The readings for the week of April 12th were The Black Panther Party’s Ten Point Program a primary source and and Robyn Spencer’s Merely One Link in the Worldwide Revolution. The Black Panther Party’s Ten Point Program is a list of demands that ways of operations for the party. The second reading links the Black Freedom Struggle to international events such as the decolonization of African countries and the Cold War. Throughout the texts and our in-class discussion we see the themes of communism, internationalism, racial capitalism and the human rights, civil rights struggle and their relationship with the Black Freedom Movement.
The Black Panther Party’s Ten Point Program was a radical list that exemplified the physical needs and philosophical
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Black people should have rights because they are respectable human beings, not animals. Secondly, the party appeals to the internationalist struggle for civil and human rights, inside and outside of the United States. The sixth point of the program demonstrates the internationalist nature of the struggle. The Party demands that all black men be exempt from military service because they should not be forced to defend a country that does not respect or protect their own civil rights. Moreover, they should not be forced to fight against other persons of color who are a victim of the US’s racist government. They should not infringe on the human rights of global citizens. This notion emphasizes the domestic nature of civil rights and its connection between global human rights. By including that aspect, the party appeals to internationalism. While the United States is promoting capitalism across the world, there still remains an unpaid debt to people of color who were exploited by the capitalist system. The duality of what is promoted abroad and what exists domestically is apparent in point of the of the program, “We Want An End To The Robbery / By The Capitalists Of Our Black Community.” The Ten Point Program challenges the Mad Men era of unquestioned white supremacy. Similar themes of internationalism apparent in Robyn Spencer’s Merely One Link in the World-Wide …show more content…
It became apparent of the impact of the Black Civil Rights Movement on Cold War politics and ideologies. The US believed that the problem of racial discrimination should be viewed in a global context of the struggle between freedom and tyranny. In addition, they added that, “racial discrimination furnishes the grist for the Communist propaganda mills” (215). The racial discrimination in the United States furnishes the communist ideology among the young black radicals. The capitalist system in the US has taken advantage, exploited and mistreated black people. Therefore, many took a linking towards communism due to its lack of racial discrimination and inequality. The contradiction between what the United States promoted overseas with the intention to sway the world towards capitalism and the sentiment became apparent as black radicals began to focus on an internationalist perspective. Black activists realized the international stage they had and began to utilize it to advance the civil rights of people of color in the United States. In Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Jail, he writes that Black Americans “creep at a horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at the lunch counter”, while “African nations move “with Jet like speed towards independence”. James Lawson states that that, “all Africa will be free before the American Negro
The Party’s fight for redistribution of wealth and the establishment of social, political and social equality across gender and color barriers made it one of the first organizations in U.S. history to militantly struggle for working class liberation and ethnic minorities (Baggins, Brian). The Black Panther Party set up a ten-point program much like Malcolm X’s Nation of Islam that called for American society to realize political, economic and social equal opportunity based on the principles of socialism, all of which was summarized by the final point: "We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace" (Newton, Huey P). The Black Panther Party wanted to achieve these goals through militant force. In the words of Che Guevara, “Words are beautiful, but action is supre...
The concepts of Reform and Revolution are nearly polarizing by their very nature, with one seeking to modify, and the other seeking to destroy and rebuild. If an organized Black movement was to find itself in an opportunistic position -whatever that may be- with which to attempt a radical movement (in either case; reform or revolution, the resulting movement would need to be large and radical if it would hope to accomplish its goals before the opportunity for change ceases to present itself) it would only serve to befall their efforts if they found themselves in a splintered state of conflicting ideologies. But, in either case, be it reform or revolution, a reconfiguring of the thought processes behind how one looks at the nature of American politics is undoubtedly necessary in order to look into the potential for future Black liberation.
Although an effort is made in connecting with the blacks, the idea behind it is not in understanding the blacks and their culture but rather is an exploitative one. It had an adverse impact on the black community by degrading their esteem and status in the community. For many years, the political process also had been influenced by the same ideas and had ignored the black population in the political process (Belk, 1990). America loves appropriating black culture — even when black people themselves, at times, don’t receive much love from America.
There are very few documents in the history of the United States that share the social impact of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham jail. The aim of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter was to illustrate the unwillingness of the American South to create positive change because it was afraid of redefining its beliefs, afraid of tension; defining peace as the lack of racial tension instead of the presence of justice and truth. In essence, the letter was a challenge to American society to look within itself and create change.
In Living for the City, Donna Murch details the origins and the rise to prominence the Black Panther Party experienced during the 1960s and into the 1970s. The Civil Rights Movement and eventually the Black Panther Movement of Oakland, California emerged from the growing population of migrating Southern African Americans who carried with them the traditional strength and resolve of the church community and family values. Though the area was driven heavily by the massive movement of industrialization during World War II, the end of the war left a period of economic collapse and social chaos in its wake. The Black Panther Party was formed in this wake; driven by continuing violence against the African American youth by the local police forces,
The United States after the Civil War was still not an entirely safe place for African-Americans, especially in the South. Many of the freedoms other Americans got to enjoy were still largely limited to African-Americans at the time. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois emerged as black leaders. Their respective visions for African-American society were different however. This paper will argue that Du Bois’s vision for American, although more radical at the time, was essential in the rise of the African-American society and a precursor to the Civil Rights Movement.
Bloom, Joshua, and Waldo E. Martin. Black against empire: the history and politics of the Black Panther Party. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013.
Here, Malcolm begins his analysis by talking about the distinct political climate that existed at that time where many individuals in both the South and the North were frustrated with the stagnant pace by which racial progress was being achieved in context of civil rights legislation. In this, Malcolm in many ways levies a threat by which he warns the political elites of that period that the time is now to enfranchise African-American’s, not later. Additionally, Malcolm furthers his analysis by also critiquing the political trickery played by both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party in Northern States. In this, Malcolm posits that each of these parties have relied on the negro vote to gain and hold office, yet these parties in many instances have left many black issues—like civil rights legislation—on the table rather than actively fighting for them in the roles in which they serve. Lastly, Malcolm concludes with a discussion on liberated self-sufficiency. In context of this notion, Malcolm focuses on the need for black people explicitly to unite to form a concentrated and deliberate attack on the structures of white supremacy and the political institutions that perpetuate and ultimately preserve
The Black Panther Party was born to elevate the political, social, and economic status of Blacks. The means the Party advocated in their attempt to advance equality were highly unconventional and radical for the time, such as social programs for under privileged communities and armed resistance as a means of self preservation. The Party made numerous contributions to Black’s situation as well as their esteem, but fell victim to the ‘system’ which finds it nearly impossible to allow Blacks entry into the dominant culture. Thus, the rise and fall of a group of Black radicals, as presented by Elaine Brown in A Taste of Power, can be seen to represent the overall plight of the American Black: a system which finds it impossible to give Blacks equality.
The Panthers had many accomplishments while they were around, these were some of them. The Panthers gave to the need many times. They did stuff like opened food shelters, health clinics, elementary schools, patrolled urban ghettos to stop police brutality, created offices to teach young black kids, and they said that they were going to start stressing services. The Panthers had many great people join them, but one man had made a huge accomplishment that will never be forgotten. In November of 68’ the Chicago chapter of The B.P.P. was founded by Fred Hampton, he was a strong leader. The accomplishment he had made was that...
These movements have many similarities in the goals that they wanted to achieve, however they have some differences as well. In the document written by the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, they voiced their demands ...
Recently you have received a letter from Martin Luther King Jr. entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In Dr. King’s letter he illustrates the motives and reasoning for the extremist action of the Civil Rights movement throughout the 1960’s. In the course of Dr. King’s letter to you, he uses rhetorical questioning and logistical reasoning, imagery and metaphors, and many other rhetorical devices to broaden your perspectives. I am writing this analysis in hopes you might reconsider the current stance you have taken up regarding the issues at hand.
5) Online University of the left RSS. “The Forbidden History of the Black Panther Party”. Web. May 07 2014.
Nearly three centuries ago, black men and women from Africa were brought to America and put into slavery. They were treated more cruelly in the United States than in any other country that had practiced slavery. African Americans didn’t gain their freedom until after the Civil War, nearly one-hundred years later. Even though African Americans were freed and the constitution was amended to guarantee racial equality, they were still not treated the same as whites and were thought of as second class citizens. One man had the right idea on how to change America, Martin Luther King Jr. had the best philosophy for advancing civil rights, he preached nonviolence to express the need for change in America and he united both African Americans and whites together to fight for economic and social equality.
Massive protests against racial segregation and discrimination broke out in the southern United States that came to national attention during the middle of the 1950’s. This movement started in centuries-long attempts by African slaves to resist slavery. After the Civil War American slaves were given basic civil rights. However, even though these rights were guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment they were not federally enforced. The struggle these African-Americans faced to have their rights ...