The Black Power Mixtape Analysis

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The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 is a documentary film, directed by Goran Hugo Olsson with footage compiled by multiple Swedish filmmakers and journalists. The film provides an alternate and compelling view of America during the Black Power Movement—from 1967-1975. All the footage is from 1967-1975 and features iconic black figures, such as Stokely Carmichael, Angela Davis, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and other activists, artists, and leaders pivotal to the movement. Commentary is provided by black figures from the past and present. The film documents a plethora of issues associated with the Black Power Movement including the anti-Vietnam war efforts, the Black Panther Party, and the War or Drugs—and features the aforementioned black …show more content…

and Robert Kennedy—both of whom fought for the rights of black people. The filmmakers could not get much of the riots after King’s death, so the chapter of 1968 was fairly thin, but this shifts into the Black Panther arc. Thankfully, the filmmakers were close with the party, so there is plenty of material here. The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary, pro-black movement started in Oakland, California and was co-founded by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. They focused on educating black people while informing them of their rights and arming them in order to protect themselves. They also held anti-capitalism ideals, such as free medical clinics, and implemented free breakfast and lunch programs—the latter of which my family and I are incredibly thankful for. I may not agree with everything the Black Panther Party did, but I am grateful for them. They served a pivotal role for black people during times of struggle and paved the way for black people today. Their main goals were to give black people basic living needs to survive: education, food, housing, and work. With this being said, it infuriates me how over the past year or so, I have seen several people and political pundits compare the Black Panther Party to the Ku Klux Klan. This is without a doubt one of the most asinine things I have heard in my twenty years on this Earth. The KKK went around killing people because they were niggers. The Black Panther Party did nothing even remotely similar. They are described as militant, because they did not tolerate disrespect from anyone, not because they went around hurting

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