Black Panther Party
*There is no connection between The Black Panther Party and the Israeli Black Panthers. The Israeli Black Panthers stole their name from The Black Panther Party to gain the Israeli government’s attention.
Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton (book)
By: Bobby Seale Bobby Seale, co-founder of The Black Panther Party, describes the formation of the organization to counter police brutality, arming themselves, arrests and trials, and a message to the reader on seizing the time. |
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All Power to the People: The Black Panther Story (pamphlet)
By: Terry Cannon This primer is written by a white person to other white people who want to know about the Black Panther Party. |
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Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (documentary)
Directed by: Stanley Nelson This documentary tells the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, one of the 20th century's most alluring and controversial organizations that captivated the world's attention for nearly 50 years. |
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The Black Panther Party: Crash Course Black American History #39
By: Clint Smith The Black Panthers were a relatively small, relatively short-lived political party that had an outsized impact on US history. |
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The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History - Chapters 1 & 3
By: David F. Walker, Marcus Kwame Anderson Excerpts from from a graphic novel showing the social and political environment for Black people in the U.S. before the Black Panthers were founded. The novel also shows The Black Panther's history and leaders. |
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Historical Footage and Interviews with Black Panthers
By: KTVU Fox 2 San Francisco Interviews with Black Panther members Huey P. Newton, Eldrige Cleaver, and Kathleen Cleaver discussing their work to counter police brutality, provide resources for their communities, and the difference between the Black Panthers and other organizations fighting for civil rights. |
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Visualizing a Black Future: Emory Douglas and the Black Panther Party (journal article)
By: Colette Gaiter This article discusses artist Emory Douglas and his illustrations for the Black Panthers. His art challenged stereotypes of Black people and created a visual mythology. |
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The Black Panther Party Legacy and Lessons for the Future (teaching guide)
By: Putting the Movement Back Into Civil Rights Teaching This guide provides the historical context of the Black Panther Party’s founding, their breakfast for children program, legal organizations, and their targeting by the FBI's counter-intelligence program (COINTELPRO). |
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The Most Important Legacy of the Black Panthers (news article)
By: Brandon Harris The FBI’s counter-intelligence program (COINTELPRO) led to the Panthers’ downfall. However, their ten point platform stating their ideology remains their strongest legacy. |
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How the Black Panther Party Was Hurt by Its Own Ideals
By: Don Cox, Time Magazine Starting in the late 1960s, Don Cox spent five years as part of the Black Panther Party’s high command, doing everything from planning armed attacks to raising money from Leonard Bernstein. Cox fled the United States for Algiers and later France, where he died at 74 in 2011. At his death, he had completed a memoir. In this excerpt from the posthumously published work, the title of which Cox chose in a nod to a W.E.B. Du Bois quote, Cox explains his view of how the party’s cult of personality contributed to its own eventual demise. |
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Ten-Point Program
By: The Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party was created to address police aggression against Black people. Their ten point program lists their demands to achieve freedom for Black people. |
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On the Ideology of the Black Panther Party
By: Eldrige Cleaver Written by the Black Panther Party’s Minister of Information. The ideology of the Black Panther Party is the historical experience of Black people and the wisdom gained by Black people in their 400 year long struggle against the system of racist oppression and economic exploitation, interpreted through the prism of the Marxist-Leninist analysis by the Panthers’ Minister of Defense, Huey P. Newton. |
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The Black Panthers Speak
Edited by: Philip S. Foner Detailed explanation of the Black Panthers’ beliefs, poetry, statement from the party leadership in the U.S. and in exile, speeches from women in the Black Panther Party, description of community programs for children and prisoners, Black Panthers on trial, and alliances with other organizations. |
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Power Anywhere Where There’s People!
By: Fred Hampton A speech delivered by Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. He explains how the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was created, their confrontations with the police, and defining “revolution.” |
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The Black Panther Party: Service to the People Programs
By: The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation Edited by: Daivd Hilliard A description of the Black Panther’s community programs, such as clinics, free breakfast program for children, employment services, legal aid, clothing, and news services. It also addresses cultural resistance through poems, songs, and artwork by Panthers. |
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Free Breakfast Program
The Black Panthers started the Free Breakfast for Children Program to build community self-determination. The Breakfast Program’s enormous success drew the attention of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. He stated that of all the radical black groups, the Panthers were “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country” because of their Free Breakfast Program. |
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To Feed Our Children
The Black Panther Party makes the case for the nationwide Panther Free Breakfast for School Children Program. “For too long have our people gone hungry and without the proper health aids they need. But the Black Panther Party says that this type of thing must be halted because we must survive this evil government and build a new one fit for the service of all the people.” |
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Free Medical Clinics
The Black Panther Party started Peoples’ Free Medical Clinics because of systemic discrimination against Black people in hospitals and private medical practices. |
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Angela Davis
By: Dwayne Mack, Black Past Suspected of providing guns used by Jonathan Jackson to free political prisoners, she went into hiding and was placed on the FBI’s most wanted list; a supporter of Palestinian rights |
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Assata: An Autobiography (book)
By: Assata Shakur Autobiography of Assata Shakur, a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army accused of murdering a state trooper. She is currently living in exile in Cuba. |
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A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Journey (book)
By: Elaine Brown Elaine Brown’s account of her life at the highest levels of the Black Panther party’s hierarchy. More than a journey through a turbulent time in American history, this is the story of a Black woman’s battle to define herself. |
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An Oral History with Ericka Huggins
Interviewed by: Fiona Thompson Ericka Huggins is a human rights activist, poet, educator, Black Panther Party leader and former political prisoner. Her desire to serve humanity began after she attended the March on Washington. After her release from prison, she returned to California’s prisons and jails to share her experiences of yoga and meditation. |
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Fred Hampton
By: Dwayne Mack, Black Past Fred Hampton was the Chairman of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panthers. Following heavy surveillance by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Chicago Police Department, he was assassinated by Chicago police. |
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The Murder of Fred Hampton
Directed by: Howard Alk A chronicle of Fred Hampton's revolutionary leadership of the Illinois Black Panther Party, followed by an investigation into his assassination at the hands of the Chicago Police Department. |
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Huey P. Newton
By: Craig Collison, Black Past Huey P. Newton was the co-founder of the Black Panthers. He participated in armed patrols of Black communities to monitor police activity. |
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Revolutionary Suicide
By: Huey P. Newton From Newton's impoverished childhood on the streets of Oakland to his adolescence and struggles with the system, from his role in the Black Panthers to his solitary confinement in the Alameda County Jail, Revolutionary Suicide is unrepentant and thought-provoking in its portrayal of inspired radicalism. |
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The Genius of Huey P. Newton
By: Huey P. Newton A collection of essays from The Black Panther Party’s Minister of Defense. His topics include prison, the definition of politics, and the Panthers' platform. |
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The War Before: The True Life Story of Becoming a Black Panther, Keeping the Faith in Prison, and Fighting for Those Left Behind
By: Safiya Bukhari The War Before traces Bukhari’s lifelong commitment as an advocate for the rights of the oppressed. Following her journey from middle-class student to Black Panther to political prisoner, these writings provide an intimate view of a woman wrestling with the issues of her time—the troubled legacy of the Panthers, misogyny in the movement, her decision to convert to Islam, the incarceration of outspoken radicals, and the families left behind. |
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