Erased from History?

Members of the Black Panther Party

    The Black Panther Party was a progressive political organization that stood in the pioneer of the most powerful movement for social change in America since the Revolution. It is the only black organization in the history of black struggle against slavery and oppression that was armed and promoted a revolutionary agenda. This party represents the last great advance by the mass of blacks for equality, justice, and freedom. 

    The Party's ideals and activities were so radical, it was at one time criticized by FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover as "the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States." Despite the demise of the party, its history and lessons remain so controversial that established texts and media would erase all reference to the Party from American History. 

    The Black Panther Party was founded by Huey P. Newton, the seventh son of a Louisiana family relocated to Oakland, California. In October of 1996, around the time of the assassination of black leader Malcolm X, Newton gathered a few of his longtime friends, including Bobby Seale and David Hillard, and developed a skeletal outline for this organization. 
    Originally it was named the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. They used the black panther as the symbol for the party because it was a powerful image, one that had been used effectively by the short­lived voting rights group the Lowndes County (Alabama) Freedom Organization. The term "self defense" was employed to distinguish the Party's philosophy from the dominant non­violent theme of the civil rights movement. 
    Immediately, the leadership of the Party outlined a Ten Point Platform and Program. This Platform & Program articulated the fundamental wants and needs, and called for a redress of the long­standing grievances, of the black masses in America. The blacks were angry because they were still alienated from society and oppressed, despite the abolition of slavery at the end of the Civil War. Moreover, this Platform & Program was a proclamation that demanded the needs be met and oppression of blacks be ended immediately, a demand for the right to self defense, by a revolutionary ideology and by the commitment of the membership of the Black Panther Party to promote its agenda for fundamental change in America.
    The Black Panther Party played a major role in the history of the blacks; they finally decided that they would stand for nothing less than the equality, justice, and freedom that they deserved. They decided that the color of their skin was not going to stop them from attaining these goals of freedom. Some believe that their ideals were a bit too radical, but would the black people have ever made it where they are today without the advances of this party?

     

Sources: 

http://designermagazine.tripod.com/BlackPanthersPIC1.jpg

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/68134/Black-Panther-Party

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution

http://www.biography.com/people/j-edgar-hoover-9343398

http://www.biography.com/people/huey-p-newton-37369

http://www.biography.com/people/bobby-seale-9477529

http://www.blackpanther.org/speakers.htm