http://www.professorcrain.org/black-african-american-politics-blog/the-black-panther-party-10-point-plan-week-6
The Ten Point Program of the Black Panther Party (Originally named the Black Panther Party for Self Defense)
Co-founded on October 15, 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale
The Ten Point Program of the Black Panther Party (Originally named the Black Panther Party for Self Defense)
Co-founded on October 15, 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale
PHOTO (L-R): BOBBY SEALE AND HUEY P. NEWTON IN 1967
WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
We believe that Black and oppressed people will not be free until we are able to determine our destinies in our own communities ourselves, by fully controlling all the institutions which exist in our communities.
WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR PEOPLE.
We believe that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every person employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the American businessmen will not give full employment, then the technology and means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living.
WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE CAPITALISTS OF OUR BLACK AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
We believe that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules. Forty acres and two mules were promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of Black people. We will accept the payment in currency which will be distributed to our many communities. The American racist has taken part in the slaughter of our fifty million Black people. Therefore, we feel this is a modest demand that we make.
WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS.
We believe that if the landlords will not give decent housing to our Black and oppressed communities, then housing and the land should be made into cooperatives so that the people in our communities, with government aid, can build and make decent housing for the people.
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 believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of the self. If you do not have knowledge of yourself and your position in the society and in the world, then you will have little chance to know anything else.
WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE FOR All BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.
We believe that the government must provide, free of charge, for the people, health facilities which will not only treat our illnesses, most of which have come about as a result of our oppression, but which will also develop preventive medical programs to guarantee our future survival. We believe that mass health education and research programs must be developed to give all Black and oppressed people access to advanced scientific and medical information, so we may provide our selves with proper medical attention and care.
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 believe that the racist and fascist government of the United States uses its domestic enforcement agencies to carry out its program of oppression against black people, other people of color and poor people inside the United States. We believe it is our right, therefore, to defend ourselves against such armed forces and that all Black and oppressed people should be armed for self defense of our homes and communities against these fascist police forces.
WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS OF AGGRESSION.
We believe that the various conflicts which exist around the world stem directly from the aggressive desire of the United States ruling circle and government to force its domination upon the oppressed people of the world. We believe that if the United States government or its lackeys do not cease these aggressive wars it is the right of the people to defend themselves by any means necessary against their aggressors.
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 believe that the many Black and poor oppressed people now held in United States prisons and jails have not received fair and impartial trials under a racist and fascist judicial system and should be free from incarceration. We believe in the ultimate elimination of all wretched, inhuman penal institutions, because the masses of men and women imprisoned inside the United States or by the United States military are the victims of oppressive conditions which are the real cause of their imprisonment. We believe that when persons are brought to trial they must be guaranteed, by the United States, juries of their peers, attorneys of their choice and freedom from imprisonment while awaiting trial.
WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING, EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY CONTROL OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY.
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. ...We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are most disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpation, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security…" --Declaration of Independence
VIDEO:
https://vimeo.com/107315452?autoplay=1&muted=1&stream
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY: OAKLAND AND CHICAGO
SchomburgCBFS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
Dr. Murch is an associate professor of History at Rutgers University in the School of Arts and Sciences. Her interests include the urban history of California and New York; Civil Rights, Black Power and postwar social movements; history of policing and prisons; and the political economy of drugs. Currently, she is researching the postwar history of the Bronx and completing a new book on youth culture and underground economy. She is also the author of Living for the City: Migration, Education, and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California, University of North Carolina Press, October 2010.
Dr. Williams was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. He received his B.A> in History and minor in Black American Studies from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (2000). He earned both his M.A. in African American Studies from UCLA (2002) and Ph.D. in History from UCLA (2008). His research interests centered on questions of resistance and the social justice revolutions found within the historic African American community. His most recent book is, From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago.
Dr. Spencer is a professor of African American History at Lehman College. She also taught African and African American Studies andHistory at Penn State University from 2001-2007. Before that, she was a Visiting Predoctoral Fellow at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Her areas of interest include black social protest after World War II, urban and working-class radicalism, and gender. She is the author of Mad at History, and is currently completing a book about the Black Panther Party.
https://vimeo.com/107315452?autoplay=1&muted=1&stream
THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY: OAKLAND AND CHICAGO
SchomburgCBFS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
Dr. Murch is an associate professor of History at Rutgers University in the School of Arts and Sciences. Her interests include the urban history of California and New York; Civil Rights, Black Power and postwar social movements; history of policing and prisons; and the political economy of drugs. Currently, she is researching the postwar history of the Bronx and completing a new book on youth culture and underground economy. She is also the author of Living for the City: Migration, Education, and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California, University of North Carolina Press, October 2010.
Dr. Williams was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. He received his B.A> in History and minor in Black American Studies from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (2000). He earned both his M.A. in African American Studies from UCLA (2002) and Ph.D. in History from UCLA (2008). His research interests centered on questions of resistance and the social justice revolutions found within the historic African American community. His most recent book is, From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago.
Dr. Spencer is a professor of African American History at Lehman College. She also taught African and African American Studies andHistory at Penn State University from 2001-2007. Before that, she was a Visiting Predoctoral Fellow at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Her areas of interest include black social protest after World War II, urban and working-class radicalism, and gender. She is the author of Mad at History, and is currently completing a book about the Black Panther Party.
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Movie Features
Fight the Power: 18 Docs to Help Explain Today’s Unrest
From primers on the Black Panther Party to a look at a police department attempting to purge its precinct of systematic violence
by David Fear, Tim Grierson, and Maria Fontoura
June 4, 2020
Rolling Stone
"...The first step is understanding and compassion. And for decades, documentaries have been a prime source in terms of detailing the numerous battles African Americans have waged in the U.S. — for basic human rights, freedom and justice to simply staying alive — from almost every angle imaginable..."
The 18 nonfiction movies we’re listing below cover a large spectrum — from a primer on the Black Panthers to one white filmmaker’s attempt to wrestle with his ancestral racism to a look at the Oakland Police Department’s attempts at purging itself of institutional racism. (The Frontline doc Killer Mike mentioned is in here, too.) We agree that “film lists are lazy substitutes for action”; simply watching movies is not going to fix the litany of problems and historical prejudices that have led to people taking to the streets and saying, “Enough.” But our hope is the following titles will not only contextualize why what’s happening now is necessary, but will also spur people to action — a sort of “we don’t know who needs to hear this, but…” compendium of history lessons and portraits to help inform and inspire.
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (2015)
Renowned documentarian Stanley Nelson captures the late-Sixties atmosphere that birthed the Black Panther Party, and, through interviews with founding members, traces its evolution from a grassroots community organization in Oakland to a global network deemed a terroristic threat by the FBI. For anyone who denies systemic racism in law enforcement, the film’s exposure of the bureau’s campaign to “neutralize black nationals” should settle that matter. And for anyone whose conception of the Panthers is a group of extremists, many of their demands will sound shockingly mundane now: “decent housing; education; an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people.” MF
The Black Power Mixtape, 1967-1975 (2011)
In 1967, a Swedish TV news crew traveled to America to “show the country as it really is” — which included documenting the growing Black Power movement and giving its leaders a stage on which to rage. Goran Olsson’s extraordinary compilation of footage from their eight-year tenure captures the highs and lows of the moment and the struggle but, more importantly, offers a counterpoint to how the U.S. media was covering figureheads like Stokely Carmichael and Angela Davis. You couldn’t ask for a more pertinent time capsule of a turbulent era. DF (Amazon Prime, IFC Films Unlimited)
The Central Park Five (2012)
Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon’s meticulous examination of the Central Park Five case doubles as an indictment of New York’s feverish political climate at the time, which provoked prosecutors to cut corners in order to get faster convictions. This is a quietly furious reminder of Citizen Trump’s inherent racism (he took out newspaper ads demanding the five youths get the death penalty) and the ways that the police callously profile people of color, assuming guilt before innocence. TG (Amazon Prime)
A Class Divided (1985)
When Stephen Colbert asked recent guest Killer Mike what white people could do to be better allies, the rapper replied: “Spend an hour watching Jane Elliott.” This Frontline episode covers the diversity educator’s famous experiment, conducted in her third-grade classroom the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, that exposes how easy it is to implant and propagate prejudice. Elliott divides her class by blue-eyed and brown-eyed students, labeling the former superior and the latter inferior. Watching the children take to their roles — one group dominant and ebullient, the other submissive and dejected — is eye-opening and never less than heartbreaking. MF (YouTube)
Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? (2017)
“In 1946, my great-grandfather murdered a black man named Bill Spann and got away with it.” Travis Wilkerson’s personal-essay film grapples with the guilt of that crime, as the director’s whiteness forces him to confront his family’s very tangible contribution to racial injustice in America. Inspired by George Zimmerman’s killing of Trayvon Martin, Wilkerson contemplates the bigots at his own dinner table, and his struggles to in some small way pay reparations for his ancestor’s sin. White Americans have been, and continue to be, complicit in our country’s shameful mistreatment of people of color. We should all take a page out Wilkerson’s book. TG (Amazon Prime)
4 Little Girls (1997)
Spike Lee’s chronicle of the bombing of a Birmingham, Alabama, church that took the lives of Addie Mae Collins (14), Carole Robertson (14), Cynthia Wesley (14) and Denise McNair (11), is a forensic account of a chilling domestic terrorist act, from first-person testimonies about the victims and the incident itself to the eventual conviction of the man responsible, Robert Chambliss. But it’s also a penetrating look at what was going on in the city where it happened, the bigotry that fueled it, and the community that mourned their loss. (Also highly recommended: Lee’s blistering look at Hurricane Katrina and its effect on NOLA’s African-American community, When the Levees Broke.) DF (Amazon Prime, YouTube, HBO Max)
The Force (2017)
Peter Nicks’ immersive documentary takes us inside the Oakland Police Department, which had been under federal oversight for more than a decade because of rampant misconduct and civil rights violations. Embedded within the embattled department, the filmmaker captures a tough-but-optimistic new chief, Sean Whent, who’s determined to turn the OPD around. From cadet training to tense altercations on the street, the film dispassionately illustrates the dangers that cops face. Yet viewers also leave with a despondent recognition that institutional racism can’t be swept away overnight, and this is a broken system with no easy fixes. Don’t expect a happy ending. TG (Netflix, Kino Now)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (2012)
As in Angela Davis, the activist who went from being a college professor and early booster for the Black Panthers to a fugitive and, per the title, a political prisoner of the state. Filmmaker Shola Lynch lets Davis speak about her life and times in her own words; it’s an excellent introduction (should one be needed) to a crucial figure of the movement. DF (Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube)
I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
This inspiring, Oscar-nominated look at James Baldwin, who loved America enough to constantly criticize her, was a longtime passion project for filmmaker Raoul Peck, who was allowed rare access to the late author’s archives. With Samuel L. Jackson delivering a powerfully mournful voiceover of Baldwin’s words, I Am Not Your Negro illustrates how America promotes bigotry through its laws, customs, even its pop culture. The film is an eloquent tribute to Baldwin and a fiery condemnation of a country he accurately claimed never lived up to its ideals. TG (Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube)
The Interrupters (2011)
Hoop Dreams co-director Steve James highlights a handful of Chicago’s Violence Interrupters who intercede in the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods, hoping to dial down the violence they themselves once helped perpetuate. A story of redemption that resists phony uplift — James is clear-eyed about the systemic causes for violence, poverty and addiction — this doc boasts a remarkable intimacy as we watch the hard work that goes into improving lives that the system left behind. TG (Amazon Prime, iTunes, YouTube)
L.A. ’92 (2017)
Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin’s assemblage of archival footage retraces the steps that led from Rodney King’s beating to a national emergency. The smug looks on the faces of the cops, shop owners carrying guns, motorists being dragged from their cars, King’s tearful plea for peace and the City of Angels going up in flames — almost 30 years later, none of these images have lost their power to shock. It’s a portrait of systematic racism pushing people to the boiling point. It looks all too familiar right now. DF (Amazon Prime)
Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992 (2017)
Starting with the police-chokehold death of James Mincey Jr. and ending with convictions stemming from the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict, filmmaker John Ridley does a deep dive on a decade of violence — from the LAPD against African-American citizens, from questionable tactics used to combat gang warfare, from two caught-on-tape incidents and from the collateral damage that followed. What makes his history lesson so compelling and unique is the mosaic of voices he includes in laying all the cause-and-effect out, including numerous ex-cops, Korean shop owners, community members who’ve suffered, and even members of the L.A. 4. A stunning achievement. DF (Amazon Prime, iTunes)
Let the Fire Burn (2013)
The 1985 killing of 11 Black Philadelphians by local police is immortalized in Jason Osder’s extraordinary film, which reconstructs the horrors of May 13th through news footage and subsequent commission testimony. Unspooling like a procedural, the film lets us see cops clash with MOVE, a Black liberation group that was forcibly removed from its compound, and how the stand-off led to widespread fires that consumed a city block. It’s a stunningly organized rundown of exactly how this badly mismanaged tragedy occurred — and why the stain of those deaths still lingers 35 years later. TG (iTunes, Vudu)
The Murder of Fred Hampton (1971)
In the early hours of the morning of December 4th, 1969, a 21-year-old named Fred Hampton, was shot to death by police who’d busted into his Chicago apartment. He was a high-ranking official in chairman of the Black Panther Party. The cops claimed that they had been fired upon; the investigation that followed contradicted that notion at almost every turn. Howard Alk’s portrait of a political assassination doesn’t flinch in terms of showing the bloodied crime scene or listening to heartbreaking testimonies from people in the room when it happened. Yet the movie is also a tribute to Hampton as an activist in action, seen here organizing community programs and spreading the word about the need for freedom from oppression. Hamtpon wasn’t just a martyr. He was also a revolutionary. DF (Amazon Prime)
Strong Island (2017)
For more than two decades, filmmaker Yance Ford lived with the agony of his brother William’s 1992 death at the hand of a white mechanic., The latter claimed he shot him in self-defense; a grand jury agreed. Strong Island both recounts the events that led to William’s murder and explores the many ways that Yance and his family were destroyed by the criminal justice system’s mishandling of the case. This is a personal portrait of raw pain — and a bigger-picture look at the anguish of so many Black families crying out to a society deaf to their plight. TG (Netflix)
13th (2016)
Ava DuVernay shines a much-needed light on what has become, per the title of Michelle Alexander’s 2010 book, “the new Jim Crow” — the mass incarceration of African-Americans. Using the 13th Amendment (the abolition of slavery) as a starting point, this look at our nation’s skewed, screwed-up judicial system irises out to view how larger social factors that have contributed to an ongoing “mythology of black criminality” and a massively disproportionate number of black citizens being behind bars. Sobering, scathing, essential. DF (Netflix, YouTube)
What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? (2018)
Italian filmmaker Roberto Minervini traveled to New Orleans for this incisive glimpse into a series of ordinary Black lives. We hear stories of drug addiction, sexual abuse, random violence and organized resistance that collectively illustrate the insidious ways that racism visit these individuals on a regular basis, leaving them with few good options. What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire? culminates with a powerful street protest, proving as prophetic of our current reality as the film’s provocative title. TG (Amazon Prime, YouTube)
Whose Streets? (2017)
Six years before tens of thousands of people across the globe would protest police brutality in the name of George Floyd, a small group of impassioned activists did it in Ferguson, Missouri, in the name of Michael Brown, another unarmed black man killed by a white officer. While mainstream media broadcasts at the time focused on isolated rioting, this guerrilla-style doc takes you inside the unrest from the demonstrators’ perspective. In wrenching footage, a devastated community repeatedly gathers to grieve and plead for justice, and is repeatedly met with armored vehicles, dogs, flash-bombs, and tear gas. A civics lesson you won’t find in any textbook. MF (Amazon Prime, YouTube)
In This Article: ava duvernay, Black Panther, Documentary, George Floyd Protests, James Baldwin, Spike Lee
PHOTO: (Left to right): Angela Davis, James Baldwin, and Fred Hampton. IFC Films, Bob Adelman/Magnolia Pictures; Everett Collection/
Shutterstock
IMPORTANT NEW BOOK:
Black Power Afterlives: The Enduring Significance of the Black Panther Party
Edited by Diane Fujino and Matef Harmachis
Haymarket Books, 2020
[Publication date: October 13, 2020]
The first book to comprehensively examine how the Black Panther Party has directly shaped the practices and ideas that have animated grassroots activism in the decades since its decline, Black Power Afterlives represents a major scholarly achievement as well as an important resource for today's activists. Through its focus on the enduring impact of the Black Panther Party, this volume expands the historiography of Black Power studies beyond the 1960s-70s and serves as a bridge between studies of the BPP during its organizational existence and studies of present-day Black activism, allowing today's readers and organizers to situate themselves in a long lineage of liberation movements.
REVIEWS:
“What Fujino and Harmachis have done with this collection of articles is comparable in scope to Charles Jones’ The Black Panther Party (Reconsidered), and Judson Jeffries’ Comrades, both superb and deeply critical anthologies, but with a provocative twist: what would be the historical impacts of the Black Panther Party half a century hence? As a young member of the original collective, I can say without contradiction, we were so busy, and often so nerve-wracked that we barely thought about the next 50 minutes, much less 50 years! Fujino and Harmachis show us that history is never done. It runs like a river, sometimes rushing, sometimes meandering, but always moving.” —Mumia Abu-Jamal, author of We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party
“Black Power Afterlives constructs an urgently needed bridge between the Black Power era and the Black Lives Matter movements of today. Deftly side stepping well-trod ground, authors trace how the Panthers' international engagements, artistic practices, ideological frameworks and community organizing have continued to influence new generations of activists. By locating the Panthers' richest legacies in the work of students, poor Black folks and Black queer feminists and in the sustained commitment of political prisoners, it reminds readers of the transformative possibilities of struggle.” —Robyn C. Spencer, author of The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panthers Party in Oakland
“The Black Panther Party’s 1966 armed actions against police brutality in Oakland’s black community reorganized mainstream consciousness in the US. The BPP exposed entrenched notions of gun-ownership as the exclusive right of white Americans. The Party’s armed cop-watch, aesthetic exaltation of blackness, and challenges to capitalism also released black resistance from the state’s ideological grip. Black Power Afterlives is the first book to explore this post-60s reorganization of black consciousness, resistance and humanity. Its intervention is as urgent and rich as the legacy of the Black Panthers.” —Johanna Fernández, author of The Young Lords: A Radical History
“Black Power Afterlives gives us concrete insights into the continuing significance of the Black Panthers without the common iconization and stereotypes. Through carefully chosen writings and interviews we are reminded of the transformative power of movements and real people that envision a far more just and equitable future for humanity and the planet.” —Claude Marks, director, The Freedom Archives
“The vivid, engaging, and compelling testimonies that Diane C. Fujino and Matef Harmachis have collected in Black Power Afterlives offer unparalleled insights about the origins, evolution, and continuing influence and impact of the Black Panther Party. This is an indispensable book, one that demonstrates how oppositional social movement organizations fuel future struggles long after they seem to have departed from the scene.” —George Lipsitz, author of How Racism Takes Place
“Tender and determined, these meditations on the enduring afterlives of the Black Panther Party illuminate the incandescent dreams of freedom joining one revolutionary generation to another. The essays and conversations—on art and prison, ecology and the spirit—focus on the lessons rank-and-file Panthers have to offer today's rank and file. They remind us of the eternal dedication and determination required of us all.” —Dan Berger, author of Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era
“Black Power Afterlives shares important insights about the Black Panther Party and radical activism. Examining an inheritance that bridges two centuries, it explores mobilizations against poverty, exploitation, imprisonment, violence and war. Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalitions sought to wrest victories from police in order to secure "Power to the People." With prescience, Hampton warned that he would not die slipping on icy Chicago streets, and that we either organize with radical intent or forget him. Black Power Afterlives remembers Fred and the sacrifices of those who fought and fight for their communities—especially political prisoners. Recognizing the need to free them all, and our communities, Black Power Afterlives builds an archive and a foundation for continued struggles.” —Joy James, author of Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics
“There are more stories of the deep and continuing legacy of the Black Panthers than can be contained in any one book, but Black Panther Afterlives does a good job at beginning to fill the gap. Editors Fujino and Harmachis present us with a must-read book, essential to a true understanding of the positive ways in which Panther politics can and do enrich our lives today.” —Matt Meyer, secretary-general, International Peace Research Association; co-editor and author, Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st Century Revolutions
ABOUT THE EDITORS:
Diane C. Fujino is an activist-scholar teaching and writing about Asian American radical struggles, Black Power struggles, and Afro-Asian solidarities and is professor of Asian American Studies and former director of the Center for Black Studies Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Professor Fujino has long participated in political prisoner, education, and US Third World liberation solidarity struggles and is active with the Ethnic Studies Now! Santa Barbara Coalition. She is author of Heartbeat of Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Yuri Kochiyama (2005) and Samurai among Panthers: Richard Aoki on Race, Resistance, and a Paradoxical Life (2012); and editor of Wicked Theory, Naked Practice: A Fred Ho Reader (2009).
Matef Harmachis is a social scientist teaching high school, a former journalist, and a long-time activist working in pan-African and Third World decolonization solidarity, education, labor, and political prisoner liberation movements. He is active with the Ethnic Studies Now! Santa Barbara Coalition, which recently won the passage of an ethnic studies course requirement for high school graduation in the Santa Barbara school district.
REVIEWS:
“What Fujino and Harmachis have done with this collection of articles is comparable in scope to Charles Jones’ The Black Panther Party (Reconsidered), and Judson Jeffries’ Comrades, both superb and deeply critical anthologies, but with a provocative twist: what would be the historical impacts of the Black Panther Party half a century hence? As a young member of the original collective, I can say without contradiction, we were so busy, and often so nerve-wracked that we barely thought about the next 50 minutes, much less 50 years! Fujino and Harmachis show us that history is never done. It runs like a river, sometimes rushing, sometimes meandering, but always moving.” —Mumia Abu-Jamal, author of We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party
“Black Power Afterlives constructs an urgently needed bridge between the Black Power era and the Black Lives Matter movements of today. Deftly side stepping well-trod ground, authors trace how the Panthers' international engagements, artistic practices, ideological frameworks and community organizing have continued to influence new generations of activists. By locating the Panthers' richest legacies in the work of students, poor Black folks and Black queer feminists and in the sustained commitment of political prisoners, it reminds readers of the transformative possibilities of struggle.” —Robyn C. Spencer, author of The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panthers Party in Oakland
“The Black Panther Party’s 1966 armed actions against police brutality in Oakland’s black community reorganized mainstream consciousness in the US. The BPP exposed entrenched notions of gun-ownership as the exclusive right of white Americans. The Party’s armed cop-watch, aesthetic exaltation of blackness, and challenges to capitalism also released black resistance from the state’s ideological grip. Black Power Afterlives is the first book to explore this post-60s reorganization of black consciousness, resistance and humanity. Its intervention is as urgent and rich as the legacy of the Black Panthers.” —Johanna Fernández, author of The Young Lords: A Radical History
“Black Power Afterlives gives us concrete insights into the continuing significance of the Black Panthers without the common iconization and stereotypes. Through carefully chosen writings and interviews we are reminded of the transformative power of movements and real people that envision a far more just and equitable future for humanity and the planet.” —Claude Marks, director, The Freedom Archives
“The vivid, engaging, and compelling testimonies that Diane C. Fujino and Matef Harmachis have collected in Black Power Afterlives offer unparalleled insights about the origins, evolution, and continuing influence and impact of the Black Panther Party. This is an indispensable book, one that demonstrates how oppositional social movement organizations fuel future struggles long after they seem to have departed from the scene.” —George Lipsitz, author of How Racism Takes Place
“Tender and determined, these meditations on the enduring afterlives of the Black Panther Party illuminate the incandescent dreams of freedom joining one revolutionary generation to another. The essays and conversations—on art and prison, ecology and the spirit—focus on the lessons rank-and-file Panthers have to offer today's rank and file. They remind us of the eternal dedication and determination required of us all.” —Dan Berger, author of Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing in the Civil Rights Era
“Black Power Afterlives shares important insights about the Black Panther Party and radical activism. Examining an inheritance that bridges two centuries, it explores mobilizations against poverty, exploitation, imprisonment, violence and war. Fred Hampton's Rainbow Coalitions sought to wrest victories from police in order to secure "Power to the People." With prescience, Hampton warned that he would not die slipping on icy Chicago streets, and that we either organize with radical intent or forget him. Black Power Afterlives remembers Fred and the sacrifices of those who fought and fight for their communities—especially political prisoners. Recognizing the need to free them all, and our communities, Black Power Afterlives builds an archive and a foundation for continued struggles.” —Joy James, author of Shadowboxing: Representations of Black Feminist Politics
“There are more stories of the deep and continuing legacy of the Black Panthers than can be contained in any one book, but Black Panther Afterlives does a good job at beginning to fill the gap. Editors Fujino and Harmachis present us with a must-read book, essential to a true understanding of the positive ways in which Panther politics can and do enrich our lives today.” —Matt Meyer, secretary-general, International Peace Research Association; co-editor and author, Look for Me in the Whirlwind: From the Panther 21 to 21st Century Revolutions
ABOUT THE EDITORS:
Diane C. Fujino is an activist-scholar teaching and writing about Asian American radical struggles, Black Power struggles, and Afro-Asian solidarities and is professor of Asian American Studies and former director of the Center for Black Studies Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Professor Fujino has long participated in political prisoner, education, and US Third World liberation solidarity struggles and is active with the Ethnic Studies Now! Santa Barbara Coalition. She is author of Heartbeat of Struggle: The Revolutionary Life of Yuri Kochiyama (2005) and Samurai among Panthers: Richard Aoki on Race, Resistance, and a Paradoxical Life (2012); and editor of Wicked Theory, Naked Practice: A Fred Ho Reader (2009).
Matef Harmachis is a social scientist teaching high school, a former journalist, and a long-time activist working in pan-African and Third World decolonization solidarity, education, labor, and political prisoner liberation movements. He is active with the Ethnic Studies Now! Santa Barbara Coalition, which recently won the passage of an ethnic studies course requirement for high school graduation in the Santa Barbara school district.
The Black Panther Newspaper
The Black Panther was the official newspaper of the Black Panther Party. It began as a four-page newsletter in Oakland, California, in 1967, and was founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. It was the main publication of the party and was soon sold in several large cities across the United States, as well as having an international readership.
The newspaper distributed information about the party's activities, and expressed through articles the ideology of the Black Panther Party, focusing on both international revolutions as inspiration and contemporary racial struggles of African Americans across the United States.
The Black Panther Party maintained a commitment to community service including various "survival programs" developed by individual chapters that, by 1969, became part of the national party's "serve the people program" to connect their commitments to basic social services with community organizing and consciousness raising. The Black Panther Party's Intercommunal News Service published The Black Panther Party Newspaper as a critical part of its consciousness raising program.
The Black Panther Party Newspaper is also known as The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service, Black Panther Black Community News Service, and Black Community News Service, was published by the Black Panther Party from 1967 to 1980. The newspaper was most popular from 1968-1972, and during this time sold a hundred thousand copies a week.
An undergraduate student at San Francisco State, Judy Juanita, served as editor at The Black Panther Party Newspaper during the later 1960s. In 1969, two-thirds of Black Panther Party members were women.
In its later years it was used to rally support for members of the party who became political prisoners.
"The BPP newspaper grew from a four-page newsletter to a full newspaper in about a year and [537] issues were printed".
Circulation was national and international. From 1968 to 1971, The Black Panther Party Newspaper was the most widely read Black newspaper in the United States, with a weekly circulation of more than 300,000. It sold for 25 cents. Every Panther was required to read and study the newspaper before they could sell it. As it became nationally circulated, The Black Panther Party Newspaper national distribution center was located in San Francisco, with a distribution team led by Andrew Austin, Sam Napier, and Ellis White. Other distribution centers were in Chicago, Kansas, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.
The copies of The Black Panther collected here were made publically available here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/4m7axa/a_complete_archive_of_the_black_panther_partys/
In 1968 a copyright symbol started to appear on the masthead of The Black Panther. In investigating this copyright it appears to have gone into irrelevancy as newspapers were subsequently filed with regards to the ownership of the copyright with the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress. The Marxists Internet Archive will assume it has fallen into the Public Domain. We welcome any discussion of the legality of this. Please contact us.
For text file of the missing issues, please click here
The Black Panther Party maintained a commitment to community service including various "survival programs" developed by individual chapters that, by 1969, became part of the national party's "serve the people program" to connect their commitments to basic social services with community organizing and consciousness raising. The Black Panther Party's Intercommunal News Service published The Black Panther Party Newspaper as a critical part of its consciousness raising program.
The Black Panther Party Newspaper is also known as The Black Panther Intercommunal News Service, Black Panther Black Community News Service, and Black Community News Service, was published by the Black Panther Party from 1967 to 1980. The newspaper was most popular from 1968-1972, and during this time sold a hundred thousand copies a week.
An undergraduate student at San Francisco State, Judy Juanita, served as editor at The Black Panther Party Newspaper during the later 1960s. In 1969, two-thirds of Black Panther Party members were women.
In its later years it was used to rally support for members of the party who became political prisoners.
"The BPP newspaper grew from a four-page newsletter to a full newspaper in about a year and [537] issues were printed".
Circulation was national and international. From 1968 to 1971, The Black Panther Party Newspaper was the most widely read Black newspaper in the United States, with a weekly circulation of more than 300,000. It sold for 25 cents. Every Panther was required to read and study the newspaper before they could sell it. As it became nationally circulated, The Black Panther Party Newspaper national distribution center was located in San Francisco, with a distribution team led by Andrew Austin, Sam Napier, and Ellis White. Other distribution centers were in Chicago, Kansas, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle.
The copies of The Black Panther collected here were made publically available here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/communism/comments/4m7axa/a_complete_archive_of_the_black_panther_partys/
In 1968 a copyright symbol started to appear on the masthead of The Black Panther. In investigating this copyright it appears to have gone into irrelevancy as newspapers were subsequently filed with regards to the ownership of the copyright with the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress. The Marxists Internet Archive will assume it has fallen into the Public Domain. We welcome any discussion of the legality of this. Please contact us.
For text file of the missing issues, please click here
Black Panther: Volume 1, 1967
Vol. 1, No. 1, April 25, 1967
Vol. 1, No. 2, May 15, 1967
Vol. 1, No. 3, June 20, 1967
Vol. 1, No. 4, July 3, 1967
Vol. 1, No. 5, July 20, 1967
Vol. 1, No. 6, November 23, 1967
Black Panther: Volume 2, 1968-1969
Vol. 2, No. 2, May 4, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 3, May 18, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 5, September 7, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 6, September 14, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 7, September 28, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 8, October 5, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 9, October 12, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 9, October 19, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 10, October 26, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 11, November 2, 1968
Vol. 2, Nos. 12-14, November 16, 1968
Vol. 2, Nos. 15-17, December 7, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 18, December 21, 1968
Vol. 2, No. 19, January 4, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 20, January 15, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 21, January 25, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 22, February 2, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 23, February 17, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 24, March 3, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 25, March 9, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 26, March 16, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 27, March 23, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 28, March 31, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 29, April 6, 1969
Vol. 2, No. 30, April 20, 1969
Black Panther: Volume 3, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 1, April 27, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 2, May 4, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 3, May 11, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 4, May 19, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 5, May 25, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 6, May 31, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 7, June 7, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 8, June 14, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 9, June 21, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 10, June 28, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 11, July 5, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 12, July 12, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 13, July 19, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 14, , 1969
Vol. 3, No. 15, August 2, 1969 (issue no printed on paper is incorrect)
Vol. 3, No. 16, August 9, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 17, August 16, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 19, August 30, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 20, September 6, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 21, September 13, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 22, September 20, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 23, September 27, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 24, October 4, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 25, October 11, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 26, October 18, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 27, October 25, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 28, November 1, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 29, November 8, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 30, November 15, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 31, November 22, 1969
Vol. 3, No. 33, November 29, 1969
Black Panther: Volume 4, 1969-1970
Vol. 4, No. 1, December 6, 1969
Vol. 4, No. 2, December 13, 1969
Vol. 4, No. 3, July 25, 1970 (issue no o. printed on paper is incorrect)
Vol. 4, No. 4, December 27, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 5, January 3, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 6, January 10, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 7, January 17, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 8, January 24, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 8, January 31, 1970 (issue no o. printed on paper is incorrect)
Vol. 4, No. 9, February 9, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 10, February 17, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 12, February 21, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 13, February 28, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 14, March 7, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 15, March 15, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 16, March 21, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 17, March 28, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 19, April 11, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 20, April 18, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 21, April 25, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 23, May 9, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 24, May 19, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 25, May 31, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 27, June 6, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 28, June 13, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 29, June 20, 1970
Vol. 4, No. 30, June 27, 1970
Black Panther: Volume 5, 1970-1971
Vol. 5, No. 1, July 4, 1970 (issue date printed on paper is incorrect)
Vol. 5, No. 2, July 11, 1970 (issue No. printed on paper is incorrect)
Vol. 5, No. 2, July 18, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 4, August 1, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 6, August 8, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 7, August 15, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 8, August 21, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 9, August 29, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 10, September 5, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 11, September 12, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 13, September 26, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 14, October 3, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 15, October 10, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 16, October 17, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 17, October 24, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 18, October 31, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 19, November 7, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 20, November 14, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 21, November 21, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 22, November 28, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 23, December 5, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 24, December 14, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 25, December 19, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 26, December 26, 1970
Vol. 5, No. 27, January 2, 1971
Vol. 5, No. 28, January 9, 1971
Vol. 5, No. 29, January 16, 1971
Vol. 5, No. 30, January 23, 1971
Black Panther: Volume 6, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 1, January 30, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 2, February 6, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 3, February 13, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 4, February 20, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 5, February 27, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 6, March 6, 1971
Vol. 6, 7, March 13, 1971
Vol. 6, 8, March 20, 1971
Vol. 6, 9, March 27, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 11, April 10, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 12, April 17, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 13, May 1, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 15, May 8, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 16, May 15, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 17, May 22, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 18, May 29, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 20, June 12, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 21, June 19, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 22, June 26, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 23, July , 1971
Vol. 6, No. 24, July 10, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 25, July 19, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 26, July 24, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 27, August 2, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 28, August 9, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 29, August 14, 1971
Vol. 6, No. 30, August 21, 1971
Black Panther: Volume 7, 1971-1972
Vol. 7, No. 1, August 28, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 2, September 4, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 3, September 11, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 4, September 18, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 5, September 25, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 5, October 4, 1971
(issue number printed on paper is incorrect)
Vol. 7, No. 6, October 9, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 8, October 16, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 9, October 23, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 10, October 30, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 11, November 6, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 12, November 13, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 13, November 20, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 14, November 29, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 15, December 4, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 16, December 11, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 17, December 18, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 18, December 25, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 19, January 1, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 20, January 8, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 22, January 22, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 23, January 29, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 24, February 5, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 25, February 12, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 26, February 19, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 27, February 26, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 28, March 4, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 29, March 11, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 30, March 18, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 6, October 9, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 8, October 16, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 9, October 23, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 10, October 30, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 11, November 6, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 12, November 13, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 13, November 20, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 14, November 29, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 15, December 4, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 16, December 11, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 17, December 18, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 18, December 25, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 19, January 1, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 20, January 8, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 22, January 22, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 23, January 29, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 24, February 5, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 25, February 12, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 26, February 19, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 27, February 26, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 28, March 4, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 29, March 11, 1971
Vol. 7, No. 30, March 18, 1971
Black Panther: Volume 8, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 1, March 25, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 2, April 1, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 3, April 8, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 4, April 15, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 5, April 22, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 6, April 29, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 7, May 6, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 8, May 13, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 9, May 20, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 10, May 27, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 11, June 3, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 12, June 10, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 13, June 17, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 14, June 24, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 15, July 1, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 16, July 8, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 17, July 15, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 18, July 22, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 19, July 29, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 20, August 5, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 21, August 12, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 22, August 19, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 23, August 23, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 24, September 2, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 25, September 9, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 26, September 16, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 27, September 23, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 28, September 30, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 29, October 7, 1972
Vol. 8, No. 30, October 14, 1972
Black Panther: Volume 9, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 1,October 21, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 2, October 28, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 3, November 4, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 4, November 9, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 5, November 16, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 6, November 23, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 7, November 30, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 8, December 7, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 9, December 16, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 10, December 23, 1972
Vol. 9, No. 11, December 30, 1972
Black Panther: Volume 10, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 1, May 19, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 2, May 26, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 3, June 2, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 4, June 9, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 5, June 16, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 6, June 23, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 7, June 30, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 8, July 7, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 9, July 14, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 10, July 21, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 11, July 28, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 12, August 4, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 13, August 11, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 14, August 18, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 15, August 25, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 16, September 1, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 17, September 8, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 18, September 15, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 19, September 22, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 20, September 29, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 22, October 13, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 23, October 20, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 24, October 27, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 25, November 3, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 26, November 10, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 27, November 17, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 28, November 24, 1973
Vol. 10, No. 30, December 8, 1973
Black Panther: Volume 11, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 2, January 5, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 3, January 12, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 4, January 19, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 5, January 26, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 6, February 2, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 7, February 9, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 8, February 16, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 9, February 23, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 10, March 2, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 11, March 9, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 12, March 16, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 13, March 23, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 14, March 30, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 15, April 6, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 16, April 13, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 17, April 20, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 18, April 27, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 19, May 4, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 20, May 11, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 21, May 18, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 22, May 25, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 23, June 8, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 24, June 15, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 25, June 29, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 27, July 6, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 28, July 13, 1974
Vol. 11, No. 29, July 20, 1974
Black Panther: Volume 12, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 2, August 3, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 3, August 10, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 4, August 17, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 5, August 24, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 6, August 31, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 7, September 7, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 8, September 14, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 9, September 21, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 10, September 28, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 11, October 5, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 12, October 12, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 13, October 19, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 14, October 26, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 15, November 2, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 16, November 9, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 17, November 16, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 18, November 23, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 19, November 30, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 20, December 7, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 21, December 14, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 22, December 21, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 23, December 28, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 24, January 4, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 25, January 11, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 26, January 18, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 27, January 25, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 28, February 1, 1974
Vol. 12, No. 30, February 15, 1974
Black Panther: Volume 13, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 1, February, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 2, March 1, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 3, March 8, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 4, March 15, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 5, March 22, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 6, March 29, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 7, April 5, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 8, April 12, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 9, April 10, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 10, April 28, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 11, May 5, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 12, May 12, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 13, May 19, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 14, May 26, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 15, June 2, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 16, June 9, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 17, June 16, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 18, June 23, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 19, June 30, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 20, July 7, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 21, July 14, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 22, July 21, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 23, July 28, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 24, August 4, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 25, August 11, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 26, August 18, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 27, August 25, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 28, September 1, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 29, September 8, 1975
Vol. 13, No. 30, September 15, 1975
Black Panther: Volume 14, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 1, September 22, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 2, September 29, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 3, October 6, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 4, October 14, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 5, October 18, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 6, October 25, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 7, November 1, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 9, November 15, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 10, November 22, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 12, December 6, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 13, December 13, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 14, December 20, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 15, December 27, 1975
Vol. 14, No. 16, January 3, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 17, January 10, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 18, January 17, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 19, January 24, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 20, January 31, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 21, February 7, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 22, February 14, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 23, February 21, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 24, February 28, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 25, March 6, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 26, March 13, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 27, March 20, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 28, March 27, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 29, April 3, 1976
Vol. 14, No. 30, April 10, 1976
Black Panther: Volume 15, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 1, April 17, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 2, April 24, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 3, May 1, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 4, May 8, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 5, May 15, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 6, May 22, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 7, May 29, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 8, June 5, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 9, June 12, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 10, June 19, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 11, June 26, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 12, July 3, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 13, July 10, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 14, July 17, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 15, July 24, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 17, August 7, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 18, August 14, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 19, August 21, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 20, August 28, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 21, September 4, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 22, September 11, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 23, September 18, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 24, September 25, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 25, October 2, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 26, October 9, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 27, October 16, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 28, October 23, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 29, October 29, 1976
Vol. 15, No. 30, November 6, 1976
Black Panther: Volume 16, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 8, Jan 1, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 9, Jan 8, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 10, Jan 15, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 11, Jan 22, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 12, Jan 29, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 13, Feb 5, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 14, Feb 12, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 15, Feb 19, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 16, Feb 26, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 20, Apr 2, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 21, Apr 9, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 22, Apr 16, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 23, Apr 23, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 24, Apr 30, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 25, May 7, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 26, May 14, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 27, May 21, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 28, May 28, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 29, Jun 4, 1977
Vol. 16, No. 30, Jun 11, 1977
Black Panther: Volume 17, 1977
Vol. 17, No. 1, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 2, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 3, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 4, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 5, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 6, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 7, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 8, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 9, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 10, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 11, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 12, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 13, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 14, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 15, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 16, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 17, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 18, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 19, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 20, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 21, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 22, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 23, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 24, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 25, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 26, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 27, , 1977
Vol. 17, No. 28, , 1977
Black Panther: Volume 18, 1978-1979
Vol. 18, No. 1, Jan 21, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 2, Jan 28, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 3, Feb 4, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 4, Feb 11, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 5, Feb 18, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 6, Feb 25, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 7, Mar 4, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 8, Mar 11, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 12, Apr 15, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 17, Jul 15, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 26, Dec 2-15, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 28, Dec 16-29, 1978
Vol. 18, No. 29, Dec 30, 1978
Black Panther: Volume 19, 1979-1980
Vol. 19, No. 2, Feb 19–Mar 4, 1979
Vol. 19, No. 3, Mar 12–25, 1979
Vol. 19, No. 6, Apr 30–May 13, 1979
Vol. 19, No. 7, May 14–27, 1979
Vol. 19, No. 8, May 28–Jun 10, 1979
Vol. 19, No. 9, Jul 23–Aug 5, 1979
Vol. 19, No. 10, Oct 1–14, 1979
Vol. 19, No. 11, Dec 17-31, 1979
Black Panther: Volume 20, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 1, Feb 11-24, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 2, Feb 25-Mar 9, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 3, Mar 10-22, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 4, Mar 24-Apr 6, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 5, Apr 21-May 4, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 6, May 12-25, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 7, Jul, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 8, Aug, 1980
Vol. 20, No. 9, Sep, 1980
Black Panther Party main page
IT'S ABOUT TIME: Black Panther Party Legacy & Alumni
CHAPTER HISTORY
BLACK PANTHER PARTY
Pieces of History: 1966 - 1969
1966
October 15
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale write the first draft of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) 10 - Point Program.
December
Sixteen-year-old Bobby Hutton becomes the first male recruit of the BPP.
1967
January
First BPP office opens at 5624 Grove Street, Oakland, CA.
Panthers patrol the street of Oakland.
February 21
The Panthers escort Betty Shabazz from the San Francisco airport to Ramparts for an interview with Eldridge Cleaver.
April 1
In Richmond, CA, Denzil Dowell is shot and killed by sheriff's deputies at Third and Chestly, an unincorporated area of North Richmond. Panthers respond to a request from the Dowell family for protection from police harassment.
April 25
The first issue of the Black Panther Party Black Community News Service is published. This four-page mimeograph newspaper headlines "Why Was Denzil Dowell Killed?"
May 2
Thirty armed Panthers and their supporters go to the California State Capitol at Sacramento to protest the Mulford Act, a bill aimed at banning the display of loaded weapons.
June
Riots explode in major cities, including Newark, Cleveland and Detroit.
October 28
At 4:56am, Oakland officer John Frey is killed and officer Herbert Haines wounded in a predawn altercation after stopping Huey Newton and Gene McKinney. Newton is also critically wounded.
December
The Black Panther increases its circulation tenfold.
1968
January
Alprentice “Bunchy” Carter, deputy minister of defense for Southern California, organizes The Southern California branch of the BPP. The BPP office is at Central Ave. and 43rd Street.
January 16
At 3:30am, San Francisco police officers break down the apartment door of Eldridge and Kathleen Cleaver. The officers ransack the apartment without a search warrant. Emory Douglas is also present.
February 8
In Orangeburg, South Carolina, on the campus of South Carolina State College, local police backed by the National Guard fire on a crowd of unarmed students; 33 black activists are shot, and three die.
February 17
A "Free Huey" rally is held at the Oakland Auditorium on Newton's birthday. More than 5,000 supporters attend including Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, James Forman, Ron Dellums, and Peace and Freedom Party representatives.
February 25
At 2:00am, Berkeley police officers break down the door and ransack the home of Bobby and Artie Seale. The Seales are charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Charges are later dropped for lack of evidence.
March
Arthur (Glen) Morris, brother of Bunchy Carter, is shot and killed by "agents" of the U.S. government. He is the first member of the BPP to be killed.
Anthony Coltrale is killed in Watts by a local police officer.
The Kansas City BPP office is raided by police and five Panthers are arrested.
March 4
An FBI memo from J. Edgar Hoover outlines goals to his staff to "Prevent the coalition of militant black nationalist groups."
April
The New York BPP chapter is organized.
April 3
The Oakland police department raids Father Neil's church, where Party members are holding a meeting.
April 4
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN. Riots occur in major cities across the country, but Oakland remains calm due to the efforts of the BPP.
April 6
An Oakland police shoot-out results in the murder of Bobby Hutton; Eldridge Cleaver is wounded. Seven other Panthers are arrested.
April 7
Three Panthers are arrested in Seattle, Washington.
April 9
Panther volunteers register is assassinated at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN. Riots occur in major cities across the country, but Oakland remains calm due to the efforts of the BPP.
April 6
An Oakland police shoot-out results in the murder of Bobby Hutton; Eldridge Cleaver is wounded. Seven other Panthers are arrested.
April 7
Three Panthers are arrested in Seattle, Washington.
April 9
Panther volunteers register Oakland citizens to vote.
April 13
Funeral services for Bobby Hutton held at Ephesians Church of God in Christ on Alcatraz Avenue in Berkeley. More than 2,500 attend the funeral.
June
San Francisco Party captain Dexter Woods arrested for curfew violation and given 5 days in jail.
June 25
Eldridge Cleaver takes Panther case to the United Nations.
July
The West Oakland Panther office opened by Tommy Jones, Glen Stafford, and other dedicated Panther volunteers.
The Seattle BPP office is raided by local police.
Captain Aaron Dixon of the Seattle BPP and Panther Curtis Harris are arrested for grand larceny. Both are eventually found not guilty.
Captain Dexter Woods of the San Francisco BPP arrested for interference with police.
July 15-16
More than 6,000 protestors come out in support of Huey Newton on the steps of the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland. The national and international press is present as well as the National Guard.
The newly formed Brown Berets make their appearance on the courthouse steps in support of Huey.
August
The West Oakland Party office is raided and ransacked by police.
In Newark, the Panther office is firebombed.
In Detroit, Panthers and police have a shoot-out; however, there are no injuries.
Five Seattle Panthers are harassed in their car by local police.
August 5
A Los Angeles shoot-out between police and Panthers leaves two Panthers killed.
August 16
Chairman Bobby Seale and Captain David Hilliard speak to a crowd of 5,000 across the street from the Democratic National Convention.
August 17
Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver, in Hawaii at the Peace and Freedom Party convention, is refused the right to enter Japan.
August 25
Three Panthers -- Robert Lawrence, Steve Bartholomew, and Tommy Lewis are murdered by Los Angeles police at a service station.
September
The San Francisco Examiner prints an article exposing Panther George Murray's employment as a teacher at San Francisco State. Chancellor Dumke orders Murray's termination. The Black Student Union immediately goes on strike in support of Murray.
September 8
Newton's jury deliberates for four days and in the end come up with a compromise verdict, convicting Huey of voluntary manslaughter. He is acquitted of the assault charge and the kidnap charges are dropped.
J. Edgar Hoover declares the BPP the "greatest threat to the internal security of the country".
September 28
Huey P. Newton is sentenced to 2 to 15 years in state prison and removed from Oakland in five minutes. Judge Friedman refuses al meetings for granting a mistrial.
Four hours after Huey's conviction, two (admittedly drunk) on-duty Oakland police officers commit a drive-by shooting of the BPP office on Grove Street.
Eldridge Cleaver's parole is revoked and he is sent back to prison.
October
Denver police shoot up Panther office during racial disturbance. Panther Lauren Watson is charged with conspiracy to commit arson.
New York police department harasses Panthers over use of a bullhorn at Panther headquarters.
November 6
San Francisco State college begins major strike.
November 7
Seattle Panther Sidney Miller is murdered.
November 13
Panther Reginald Forte's car is stopped by Berkeley police. After an altercation, Forte and Officer Wolke are wounded.
November 25
FBI memo details plans to cause dissension between Los Angeles Panthers and United Slaves (US) under the leadership of Ron Karenga. December 1 Forty-three Denver police raid Panther office, cause $9,000 in damage, and steal $150 in cash.
December 7
Newark Panther office is bombed by local police.
December 12
Twelve Chicago Panthers are arrested on weapons charges.
December 18
Indianapolis Panther office is raided by FBI and local police, who fire three cans of tear gas and ransack the place; $600 in cash is taken from the Party's treasury.
December 21
Denver police raid Panther office looking for weapons, but none is found. Out of frustration officers burn food and clothing that were to be given to community poor for the holidays.
December 23
A demonstration is held by the Indiana Committee to Defend the BPP in front of the local police station. Clergy members, Citizen's Defense League, Purdue Peace League, and other community organizations are in attendance.
December 27
Des Moines Panther office is raided by 100 police officers and FBI agents. Mrs. Joanne Cheatom, president of the Des Moines Welfare Rights Organization, is arrested along with several Panthers.
December 28
San Francisco Panther office is raided by police.
Sacramento Panthers exchange gunfire in a shoot-out with police; 13 officers are wounded and 37 persons are jailed.
December 30
Los Angeles Panther Frank Diggs is shot in the head and killed by police agents.
1969
January
The Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children Program (FBCP) is under way at St. Augustine's Church in Oakland.
January 17
Los Angeles captain Bunchy Carter and Deputy Minister John Huggins are murdered in Campbell Hall on the UCLA campus, by US members.
January 24
Chicago police and FBI conspire to prevent Panther Fred Hampton from appearing on a local television talk show.
January 30
J. Edgar Hoover approves mailing of anonymous letter to provoke Blackstone Rangers to attack BPP members in Chicago.
In Des Moines, more than 100 police officers storm the BPP office.
February 13
In Berkeley, 37 student strikers are arrested in the UC Berkeley Third Third_World Strike.
March 14
In Los Angeles following a student strike meeting at Victory Baptist Church, an altercation ensues in the parking lot between US members and Panthers. Panther Ronald Freeman is wounded in the chest and groin. Local police watch the fight from their vehicle parked across the street and do not intervene.
March 17
Vallejo, CA, BPP starts FBCP with 35 children. Within a week the number of children grows to 110.
March 19
Panthers Bobby Seale and Masai Hewitt tour Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
March 24
In Los Angeles, inflammatory letters instigated by the FBI are sent to Panthers from US members.
March 26
In Des Moines, Iowa, a house used as the BPP office is completely demolished by CDT plastic explosives. Later, in testimony before the House Committee on Un- American Activities, Panthers and the local police department accuse each other of the bombing.
March 28
In San Francisco, police officers tear gas, fire upon using automatic weapons, and raid Party office. A total of 16 Panthers are arrested.
April 1
In Chicago, the FBCP began with 83 children, and by the end of the week more than 1,100 children are fed.
In New York, 21 Panthers are arrested on a wide variety of conspiracy charges.
April 10
In New York, high school students hold a demonstration at Long Island City High School to demand freedom for the Panther 21 arrested on conspiracy charges.
April 13
In Des Moines, Iowa, the Panthers' FBCP is attacked by police.
April 26
In Des Moines, Iowa, the BPP office is totally destroyed by a firebomb.
May 4
"Free Huey" rallies are held in 20 major cities at U.S. federal district courts.
May 13
New Jersey Panthers David Williams and Marion Fields are harassed by officers for passing out leaflets.
May 20
In Greensboro, North Carolina, the National Guard, with tanks and helicopters, shoots up the campus with tear gas during student unrest.
May 21
In New Haven, Connecticut, Panther Alex Rackley is viciously tortured and murdered by undercover agent George Sams who eventually pled guilty to second-degree murder and whose status as an agent was confirmed at his trial. Before his arrest many Panther offices were raided under the pretext of looking for him.
May 22
New Haven, Connecticut, Panther office is raided by police, and Panthers are arrested on conspiracy to commit murder.
May 23
San Diego Panther John Savage is murdered by US members.
May 31
In Berkeley, the FBI curtails distribution of Party newspapers by ripping them up and disrupting U.S. mail service. United Airlines and TWA accept contracts to receive and deliver the newspaper, but now deny receiving the newspaper.
June 4
In Detroit, local police storm the BPP office in search of suspects in the New Haven murder of Alex Rackley; $25,000 damage is done to the office and bail is set at $4,000 each. Charges on all Panthers arrested are dropped.
The Liberation School, a BPP survival program, starts.
June 5
Indianapolis, Indiana, Panther Fred Crawford is arrested for assault and battery.
Los Angeles, Panther Daniel Lynem is charged with murder. Charges are eventually dropped.
In Denver, Colorado, Rory Hithe and Landon Williams are arrested with no bail and charged with conspiracy in connection with the New York 21 and Connecticut 8 as well as unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
June 7
the Chicago BPP office is raided in search of George Sams. Eight Panthers are arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive. Bail is set at $1,000, but all charges are dropped.
Seventeen Panthers in Indianapolis, Indiana, are arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
June 8
Los Angeles Panther Wayne Pharr is charged with murder. Charges are later dropped.
June 10
In Chicago, 16 Panthers, including William O'Neal (an undercover agent), are indicted for conspiracy, kidnapping, and aggravated battery. Bail is set at $100,000 each.
June 13
Panthers Joel Brown and Ron Davis are attacked, maced, and arrested by police for allegedly blocking a public walkway while selling BPP newspapers.
June 15
the San Diego and Sacramento BPP offices are raided.
June 19
In Chicago, Panther David Smith is arrested for selling the BPP newspaper.
June 23
In Los Angeles, Geronimo Pratt and Roger Lewis are arrested on suspicion of murder. The charges are later dropped.
June 26
In Jersey City, 4 Panthers are arrested for carrying concealed weapons. Bail is set at $350 each.
June 28
Eleven New York Panthers are arrested and charged with obstructed vision because there were too many people in one car. Seven are released on $1,000 bail, the remaining 4 are held for selling BPP newspapers.
June 30
In Los Angeles, Ron Freeman is arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of drugs. Charges are later dropped.
Jersey City local police departments report on the BPP before a Senate Subcommittee in Washington DC.
July
In Jersey City, Panther Floyd Tyler is arrested and charged with murder, but soon released.
July 2
In San Francisco, Panther Liberation School opens.
July 3
In Chicago, Bobby Rush is stopped in a car and arrested for driving without a license plate and sticker despite the fact that the receipt is taped to the car window.
July 13
San Diego police provoke a 2-day riot, leaving 2 dead, several wounded, and 100 arrested. Two officers are killed as well.
July 17
New Haven, Connecticut, Panthers initiate lead poisoning testing. This state has the worst lead poisoning in the country.
July 18
In Oakland, the United Front Against Fascism conference runs 3 days. The goal is to plan and discuss community control of police.
July 20
In Queens, New York, Liberation School opens with 90 children.
July 24
In San Francisco, another Liberation School is started at Hunters Point.
July 26
In San Diego, the John Savage Memorial FBCP moves ahead despite vandals who broke into the church and destroyed food.
In Algeria, Eldridge Cleaver is cheered as he addresses the people in front of the new Afro-American Information Center. Cleaver is joined by Emory Douglas, David Hilliard, Masai Hewitt, Baby Dee, and the daughter of Richard Wright to attend a 12-day Pan-African Cultural Festival.
July 31
In Chicago, the BPP office is raided in an unprovoked attack that lasts 45 minutes. Police destroy food and take $500 in cash. Panther Pete Hayman is charged with attempted murder and is severely beaten and hospitalized.
August 1
In Milwaukee, Panther Richard Smith is arrested for jaywalking and selling BPP newspapers.
New York Panthers Robert Moore and Eula May Fischer are both arrested for selling BPP newspapers without a permit.
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale write the first draft of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) 10 - Point Program.
December
Sixteen-year-old Bobby Hutton becomes the first male recruit of the BPP.
1967
January
First BPP office opens at 5624 Grove Street, Oakland, CA.
Panthers patrol the street of Oakland.
February 21
The Panthers escort Betty Shabazz from the San Francisco airport to Ramparts for an interview with Eldridge Cleaver.
April 1
In Richmond, CA, Denzil Dowell is shot and killed by sheriff's deputies at Third and Chestly, an unincorporated area of North Richmond. Panthers respond to a request from the Dowell family for protection from police harassment.
April 25
The first issue of the Black Panther Party Black Community News Service is published. This four-page mimeograph newspaper headlines "Why Was Denzil Dowell Killed?"
May 2
Thirty armed Panthers and their supporters go to the California State Capitol at Sacramento to protest the Mulford Act, a bill aimed at banning the display of loaded weapons.
June
Riots explode in major cities, including Newark, Cleveland and Detroit.
October 28
At 4:56am, Oakland officer John Frey is killed and officer Herbert Haines wounded in a predawn altercation after stopping Huey Newton and Gene McKinney. Newton is also critically wounded.
December
The Black Panther increases its circulation tenfold.
1968
January
Alprentice “Bunchy” Carter, deputy minister of defense for Southern California, organizes The Southern California branch of the BPP. The BPP office is at Central Ave. and 43rd Street.
January 16
At 3:30am, San Francisco police officers break down the apartment door of Eldridge and Kathleen Cleaver. The officers ransack the apartment without a search warrant. Emory Douglas is also present.
February 8
In Orangeburg, South Carolina, on the campus of South Carolina State College, local police backed by the National Guard fire on a crowd of unarmed students; 33 black activists are shot, and three die.
February 17
A "Free Huey" rally is held at the Oakland Auditorium on Newton's birthday. More than 5,000 supporters attend including Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, James Forman, Ron Dellums, and Peace and Freedom Party representatives.
February 25
At 2:00am, Berkeley police officers break down the door and ransack the home of Bobby and Artie Seale. The Seales are charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Charges are later dropped for lack of evidence.
March
Arthur (Glen) Morris, brother of Bunchy Carter, is shot and killed by "agents" of the U.S. government. He is the first member of the BPP to be killed.
Anthony Coltrale is killed in Watts by a local police officer.
The Kansas City BPP office is raided by police and five Panthers are arrested.
March 4
An FBI memo from J. Edgar Hoover outlines goals to his staff to "Prevent the coalition of militant black nationalist groups."
April
The New York BPP chapter is organized.
April 3
The Oakland police department raids Father Neil's church, where Party members are holding a meeting.
April 4
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN. Riots occur in major cities across the country, but Oakland remains calm due to the efforts of the BPP.
April 6
An Oakland police shoot-out results in the murder of Bobby Hutton; Eldridge Cleaver is wounded. Seven other Panthers are arrested.
April 7
Three Panthers are arrested in Seattle, Washington.
April 9
Panther volunteers register is assassinated at the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, TN. Riots occur in major cities across the country, but Oakland remains calm due to the efforts of the BPP.
April 6
An Oakland police shoot-out results in the murder of Bobby Hutton; Eldridge Cleaver is wounded. Seven other Panthers are arrested.
April 7
Three Panthers are arrested in Seattle, Washington.
April 9
Panther volunteers register Oakland citizens to vote.
April 13
Funeral services for Bobby Hutton held at Ephesians Church of God in Christ on Alcatraz Avenue in Berkeley. More than 2,500 attend the funeral.
June
San Francisco Party captain Dexter Woods arrested for curfew violation and given 5 days in jail.
June 25
Eldridge Cleaver takes Panther case to the United Nations.
July
The West Oakland Panther office opened by Tommy Jones, Glen Stafford, and other dedicated Panther volunteers.
The Seattle BPP office is raided by local police.
Captain Aaron Dixon of the Seattle BPP and Panther Curtis Harris are arrested for grand larceny. Both are eventually found not guilty.
Captain Dexter Woods of the San Francisco BPP arrested for interference with police.
July 15-16
More than 6,000 protestors come out in support of Huey Newton on the steps of the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland. The national and international press is present as well as the National Guard.
The newly formed Brown Berets make their appearance on the courthouse steps in support of Huey.
August
The West Oakland Party office is raided and ransacked by police.
In Newark, the Panther office is firebombed.
In Detroit, Panthers and police have a shoot-out; however, there are no injuries.
Five Seattle Panthers are harassed in their car by local police.
August 5
A Los Angeles shoot-out between police and Panthers leaves two Panthers killed.
August 16
Chairman Bobby Seale and Captain David Hilliard speak to a crowd of 5,000 across the street from the Democratic National Convention.
August 17
Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver, in Hawaii at the Peace and Freedom Party convention, is refused the right to enter Japan.
August 25
Three Panthers -- Robert Lawrence, Steve Bartholomew, and Tommy Lewis are murdered by Los Angeles police at a service station.
September
The San Francisco Examiner prints an article exposing Panther George Murray's employment as a teacher at San Francisco State. Chancellor Dumke orders Murray's termination. The Black Student Union immediately goes on strike in support of Murray.
September 8
Newton's jury deliberates for four days and in the end come up with a compromise verdict, convicting Huey of voluntary manslaughter. He is acquitted of the assault charge and the kidnap charges are dropped.
J. Edgar Hoover declares the BPP the "greatest threat to the internal security of the country".
September 28
Huey P. Newton is sentenced to 2 to 15 years in state prison and removed from Oakland in five minutes. Judge Friedman refuses al meetings for granting a mistrial.
Four hours after Huey's conviction, two (admittedly drunk) on-duty Oakland police officers commit a drive-by shooting of the BPP office on Grove Street.
Eldridge Cleaver's parole is revoked and he is sent back to prison.
October
Denver police shoot up Panther office during racial disturbance. Panther Lauren Watson is charged with conspiracy to commit arson.
New York police department harasses Panthers over use of a bullhorn at Panther headquarters.
November 6
San Francisco State college begins major strike.
November 7
Seattle Panther Sidney Miller is murdered.
November 13
Panther Reginald Forte's car is stopped by Berkeley police. After an altercation, Forte and Officer Wolke are wounded.
November 25
FBI memo details plans to cause dissension between Los Angeles Panthers and United Slaves (US) under the leadership of Ron Karenga. December 1 Forty-three Denver police raid Panther office, cause $9,000 in damage, and steal $150 in cash.
December 7
Newark Panther office is bombed by local police.
December 12
Twelve Chicago Panthers are arrested on weapons charges.
December 18
Indianapolis Panther office is raided by FBI and local police, who fire three cans of tear gas and ransack the place; $600 in cash is taken from the Party's treasury.
December 21
Denver police raid Panther office looking for weapons, but none is found. Out of frustration officers burn food and clothing that were to be given to community poor for the holidays.
December 23
A demonstration is held by the Indiana Committee to Defend the BPP in front of the local police station. Clergy members, Citizen's Defense League, Purdue Peace League, and other community organizations are in attendance.
December 27
Des Moines Panther office is raided by 100 police officers and FBI agents. Mrs. Joanne Cheatom, president of the Des Moines Welfare Rights Organization, is arrested along with several Panthers.
December 28
San Francisco Panther office is raided by police.
Sacramento Panthers exchange gunfire in a shoot-out with police; 13 officers are wounded and 37 persons are jailed.
December 30
Los Angeles Panther Frank Diggs is shot in the head and killed by police agents.
1969
January
The Panthers' Free Breakfast for Children Program (FBCP) is under way at St. Augustine's Church in Oakland.
January 17
Los Angeles captain Bunchy Carter and Deputy Minister John Huggins are murdered in Campbell Hall on the UCLA campus, by US members.
January 24
Chicago police and FBI conspire to prevent Panther Fred Hampton from appearing on a local television talk show.
January 30
J. Edgar Hoover approves mailing of anonymous letter to provoke Blackstone Rangers to attack BPP members in Chicago.
In Des Moines, more than 100 police officers storm the BPP office.
February 13
In Berkeley, 37 student strikers are arrested in the UC Berkeley Third Third_World Strike.
March 14
In Los Angeles following a student strike meeting at Victory Baptist Church, an altercation ensues in the parking lot between US members and Panthers. Panther Ronald Freeman is wounded in the chest and groin. Local police watch the fight from their vehicle parked across the street and do not intervene.
March 17
Vallejo, CA, BPP starts FBCP with 35 children. Within a week the number of children grows to 110.
March 19
Panthers Bobby Seale and Masai Hewitt tour Scandinavian countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
March 24
In Los Angeles, inflammatory letters instigated by the FBI are sent to Panthers from US members.
March 26
In Des Moines, Iowa, a house used as the BPP office is completely demolished by CDT plastic explosives. Later, in testimony before the House Committee on Un- American Activities, Panthers and the local police department accuse each other of the bombing.
March 28
In San Francisco, police officers tear gas, fire upon using automatic weapons, and raid Party office. A total of 16 Panthers are arrested.
April 1
In Chicago, the FBCP began with 83 children, and by the end of the week more than 1,100 children are fed.
In New York, 21 Panthers are arrested on a wide variety of conspiracy charges.
April 10
In New York, high school students hold a demonstration at Long Island City High School to demand freedom for the Panther 21 arrested on conspiracy charges.
April 13
In Des Moines, Iowa, the Panthers' FBCP is attacked by police.
April 26
In Des Moines, Iowa, the BPP office is totally destroyed by a firebomb.
May 4
"Free Huey" rallies are held in 20 major cities at U.S. federal district courts.
May 13
New Jersey Panthers David Williams and Marion Fields are harassed by officers for passing out leaflets.
May 20
In Greensboro, North Carolina, the National Guard, with tanks and helicopters, shoots up the campus with tear gas during student unrest.
May 21
In New Haven, Connecticut, Panther Alex Rackley is viciously tortured and murdered by undercover agent George Sams who eventually pled guilty to second-degree murder and whose status as an agent was confirmed at his trial. Before his arrest many Panther offices were raided under the pretext of looking for him.
May 22
New Haven, Connecticut, Panther office is raided by police, and Panthers are arrested on conspiracy to commit murder.
May 23
San Diego Panther John Savage is murdered by US members.
May 31
In Berkeley, the FBI curtails distribution of Party newspapers by ripping them up and disrupting U.S. mail service. United Airlines and TWA accept contracts to receive and deliver the newspaper, but now deny receiving the newspaper.
June 4
In Detroit, local police storm the BPP office in search of suspects in the New Haven murder of Alex Rackley; $25,000 damage is done to the office and bail is set at $4,000 each. Charges on all Panthers arrested are dropped.
The Liberation School, a BPP survival program, starts.
June 5
Indianapolis, Indiana, Panther Fred Crawford is arrested for assault and battery.
Los Angeles, Panther Daniel Lynem is charged with murder. Charges are eventually dropped.
In Denver, Colorado, Rory Hithe and Landon Williams are arrested with no bail and charged with conspiracy in connection with the New York 21 and Connecticut 8 as well as unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
June 7
the Chicago BPP office is raided in search of George Sams. Eight Panthers are arrested and charged with harboring a fugitive. Bail is set at $1,000, but all charges are dropped.
Seventeen Panthers in Indianapolis, Indiana, are arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
June 8
Los Angeles Panther Wayne Pharr is charged with murder. Charges are later dropped.
June 10
In Chicago, 16 Panthers, including William O'Neal (an undercover agent), are indicted for conspiracy, kidnapping, and aggravated battery. Bail is set at $100,000 each.
June 13
Panthers Joel Brown and Ron Davis are attacked, maced, and arrested by police for allegedly blocking a public walkway while selling BPP newspapers.
June 15
the San Diego and Sacramento BPP offices are raided.
June 19
In Chicago, Panther David Smith is arrested for selling the BPP newspaper.
June 23
In Los Angeles, Geronimo Pratt and Roger Lewis are arrested on suspicion of murder. The charges are later dropped.
June 26
In Jersey City, 4 Panthers are arrested for carrying concealed weapons. Bail is set at $350 each.
June 28
Eleven New York Panthers are arrested and charged with obstructed vision because there were too many people in one car. Seven are released on $1,000 bail, the remaining 4 are held for selling BPP newspapers.
June 30
In Los Angeles, Ron Freeman is arrested on suspicion of murder and possession of drugs. Charges are later dropped.
Jersey City local police departments report on the BPP before a Senate Subcommittee in Washington DC.
July
In Jersey City, Panther Floyd Tyler is arrested and charged with murder, but soon released.
July 2
In San Francisco, Panther Liberation School opens.
July 3
In Chicago, Bobby Rush is stopped in a car and arrested for driving without a license plate and sticker despite the fact that the receipt is taped to the car window.
July 13
San Diego police provoke a 2-day riot, leaving 2 dead, several wounded, and 100 arrested. Two officers are killed as well.
July 17
New Haven, Connecticut, Panthers initiate lead poisoning testing. This state has the worst lead poisoning in the country.
July 18
In Oakland, the United Front Against Fascism conference runs 3 days. The goal is to plan and discuss community control of police.
July 20
In Queens, New York, Liberation School opens with 90 children.
July 24
In San Francisco, another Liberation School is started at Hunters Point.
July 26
In San Diego, the John Savage Memorial FBCP moves ahead despite vandals who broke into the church and destroyed food.
In Algeria, Eldridge Cleaver is cheered as he addresses the people in front of the new Afro-American Information Center. Cleaver is joined by Emory Douglas, David Hilliard, Masai Hewitt, Baby Dee, and the daughter of Richard Wright to attend a 12-day Pan-African Cultural Festival.
July 31
In Chicago, the BPP office is raided in an unprovoked attack that lasts 45 minutes. Police destroy food and take $500 in cash. Panther Pete Hayman is charged with attempted murder and is severely beaten and hospitalized.
August 1
In Milwaukee, Panther Richard Smith is arrested for jaywalking and selling BPP newspapers.
New York Panthers Robert Moore and Eula May Fischer are both arrested for selling BPP newspapers without a permit.
August 2
In Richmond, CA, police raid the BPP office.
In Kansas City, the BPP opens the Bobby Hutton Free Health Clinic.
August 4
In Denver, the BPP starts a FBCP.
August 15
San Diego Panther Sylvester Bell is shot and killed by US members. The FBCP is closed due to shootings.
August 16
In Ann Arbor, Michigan, White Panther Party Minister of Information John Sinclair is convicted for selling 2 joints to an undercover agent.
August 19
Bobby Seale is kidnapped by Berkeley police after leaving the wedding of Masai Hewitt and Shirley Neely. He is immediately taken to San Francisco and charged with initiating the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and New Haven murder of Alex Rackley.
August 22
Harlem Panthers initiate a FBCP and Free Clothing Program at All Saints Catholic Church.
August 30
The Black Panther brings attention to South African political prisoner Nelson Mandela.
September 2
San Diego police fire bullets and gas rockets into Panther home for 45 minutes. People in the community throw bottles and rocks at police. Officers in turn kick down citizens' doors and beat the people.
September 4
In Chicago, a federal judge orders Bobby Seale gagged and shackled to a metal folding chair and eventually removes him from the courtroom.
The BPP in Chicago opens a free medical health clinic.
September 6
The Berkeley Tribe newspaper reveals a transcript of a 35-step assault plan by Berkeley police to engage in a full-scale attack on the BPP National Headquarters.
September 12
In Los Angeles, Panther Nathaniel Clark is murdered.
September 24
In Philadelphia, the BPP office is raided. The FBI takes file records and petitions for community control of the police.
October
In New York, the Young Lords are organized by Cha Cha Jiminez.
In Philadelphia, Barbara Cox initiates Panther Free Clothing Program.
October 18
Panther Walter "Toure" Pope is murdered by Los Angeles metro squad in broad daylight as he drops BPP newspapers off at store.
November
In Seattle, the BPP opens a free medical clinic.
November 22
In New Haven, Connecticut, 5,000 demonstrators march and converge at state courthouse in support of BPP members charged with murder of Alex Rackley.
November 25
In Chicago, 13 Panthers are held in "preventive detention" on $100,000 bail for trumped-up conspiracy charges to blow up various locations.
December 4
In Chicago, Fred Hampton, and Mark Clark are viciously murdered by police while they sleep.
December 8
Los Angeles police department launches a full- scale attack on Southern California Panthers in a predawn raid. At two separate locations, 400 officers arrest Party members and children.
During one shoot-out, Roland Freeman's body is riddled with bullets, but he survives.
December 10
Los Angeles Local Union 535, Social Services Workers' Union, passes a resolution to protest the political murders of Panthers across the country and to demand the release of all political prisoners.
December 26
The entire shipment of BPP newspapers shipped to New Haven, Connecticut, never arrives.
December 27
In Los Angeles, the Bunchy Carter Free Health Clinic opens.
December 30
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, shipment of BPP newspapers arrives a week late.
December 10
Los Angeles Local Union 535, Social Services Workers' Union, passes a resolution to protest the political murders of Panthers across the country and to demand the release of all political prisoners.
December 26
The entire shipment of BPP newspapers shipped to New Haven, Connecticut, never arrives.
December 27
In Los Angeles, the Bunchy Carter Free Health Clinic opens.
December 30
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, shipment of BPP newspapers arrives a week late.
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