Growing up in East Bay of the SF Bay Area in 70's and 80's, means that you were exposed to the Black Panthers. I know several members of Black Panther Party (BPP). The Panthers were founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale at Merritt College in Oakland as watchdog to police brutality. J.Edgar Hoover who was the head of FBI called BPP "the greatest threat to the internal security of the county." and by 1982 (ten years after Hoover's death), the BPP was a thing of the past.
Many people still think of the Panthers as a revolutionary group but the Panthers created programs to serve African-Americans such as free breakfast programs to feed the kids who had no breakfast at home (School districts started their programs after the Panthers did), had free food programs and free medical clinics.
The Oakland Museum had an exhibit to mark the 50th anniversary of the Panthers:
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| Huey Newton's wicker chair |
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| SF Sun Reporter `1966 |
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| Black Power Fist |
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| Black Panther Newspaper 1969 |
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| Jack in Box 1970 |
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| The Black Panthers Winchester Rifle |
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| Black Panthers free food bag |
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| The Black Panther 1971 |
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| The Black Panther 1971 |
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| A black panther dress |
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| A free Huey flag |
would love to check out the exhibit. thank you for sharing the background on the black panthers.
ReplyDeleteThat is incredible how people sought to destroy other humans. Thank you for sharing the history and exhibition.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great exhibition. I would love to take a walk around. Thanks for sharing at the weekend blog hop :)
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I vaguely remember hearing about them as a teen. I am sure it was fascinating to see all the history.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that the Black Panthers were started out of SF area. And the artifacts and facts that you shared, Patrick, are so interesting and eye-opening. I had no idea all that the Black Panthers were responsible for--in good ways. They've certainly gotten a bad rap. Thanks for setting the record straight and celebrating the good that they've done.
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ReplyDeleteJanice, Pit Stop Crew
What history! I had no idea they had their roots in SF!
ReplyDeleteWow this must have been so interesting! Thank you for sharing this history with us, so important to remember how far we've come and how far we still have to go #sharethejoy
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