Dr. Yohuru Williams, founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas, recently appeared in a History Channel video that discusses the creation of the Black Panther Party. Williams highlights the timeline and the national impact of the Panthers.
In the midst of poverty, racial discrimination, and police brutality, college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense on October 15, 1966. The Panthers were focused on having an active response to ongoing social injustice for Black Americans.
“The Black Panther Party was also a part of the Black Power Movement, which emphasized things such as Black Pride, community control, and the importance of African Americans unifying for civil rights,” Williams said.
The Panthers created the Ten-Point Program, which was a set of demands aimed to achieve justice and equality for Black communities. These included freedom, employment, education, housing, and an end to police brutality.
In 1968, “self-defense” was dropped from the title to emphasize community programs that offered free breakfast for schoolchildren, health clinics and education programs.
“Despite their social programs, the Panthers were involved in numerous encounters with police. Some ending in violence and bloodshed,” Williams said.
As the Black Panther Party grew into a nationwide movement, they also drew attention from the FBI. The government pressure caused internal conflicts and led to the official disbanding of the Panthers in 1982.
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