via Wikimedia
The Black Panther Party of America exposed to the world radical methods of fighting oppression. And the world listened.
From the Aboriginals of Australia to Buddhists in India, the 1970s saw inspired marginalized groups form their own Panther parties to fight the system.
Founded by first-generation Pacific Islander teens of immigrant parents, who were threatened with deportation, police brutality, and economic discrimination, the Polynesian Panthers peacefully applied the Black Panther’s ideologies to enact change.
Their movement is still used as a blueprint for present-day community activism.
Established by West African and West Indian immigrants, the British Black Panthers’ (BBP) struggle was different than the American party’s, who battled a racism embedded into law. The BBP’s fight responded to anti-Black and anti-immigrant sentiment around the UK, instead.
They emphasized the importance of educating communities.
Mizrahi Jews in Israel, who descended from North Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East, were also inspired by the Black Panthers.
When Israel was first established, immediate discrimination was thrown at non-European Jewish people. Exiled to deplorable neighborhoods and lower-paying jobs, the Israeli Black Panthers began their fight against Zionism.
A similar fight persists today.
The Black Panther movement influenced the world, exposing multitudes of racism that exist outside of America. With Pan-African principles as guideposts, Black liberation became a global issue - and a global fight.