Black Panther Party Ideology

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The Black Panther Party is where BLACK MEN are. I know every black woman has to feel proud of black men who finally decided to announce to the world that they were putting an end to police brutality and black genocide… Become members of the Black Panther Party for Self Defence, Sisters, ‘we got a good thing going.’” – Barbara Arthur ( Black Against Empire, p.96) The ideology of black masculinity and women’s roles at the beginning of the party’s establishment was shared by many, and is illustrated in the quotation during a recruitment pitch aimed at women. Barbara Arthur emphasised the appeal of an organisation led by and consisting of strong black men. This initial ideology of the party continued to affect all men and women who subsequently …show more content…

The Panthers were established at a time of revolution, with movements such as the Women’s Liberation Movement being in full affect, independence, with over 50 countries around the world gaining independence in the decade before the founding of the BPP, and conflict, with people being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. The BPP existed for 16 years and its path was marked by heated revolutionary rhetoric, social service programmes, clashes with the police, internal conflicts and international diplomacy. The BPP was originally formed to end police brutality and the murder of black people in Oakland, California. The Panthers also adopted a ten point programme demanding community control of police, education, politics and economics for the black community which attracted thousands of recruits as it expanded beyond Oakland to sixty-one cities across the United …show more content…

Many women within the Party believed that you were “betraying brothers if you criticised what was going on with sisters in a general way.” (Black Against Empire, p.308). This belief was expressed by Erika Huggins saying “In those days [we fought to] get rid of racism so we could stay alive. We didn’t even think about sexism except when it reared its head.” (Black Against Empire, p.308). Despite these difficulties, many young women probably would have never have had the opportunity to exercise any political opinion, power or responsibility at all if it had not been for the Panthers, especially so early in their

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