The Black Panther Party: Counter Hegemonic Ideas

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Deprived of social equality and economic prosperity, The Black Panther Party emerged as the leading group seeking public reform. The group’s most prominent and revolutionary leaders, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, proposed a set of demands called “The Black Panther Platform: What We Want, What We Believe”. Structured similarly to the Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence, this list addressed and proposed solutions to structural obstacles such as education and employment that were built upon hegemonic ideas. These solutions became known as counter hegemonic ideologies,- ideologies that challenged the existing hegemony and evoked resistance. During the 1800’s, Jim Crow laws were implemented to enforce racial segregation between African …show more content…

Racial projects defined by Omi and Winant were representations or explanations to relocate resources in their favor. These projects linked representation and social structure to form racial categories. African Americans exemplified this concept by creating a sense of unity in their community and a feeling of cultural pride and dignity. They promoted black solidarity and nationalism in order to gain benefits in the social structure. This racial project attempted to provide African Americans with secure jobs, employment benefits and education, but also enable them to express their rights written in the Constitution. Black nationalism ignited a counter hegemonic movement to challenge legal and economic systems and to critique hegemonic ideologies of white …show more content…

This passage states that “all men are created equal; that they are endowed … with certain unalienable rights”, and the role of the government is to protect these rights of men. However, if the government fails to do so, the people have the right and duty to overthrow the government. This passage is important because it is used to justify their opposition against passive resistance. To dismantle and challenge the hegemonic ideologies of black inferiority, idleness and submissiveness that prohibited the formation of an equitable society, the text suggested that African Americans bear arms for self defense against brutality, force and violence by racist police. In order to obtain equal access to educational and employment benefits, the text written by Black Panthers recommended taking affirmative actions and advocated to overthrow the U.S. government using violence and guerilla tactics. This solution to challenge hegemonic ideologies contrasted with Martin Luther King’s solution of

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