WE WANT TRIALS BY A JURY OF PEERS FOR All PERSONS CHARGED WITH SO-CALLED CRIMES UNDER THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY.
WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PEOPLE’S COMMUNITY CONTROL OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.
10 point programme key words
- teach lil niggletts about nigger history
- free healthcare for niggers
- end to police brutality
- end to war
- full employment of niggers
- end to robbery of us by the capitalist
- decent housing
- decent education
- freedom for all niggers + free trial
- a summation of all points
- koolaid and chicken wings
Which points in the 10 point programme addressed economic needs?
2,5,6,7
Which points in the 10 point programme addressed safety and defence?
3,9
Were the Black Panthers black nationalists?
Yes
Why did the Black Panthers oppose Vietnam?
Stressed solidarity with the oppressed around the world
What was one of the first Black Panther initiatives? Where did it begin?
- ‘Patrol the pigs’ campaign
- Oakland, California
What was the ‘Patrol the pigs’ campaign designed to do?
Keep the police under surveillance thereby protecting African Americans
What did Newton carry in his car?
Law books
showed his involvement
Was the campaign successful?
Yes because it educated people in Oaklahoma
= support among black population
= more people joining
What did the ‘Patrol the pigs’ campaign highlight?
Police abuses
What did the Californian state feel about these patrols?
Threatened
What did the Californian state attempt to do to the patrols?
Ban them
What did the Panthers do in response to the states attempts to ban their patrols?
-courted media attention
= further support
What was the case by the end of 1967?
- party was a national organisation
- 35 different local groups across 15 states
What was the ‘Free Huey’ campaign?
- Newton arrested 1967 on murder charges
- released in 1970
What did Newton’s arrest lead to?
- new leadership
- therefore a change in direction
From 1968 onwards what did the Black Panthers emphasise?
Welfare programmes rather than confrontation with the police
Name 3 ‘survival programmes’. When were they launched?
- Free Breakfast for School Children Programme
- free health clinics
- free ‘liberation schools’
- 1968
Who were the programmes funded by?
- local black business people
- celebrities; Jimi Hendrix and James Brown
‘Free Breakfast for School Children Programme’ fact.
Expanded from St Augustine’s Church in Oakland to feed 10,000 children each school day
What did the free health clinics offer?
- tests for conditions predominantly affecting black people e.g sickle cell disease
- emergency medical care
- contraception advice
Which other groups did the free health clinics become popular with?
- women’s groups
- groups supporting Hispanic Americans
By 1974 how many free clinics across the US were there? How many people did they treat a year?
- 200
- 200,000
Name the first liberation school.
Oakland Community School
Who was the Oakland Community School staffed by? Where was it located?
- volunteers
- church halls, backs of shops, peoples homes
What was the initial aims of liberation schools?
Empower black adults by teaching them about the #struggles
What happened as the number of liberation schools increased?
- began to admit children and young adults
- aimed to provide academic support
By 1968 where did the Black Panthers Party have branches?
- Pittsburgh
- Seattle
- LA
- Chicago
- Washington DC
- Baltimore
- New York
- Boston
- Newark
- Denver
- San Diego
11 States
How many official members did the Black Panthers have in 1968?
Only 5000
- but:
- their newspaper had a circulation of 250,000
- estimated readership of 1 mil
By the end of the 1960s which 3 people had a 70% approval rating among which group of people?
1-Eldridge Cleaver
2-Newton
3-Seale
–American GIs serving in Vietnam
What did government authorities think about the black power movement?
- extremely suspicious
- took steps to try and stop it
Who led the way in attacking the Panthers?
FBI
Who were COINTELPRO?
The FBI’s counter intelligence unit
What did COINTELPRO believe regarding ‘a radical black leader’?
- a radical black leader/ ‘black messiah’ would emerge
- they would unite all the radical groups
- and lead a violent revolution against America
What did the FBI’s paranoia about the black messiah give them justification to do?
- mount a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign
- telephone tapping
- bugging the offices and homes of leading members
- arrests and infiltrations
- forged letters in order to claim the BP were sending death threats to government
in order to weaken and destroy the movement
Was the FBI campaign successful?
yes
- it was extremely damaging
- loss of support
- arrests = legal fees = less money for ‘survival programmes’
What also lead to the reduction in influence of the movement?
Disagreements between leaders
Give two examples of tension in the BP movement?
Party Presidential candidate Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton on the use of violence 1968
- Newton argued - play down violence and emphasise ‘survival programmes’
- Cleaver committed to militancy
- Women in ‘survival programmes’ objected to macho image of party. Also objected to high profile given to Eldridge Cleaver (who was a convicted rapist)
- Men in defence force objected to the objection made by women
When did the BP disband?
1977
Did the party ever succeed in stamping out police racism?
NO
