The Origins of the Black Panther Party

Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton Standing outside Black Panther Headquarters in Oakland

Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton Standing outside Black Panther Headquarters in Oakland, California.2

Overview

The Black Panther Party, originally known as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in October of 1966 in Oakland, California. The Black Panther Party was an organization with revolutionary ideals. Their ideology consisted of Black Nationalism, socialism, advancement of marginalized communities, and armed self-defense against police-brutality. The Party came about as part of the rise of the Black Power Movement of the late 1960’s and 70’s and starkly different in the approach and nonviolent protest tactics of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.1

Party Philosophy

The Party’s philosophy was largely influenced by speeches and works of Malcolm X, Mao Tse-Tung, and Frantz Fanon. Their practice of armed self-defense was a response to rampant instances of police brutality against black and brown communities in urban centers.

While stories of armed conflicts against police officers and images of gun-wielding Panthers dominated local and national media coverage, the Black Panthers believed strongly in providing necessary resources for their communities. These resources and services were known as “Community Survival Programs” and were implemented to address federal and societal institutions that continually failed to serve black and brown communities.1

3 Black Panther men standing on the steps of a courthouse

Black Panther demonstration, Alameda Co. Court House, Oakland, California, during Huey Newton’s trial.3

The Ten Point Platform

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale developed the Ten Point Platform, which would serve as the platform and foundation for the entire organization. In the beginning they canvassed the residents asking them about issues that they were concerned about regarding their community and from the compilation of their responses, the platform was developed. The ten points are as follows:1

1. We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.

2. We want full employment for our people.

3. We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community.

4. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.

5. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society.

6. We want all Black men to be exempt from military service.

7. We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people.

8. We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.

9. We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black Communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.

10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.

The Rise of Black Power Movement and the Black Panther Party

References:

1. National Archives. (2021, March 22). The Black Panther Party.National Archives. (2021, March 22). The Black Panther Party. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/black-power/black-panthers#bpintro

2. Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton Standing outside Black Panther Headquarters in Oakland, California. [Photograph]. The Red Phoenix. https://digilab.libs.uga.edu/exhibits/items/show/572.

3. (n.d.) Black Panther demonstration, Alameda Co. Court House, Oakland, Calif., during Huey Newton’s trial. [Photograph]. Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. https://nmaahc.si.edu/blog-post/black-panther-party-challenging-police-and-promoting-social-change