It was the late 1960s, and notable Black leaders were disappearing – many brutally murdered by the state! Black youth didn’t know where to turn, so they looked inward. Two young Black men looked at each other – and realized they had to take matters into their own hands.
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seales met at Merritt College, in Oakland, California. They protested the school for omitting Black history, and eventually started the Black Panther party after the assassination of Malcolm X. And this was NOT their parent’s movement.
They said goodbye to the non-violence approach that had characterized the Civil Rights Movement. The Black Panthers did not want to appease white people! They knew their value, and they were going to take it, together as Black people.
The party was founded in 1966 and originally called the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. They purposely chose the Black Panther as their symbol because a Black Panther does not attack unless threatened!
At its peak, the Party had 30 chapters across the country. They took police brutality into their own hands and focused on nourishing the well-being of the Black community.
We do not know our own strength until we come together as a community, and we don’t know our capacity to create change until we stand as a unit!