The Civil Rights Movement: The Black Panther Party

Civil rights are something every person should have. It is the law that allows people to think and act freely, and have a healthy life. Yet, for some time, African Americans did not have civil rights. They were considered insignificant and often detested, so that people who just so happened to have brown skin, had fewer opportunities in the U.S.. However, some people were willing to stand up against this notion that African Americans did not deserve civil rights. They began to start groups that banded together to stop this inequality. One of these groups was the Black Panther party, an organization dedicated to ending police brutality and improving the lives of African Americans. The Black Panther Party had clear goals and acted directly on

First tried to solve issues in the black community. One of the ways they tried to stop police brutality for blacks is by having armed patrols follow the police in African American communities (BlackPast). These patrols would wear leather coats and berets to show their military like force. They would act in civil disobedience to make the police angered and under valued. The party tried to end police brutality in other ways. They listened in to police scanners to prevent violent encounters with African Americans (Washington Post). Also, there were were several violent conflicts with the police that the Panthers got into. John Frey, a member of the Black Panther party shot and killed a policeman during one of these conflicts, and spent 15 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter (History). The Party moreover, created several other programs to like free breakfast, schooling, and health clinics. They in addition, ran an armed protest in the California Sacramento, at the California Statehouse (Britannica). This was a demonstration of civil rights, and the right to bear arms (Engelbert). The Black Panther Party also relied on symbols and phrases so that the party and its motives would stick in people’s heads. The phrase “Black Power” was made to show the independence of the

Originally, the Party was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale (Blackpast). They thought that the African Americans were exploited by white businessmen, the police, and the government. Later, Newton changed his view on the lowering of oppression depended on how much control they had in their areas. Huey Newton later went on to kill a policeman. Additionally, there were more than 2,000 memberships to The Black Panther Party. Eventually, Elaine Brown took over the chair of the party (Washington Post). She was chosen by Huey Newton to lead the group. She was a unique leader, though. She was one of the few women who lead a civil rights group. It was not a common sight in the civil rights movement, so when she was chosen it took a lot of people by surprise considering only men ran the NAACP, Student Nonviolent Coordination Committee, or the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Still, she was a good choice for racial and social justice, and enlisted more women as administrators. Another political member named Angela Davis, became associated with the party (Britannica). She never became a standing member of the party, however. She ended up teaching political education