Introduction to the Black Panthers and African American Historical Theories

The Evolution of SNCC and the Rise of the Black Panther Party

• John Lewis began his career in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) before becoming a long-serving elected official and state representative.
• A rift developed within SNCC between those who maintained traditional support for the organization, like John Lewis, and those who believed SNCC was not aggressive enough in its tactics.
• Stokely Carmichael was a key figure who argued for a more robust approach, leading to the emergence of the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party.
• The Black Panther Party (BPP) gained significant popularity during the $1960s$ and $1970s$ as a response to the limitations of the mainstream civil rights movement.
• The BPP is closely associated with the concept of "Black Power," a movement symbolized by the black power logo (a raised fist), which was later repopularized during the Black Lives Matter movement.
• While the Black Panthers were characterized as more militant than nonviolent civil rights activists, they did not exist solely to cause violence. Their philosophy allowed for responding to violence with violence in self-defense.
• Some activists concluded that the focus on nonviolence and integration had failed to fundamentally change society, leading them to adopt the cry of "Black Power" instead of "We Shall Overcome."

History, Tactics, and Programs of the Black Panther Party

• The Black Panther Party was founded in $1966$ in Oakland, California, by college students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton.
• The organization's formation was a direct response to the assassination of Malcolm X and the killing of Matthew Johnson, an unarmed $16$-year-old African American, by San Francisco police.
• The party's "Ten-Point Program" was heavily focused on addressing racism and viewed the struggle of Black Americans as part of a global liberation movement against colonialism.
• The BPP described Black communities in America as "occupied territory" similar to colonized nations like Vietnam.
• The party implemented "Survival Programs" to promote self-determination, which included:
  • Free breakfast programs for school children (eventually operating in multiple cities).
  • Free healthcare clinics.
  • Voter registration drives.
  • Freedom Schools established in $9$ different cities.
• The Oakland school was the longest-running institution of the party, operating for nearly a decade.
• Women constituted approximately $50\%$ of the party membership and frequently held leadership roles. Elaine Brown served as the head of the national party from $1974$ to $1977$.
• The paramilitary aspect of the party involved members wearing black jackets and berets while openly and legally carrying weapons to patrol neighborhoods and challenge police violence.
• FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover declared the Black Panther Party the "greatest threat to internal security" in the country.
• Hoover's FBI aimed to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, and neutralize the party through various tactics.
• Violent clashes with police resulted in the deaths of rising party star Fred Hampton and member Mark Clark during a police raid.
• In $1982$, the federal government paid $\$1,800,000$ to settle a lawsuit alleging FBI involvement in the Chicago raid.
• Internal disputes and power struggles led to the party becoming defunct by the late $1970s$, and it was formally disbanded in $1982$.

Perspectives on Legacy and Global Connections

• Historian Donna Murch identifies the BPP as a youth-led movement composed mainly of people in their late teens and early $20s$, many of whom were working-class youth who had migrated from the South.
• The BPP was formed one year after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of $1965$, highlighting that the dismantling of legal segregation in the South did not solve economic and access issues in the North and West.
• The party had strong global links, drawing inspiration from decolonization movements in Africa and revolutionary movements in Asia (Vietnam and China).
• The Panthers were adamantly opposed to the Vietnam War and American imperialism.
• Contrary to popular media depictions (such as in the film Forrest Gump), the BPP fostered multiracial coalitions. They formed the "Rainbow Coalition," uniting with white radical youth (referred to as "country radicals") to oppose the war and anti-communism.
• The BPP's free breakfast program is credited with shaming the US government into establishing the federal free school lunch and breakfast programs.
• Modern movements like Black Lives Matter are seen as direct descendants of the BPP. Current activists often look to Assata Shakur, a former Panther from New York, as a foundational figure.
• Meetings of contemporary movement organizations often open with a poem by Assata Shakur: "It is our duty to fight for freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and protect one another. We have nothing to lose but our chains."

Theoretical Frameworks in African American History

• Educational Democracy:
  • This theory assumes education is designed to teach and accept societal norms (e.g., following schedules, raising hands, asking to use the bathroom).
  • Norms are used for "Americanization," preparing students for adult life in society (e.g., waiting in line).
  • The theory argues that standard American school norms are designed for white, middle-class, Christian populations, often causing other cultures to be dropped or forgotten.
  • Theorists in this field advocate for keeping African American history as its own distinct class to ensure marginalized voices are not lost in a general US history curriculum.
• Black Consciousness:
  • Developed by Nathan Hare, this theory uses the metaphor of a two-sided scale.
  • One side represents the dominant culture (white), and the other represents the marginalized culture.
  • The current curriculum is weighted too heavily toward the dominant culture; the goal is to tip the scale back to a balanced representation.
  • Nathan Hare proposed separate categories for study, such as Black Science and Black Economics.
  • A core component is community engagement, emphasizing that learning must be coupled with action to help the community.
• Kuwaita Theory:
  • This theory argues that Black culture is being destroyed by white nationalism.
  • It seeks to reconnect individuals to their African roots and ancestry.
  • This framework led to the development of Kwanzaa. Each day of Kwanzaa has a theme named in Swahili, an African language, intended to reinforce cultural values that are being lost.
• Afrocentric Theory:
  • This involves studying history from an African perspective (placing Africa at the center).
  • It centers on the "diaspora"—the forced migration of Black people to the Americas for slavery.
  • While other groups (Indigenous Americans, Jewish people) have their own diasporas, in this context, it refers to those of African ancestry.
  • Choosing to start American history in $1619$ is considered an Afrocentric approach, whereas starting in $1492$ is Eurocentric.
• Class Analysis:
  • A newer amendment to previous theories that suggests race should not be the only consideration regarding inequality.
  • It argues that the experiences of a wealthy Black individual and a poor Black individual are vastly different based on socioeconomic status and employment, despite shared racial identity.
• Deconstruction:
  • The process of identifying and unlearning false or inaccurate information about marginalized history.
  • An example includes correcting the myth that slavery was a paid job.

Definitions and Categorizations

• African Studies: The study of the continent of Africa and its current inhabitants.
• Black Studies: The broad study of anyone globally who can trace their lineage back to Africa.
• African American Studies: A specific subset of Black Studies focusing on the experiences of Black people in America.

Questions & Discussion

• Question (Instructor): How many of us have heard of the Black Panthers?
• Response (Audience): Some students indicated familiarity; the instructor clarified that it is not the Marvel movie.
• Question (Audience/Student): A student mentioned someone was "excited" or that something was "illegal."
• Instruction (Instructor): The instructor provided directions for activating Richland student accounts and navigating the Canvas orientation.
• Dialogue (Students/Instructor):
  • A student complained about having banana in their hair, shoes, and clothes after an incident involving a kid passing out and a fall while trying to get help.
  • Comments were made about a "cold" or "bad" situation at lunch and people needing to "switch countries."
  • The instructor redirected the class to seating changes, moving a student named Ashley and another named D'Angelo to different parts of the room.