“Black Power is giving power to people who have not had power to determine their destiny.” — Huey P. Newton
In 1966, Huey P. Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in Oakland, CA. The Black Panther Party was a black revolutionary socialist organization that worked toward ending the oppression of black people. It marked the first black political party of the black working class.
The Party achieved national and international recognition by confronting police brutality while openly carrying guns. They were a symbol of resistance that characterized a clear break from civil rights movement to the black power movement. The Party’s political goals were articulated through it’s Ten-Point Program which included better housing, jobs and education for Africans.
By 1968, the Party had expanded into many cities throughout the United States, among them, Baltimore, Chicago, New York City, and Washington, D.C.
Peak membership was near 10,000 by 1969.
Although the BPP are known for their black leather jackets and berets, their survival programs like the free breakfast program and sickle cell anaemia testing were so effective the US government was forced to co-opt them which is the reason schools have free breakfast programs and greater testing around sickle cell.
Their effectiveness at organizing lead them to become a target of COINTELPRO. Huey himself was shot in the stomach by a police officer and was accused of the officer’s murder. This resulted in the “Free Huey” Campaign that galvanized the community that eventually freed Huey.
But many members were not as lucky. Dozens were killed or arrested by the US government and the BPP was effectively destroyed.
Huey P. Newton would have been 79 years old today if he wasn’t assassinated by the US government in Oakland, California on August 22, 1989.
Long live brother Huey
