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The Black Panther Party And The Civil Rights Movement

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By 1966, 32% of African-Americans were living below the poverty line, and almost 2/3 of people living in poor urban areas were Black. The Black Panther Party was a socialist and Black nationalist organization that was founded 51 years ago to address these issues among others. The organization, which had a far-left political position, lasted for merely 16 years and its influence continues to impact the world up till this day. It was the largest Black revolutionary organization to ever exist. Founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, the party began in October 1966 in Oakland, California. The BPP’s original purpose was to protect fellow citizens against police brutality in African-American neighborhoods. Marked by social service programs, …show more content…

Newton was a political activist who earned a Ph.D. in social philosophy. The duo met at Meritt Junior College in West Oakland, California and both were part of the Soul Students Advisory Committee. Ultimately, their experiences and stances, along with the ideology of Malcolm X, influenced the Black Panther Party platform. In October of 1966, Seale and Newton sat down and wrote their first program for the party. The 10 Point Program, titled “What We Want, What We Believe,” demands freedom, full employment, guaranteed income, justice of racial robbery, decent living, better education, black men to be exempt from military service, end of police brutality, and the release of black men in jail due to unfair or lack of trials. The 10th point sets it demands out clearly by stating “ We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace.” In a quote from Huey P. Newton from November 1970, Newton describes the shift from a nationhood stance to a revolutionary stance in the beginning of the party. “In 1966 we called ourselves a Black Nationalist Party because we thought nationhood was the answer,” says Newton, “…shortly after we decided that what was really needed was revolutionary nationalism, that is, nationalism plus socialism.” According to the Socialist Alternative, the BPP grew to 5,000 party workers at its peak in the late 1960s, and organized 45 branches across the country. The party took

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