The Black Panther Party For Self-Defense

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When the constitution was written, the rights within it were not extended to blacks, because they were not considered “human”, they were considered commodities that were to be kept, bought, sold, and trained to work. Blacks were in slavery for many years and finally on December 6, 1865, the thirteenth amendment was ratified abolishing slavery. Once slavery was abolished however, many rules, conditions, and laws were to put in place to keep the black people from evolving with society. Imagine a world where everything you once knew was taken away. Imagine you were born into a lifestyle that consisted of cooking, cleaning, picking cotton in the field, and abiding by a man and his family of much fairer skin than yours. Imagine being beaten by whips and chains, never really becoming numb to the pain. Imagine welts and lashes caused by the fire of a “masters” hand to permanently be a symbol of fear engrained into your brain. Imagine the physical and verbal …show more content…

In Oakland California, October of 1966, The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Panthers approached the civil rights movement with militant self-defense against the government. Their primary goal was to “establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs” (Baggins). The Panthers based many of their theoretical foundations off of the practices of Malcolm X. They believed it was time for the oppressed to forcefully take over production to open the door for true equality across race and gender. The Panthers did not have a problem with killing cops as Huey Newton was arrested for. After his arrest, the Panthers were enraged and worked harder to spread its roots into the political spectrum. The FBI came to the conclusion that the Panthers must be stopped and they began to dismantle it from the inside out, killing many of the leaders, issuing arrest, and using psychological

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