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Submitted by jcaulton on May 5, 2007
Category: American History
Words: 1892 | Pages: 8
Views: 351
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The Black Panther party for Self-Defense was an African American organization that was founded to promote civil rights and self-defense. It was active within the United States between the late 1960's into the 1970's. It was founded in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in October of 1966. The Black Panther Party was originally founded to further the African American civil rights movement and to fill the void in leadership amongst the African American community. The party's original purpose was to patrol the black ghettoes to protect members of the community from police brutality. The Panthers eventually developed into a Marxist revolutionary group that called for the arming of all blacks, the exemption of blacks from the draft and from all sanctions of white America, the release of all blacks from jail, and the payment of compensation to blacks for centuries of exploitation by white Americans. In the late 1960's the Panther's membership exceeded 2,000 and the organization operated chapters in several major cities.
Conflicts between Black Panthers and police in the late 1960's and early 1970's led to shoot-outs in California, New York, and Chicago, one of which resulted in Newton's going to prison for the murder of a patrolman. While some members of the party were guilty of criminal acts, the group was subjected to police harassment that sometimes took the form of violent attacks, prompting congressional investigations of police activities in dealing with the Panthers. By the mid-1970's, having lost many members and having fallen out of favor with many American black leaders, who objected to the party's methods, the Panthers turned from violence to concentrate on conventional politics and on providing social services in black neighborhoods. The party had a powerful influence on the political consciousness of American society, particularly for young urban blacks. Its decline, presided over by Huey Newton, may be attributed to...
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