Disenfranchised Youth Who Lived In Oakland's Most Impoverished
Areas.
Using What They Termed A 10-Point Program, Seale And Newton Outlined The Groups Demands For Ending Black Opression.
Seale Assumed The Role Of Chairman And Newton Served As Minister Of Defense.
The Early Panthers Wore Black Berets And Leather Jackets. They Used What Was Considered During That Period, "Radical Terminology," Like "Pigs," For The Police: "Fascists" For Established Figures And "Comrade" For Fellow Party Members.
The Militant, "Urban Warfare" Phase Of The Party Didn't Last Long. Party Leaders, Much Maligned And Harassed, Soon Shifted To A Less Radical Ideology. Subsequently, The Movement Was Converted From A "Race Struggle" To More Of A "Class Struggle."
While The Ultimate Demise Of The Black Panthers May Have Been Caused, In Part, By Internal Conflicts, There Is Also Significant Evidence That The Federal Government Aided In The Process.
Black Panther 10-Point Program
"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr. BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS