Racism In The Panther Party

From the perspective of the Panther Party, the utilization of systemic racism in America, allows those in power (“White pigs”) to place those with ethnic differences (Blacks) in a perpetual state of oppression. Thus, It is true what Feagin states in his text, Racist America, that systemic racism involves the unjustly gained economic and political power of whites, and white- racist ideologies, attitudes, and institutions that are created to preserve White advantages and power (Feagin, 2000, p. 16). So in this light, one can accurately say that the Panthers saw America as a “total racist polity” in which every aspect of life is shaped to some degree by racist truths. With that being said, the Panthers viewed America in the following ways: As a polity that suppresses the political, social, and economic rights of its citizens, (Blacks) as a polity

And the police are not in our community to promote our welfare, for our security, but they are there to contain us, and brutalize, and murder us. They have orders to do so. Just as the soldiers in Vietnam are ordered to destroy the Vietnamese people, the police in our community couldn't possible be there to protect our property, because we don't own no property. They couldn't possibly be there for the due process of law for the suferees, because the police themselves do not have the due process of law. It is apparent that the police are not there for our communities, but they are there for white business owners, and to see to it that the white, status quo is kept in tact” (Malcolm x network, 2007).

In a world where capitalist pigs benefit daily from exploiting defenseless Black proletariats, there should be no surprises when one inquires about how the Panthers went about in resisting American