Black Panther Party - wikipedia Black Panther Party `` Black Panthers '' redirects here. For other uses, see Black Panthers ( disambiguation ). Not to be confused with the New Black Panther Party or the New Afrikan Black Panther Party. The examples and perspective in this article may not include all significant viewpoints. Please improve the article or discuss the issue. ( July 2016 ) Black Panther Party Leader Huey Newton Founded 1966 ; 52 years ago ( 1966 ) Dissolved 1982 ( 1982 ) Ideology Anti-fascism Anti-imperialism Anti-racism Black nationalism ( later renounced ) Maoism Marxism -- Leninism Revolutionary socialism Political position Far - left This article is part of a series about Black Power History Black Arts Movement Black is beautiful Black Power movement Black Power Revolution Kwanzaa Raised fist events of 1968 and 1972 Ideologies Africana womanism Afrocentrism Black anarchism Black feminism Black leftism Black nationalism Black pride Black separatism New Left Pan-Africanism Organizations Black Liberation Army Black Panther Party Black Radical Congress Black Revolutionary Assault Team George Jackson Brigade Huey P. Newton Gun Club League of Revolutionary Black Workers May 19th Communist Organization MOVE New Black Panther Party Republic of New Afrika Revolutionary Action Movement SNCC SDS US Organization Weather Underground White Panther Party People Angela Davis Assata Shakur Donald DeFreeze Elaine Brown Eldridge Cleaver Fay Bellamy Powell Fred Hampton Gloria Richardson Huey P. Newton John Africa Malcolm X Marcus Garvey Maulana Karenga Malik Zulu Shabazz Obi Egbuna Robert F. Williams Rosa Parks Stokely Carmichael Wadsworth Jarrell Works A Taste of Power Black Power and the American Myth Ten - Point Program The Diary of Malcolm X Revolutionary Suicide Related Black Lives Matter Chicano Movement Civil Rights Movement Feminism Political hip hop Red Power movement Socialism The Troubles White Power Youth rights African American portal Politics portal The Black Panther Party ( BPP ), originally the Black Panther Party for Self - Defense, was a political organization founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in October 1966. The party was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982, with international chapters operating in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, and in Algeria from 1969 until 1972. At its inception on October 15, 1966, the Black Panther Party 's core practice was its armed citizens ' patrols to monitor the behavior of officers of the Oakland Police Department and challenge police brutality in Oakland, California. In 1969, community social programs became a core activity of party members. The Black Panther Party instituted a variety of community social programs, most extensively the Free Breakfast for Children Programs, and community health clinics to address issues like food injustice. The party enrolled the largest number of members and made the greatest impact in the Oakland - San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover called the party `` the greatest threat to the internal security of the country '', and he supervised an extensive counterintelligence program ( COINTELPRO ) of surveillance, infiltration, perjury, police harassment, and many other tactics designed to undermine Panther leadership, incriminate party members, discredit and criminalize the Party, and drain the organization of resources and manpower. The program was also accused of assassinating Black Panther members. Black Panther Party members were involved in many fatal firefights with police including Huey Newton allegedly killing officer John Frey in 1967 and the 1968 Eldridge Cleaver led ambush of Oakland police officers which wounded two officers and killed Panther Bobby Hutton. The party was also involved in many internal conflicts including the murders of Alex Rackley and Betty Van Patter. Government oppression initially contributed to the party 's growth, as killings and arrests of Panthers increased its support among African Americans and on the broad political left, both of whom valued the Panthers as a powerful force opposed to de facto segregation and the military draft. Black Panther Party membership reached a peak in 1970, with offices in 68 cities and thousands of members, then suffered a series of contractions. After being vilified by the mainstream press, public support for the party waned, and the group became more isolated. In - fighting among Party leadership, caused largely by the FBI 's COINTELPRO operation, led to expulsions and defections that decimated the membership. Popular support for the Party declined further after reports appeared detailing the group 's involvement in illegal activities such as drug dealing and extortion schemes directed against Oakland merchants. By 1972 most Panther activity centered on the national headquarters and a school in Oakland, where the party continued to influence local politics. Though under constant police surveillance, the Chicago chapter remained active and maintained their community programs until 1974. The Seattle chapter lasted longer than most, with a breakfast program and medical clinics that continued even after the chapter disbanded in 1977. Party contractions continued throughout the 1970s, and by 1980, the Black Panther Party had just 27 members. The history of the Black Panther Party is controversial. Scholars have characterized the Black Panther Party as the most influential black movement organization of the late 1960s, and `` the strongest link between the domestic Black Liberation Struggle and global opponents of American imperialism ''. Other commentators have described the Party as more criminal than political, characterized by `` defiant posturing over substance ''. Contents 1 History 1.1 Origins 1.2 Late 1966 to early 1967 1.2. 1 Chronology 1.2. 2 Oakland patrols of police 1.2. 3 Rallies in Richmond, California 1.2. 4 Protest at the Statehouse 1.2. 5 Ten - point program 1.3 Late 1967 to early 1968 1.3. 1 Chronology 1.3. 2 United Front Against Fascism 1.3. 3 COINTELPRO 1.3. 4 Huey Newton charged with murdering John Frey 1.3. 5 Free Huey ! campaign 1.3. 6 Founding of the L.A. Chapter 1.3. 7 Killing of Bobby Hutton 1.4 Late 1968 1.4. 1 Chronology 1.4. 2 Survival programs 1.4. 3 Political activities 1.5 1969 1.5. 1 Chronology 1.5. 2 Shoot - out with the US Organization 1.5. 3 Black Panther Party Liberation Schools 1.5. 4 Killing of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark 1.5. 5 Torture - murder of Alex Rackley 1.5. 6 International ties 1.6 1970 1.6. 1 Chronology 1.7 1971 1.7. 1 Chronology 1.7. 2 Split 1.7. 3 Delegation to China 1.8 1972 -- 74 1.8. 1 Chronology 1.8. 2 Newton solidifies control and centralizes power in Oakland 1.8. 3 Newton indicted for violent crimes 1.9 1974 -- 77 1.9. 1 The Panthers under Elaine Brown 1.9. 2 Death of Betty van Patter 1.10 1977 -- 82 1.10. 1 Return of Huey Newton and the demise of the party 1.10. 2 Panthers attempt to assassinate a witness against Newton 2 Women and womanism 2.1 Gender Dynamics 2.2 Women 's Accomplishments 2.3 Elaine Brown 2.4 Gwen Robinson 3 Aftermath and legacy 3.1 Groups and movements inspired and aided by the Black Panthers 3.2 New Black Panther Party 4 See also 5 References 5.1 Bibliography 6 Further reading and resources 7 External links History Origins Original six members of the Black Panther Party ( 1966 ) Top left to right : Elbert `` Big Man '' Howard, Huey P. Newton ( Defense Minister ), Sherwin Forte, Bobby Seale ( Chairman ) Bottom : Reggie Forte and Little Bobby Hutton ( Treasurer ). Play media Newsreel in which Kathleen Cleaver spoke at Hutton Memorial Park in Alameda County, California. The footage also shows a student protest demonstration at Alameda County Courthouse, Oakland, California. Black Panther Party leaders Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and Bobby Seale spoke on a 10 - point program they wanted from the administration which was to include full employment, decent housing and education, an end to police brutality, and blacks to be exempt from the military. Black Panther Party members are shown as they marched in uniform. Students at rally marched, sang, clapped hands, and carried protest signs. Police in riot gear controlled marchers. The sweeping migration of black families out of the South during World War II transformed Oakland and cities throughout the West and the North. A new generation of young blacks growing up in these cities faced new conditions, new forms of poverty and racism unfamiliar to their parents, and they sought to develop new forms of politics to address them. Black Panther Party membership `` consisted of recent migrants whose families traveled north and west to escape the southern racial regime, only to be confronted with new forms of segregation and repression ''. In the early 1960s, the insurgent Civil Rights Movement had dismantled the Jim Crow system of racial caste subordination using the tactics of non-violent civil disobedience, and demanding full citizenship rights for black people. But not much changed in the cities of the North and West. As the wartime jobs which drew much of the black migration `` fled to the suburbs along with white residents '', the black population was concentrated in poor `` urban ghettos '' with high unemployment, and substandard housing, mostly excluded from political representation, top universities, and the middle class. Police departments were almost all white. In 1966, only 16 of Oakland 's 661 police officers were African American, representing less than 2.5 % of the force. Insurgent civil rights practices proved incapable of redressing these conditions, and the organizations that had `` led much of the nonviolent civil disobedience '' such as SNCC and CORE went into decline. By 1966 a `` Black Power ferment '' emerged, consisting largely of young urban blacks, posing a question the Civil Rights Movement could not answer : `` how would black people in America win not only formal citizenship rights, but actual economic and political power ? '' Young black people in Oakland and other cities developed a rich ferment of study groups and political organizations, and it is out of this ferment that the Black Panther Party emerged. In late October 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party ( originally the Black Panther Party for Self - Defense ). In formulating a new politics, they drew on their experiences working with a variety of Black Power organizations. Newton and Seale first met in 1962 when they were both students at Merritt College. They joined Donald Warden 's Afro - American Association, where they read widely, debated, and organized in an emergent black nationalist tradition inspired by Malcolm X and others. Eventually dissatisfied with Warden 's accommodation - ism, they developed a revolutionary anti-imperialist perspective working with more active and militant groups like the Soul Students Advisory Council and the Revolutionary Action Movement. While bringing in a paycheck, jobs running youth service programs at the North Oakland Neighborhood Anti-Poverty Center allowed them to develop a revolutionary nationalist approach to community service, later a key element in the Black Panther Party 's `` community survival programs. '' Dissatisfied with the failure of these organizations to directly challenge police brutality and appeal to the `` brothers on the block '', Huey and Bobby sought to take matters into their own hands. After the police killed Matthew Johnson, an unarmed young black man in San Francisco, Newton observed the violent rebellion that followed. He had an epiphany that would distinguish the Black Panther Party from the multitude of organizations seeking to build Black Power. Newton saw the explosive rebellious anger of the ghetto as a force, and believed that if he could stand up to the police, he could organize that force into political power. Inspired by Robert F. Williams ' armed resistance to the Ku Klux Klan ( KKK ) and Williams ' book Negroes with Guns, Newton studied gun laws in California until he knew it better than many police officers. Like the Community Alert Patrol in Los Angeles after the Watts Rebellion, he decided to organize patrols to follow the police around to monitor for incidents of brutality. But with a crucial difference : his patrols would carry loaded guns. Huey and Bobby raised enough money to buy two shotguns by buying bulk quantities of the recently publicized Little Red Book and reselling them to leftist radicals and liberal intellectuals on the UC Berkeley campus at three times the price. According to Bobby Seale, they would `` sell the books, make the money, buy the guns, and go on the streets with the guns. We 'll protect a mother, protect a brother, and protect the community from the racist cops. '' On October 29, 1966, Stokely Carmichael -- a leader of SNCC -- championed the call for `` Black Power '' and came to Berkeley to keynote a Black Power conference. At the time, he was promoting the armed organizing efforts of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization ( LCFO ) in Alabama and their use of the Black Panther symbol. Newton and Seale decided to adopt the Black Panther logo and form their own organization called the Black Panther Party for Self - Defense. Newton and Seale decided on a uniform of blue shirts, black pants, black leather jackets, black berets. Sixteen - year - old Bobby Hutton was their first recruit. Late 1966 to early 1967 Chronology Black Panther Party founders Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton standing in the street, armed with a Colt. 45 and a shotgun. October 15, 1966 : The BPP is founded. A few months later, they began their first `` police '' patrols. January 1967 : The BPP opens its first official headquarters in an Oakland storefront, and published the first issue of The Black Panther : Black Community News Service. February 1967 : BPP members serve as security escorts for Betty Shabazz. April 1967 : Denzil Dowell protest in Richmond. May 2, 1967 : Thirty people representing the BPP go to state capitol with guns, and achieve the Party 's first national media attention. Oakland patrols of police The initial tactic of the party utilized contemporary open - carry gun laws to protect Party members when policing the police. This act was done in order to record incidents of police brutality by distantly following police cars around neighborhoods. When confronted by a police officer, Party members cited laws proving they have done nothing wrong and threatened to take to court any officer that violated their constitutional rights. Between the end of 1966 to the start of 1967, the Black Panther Party for Self - Defense 's armed police patrols in Oakland black communities attracted a small handful of members. Numbers grew slightly starting in February 1967, when the party provided an armed escort at the San Francisco airport for Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X 's widow and keynote speaker for a conference held in his honor. The Black Panther Party 's focus on militancy was often construed as open hostility, feeding a reputation of violence even though early efforts by the Panthers focused primarily on promoting social issues and the exercise of their legal right to carry arms. The Panthers employed a California law that permitted carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun as long as it was publicly displayed and pointed at no one. Generally this was done while monitoring and observing police behavior in their neighborhoods, with the Panthers arguing that this emphasis on active militancy and openly carrying their weapons was necessary to protect individuals from police violence. For example, chants like `` The Revolution has come, it 's time to pick up the gun. Off the pigs ! '', helped create the Panthers ' reputation as a violent organization. Rallies in Richmond, California The black community of Richmond, California, wanted protection against police brutality. With only three main streets for entering and exiting the neighborhood, it was easy for police to control, contain, and suppress the majority African - American community. On April 1, 1967, a black, unarmed twenty - two - year - old construction worker named Denzil Dowell was shot dead by police in North Richmond. Dowell 's family contacted the Black Panther Party for assistance after county officials refused to investigate the case. The Party held rallies in North Richmond that educated the community on armed self - defense and the Denzil Dowell incident. Police seldom interfered at these rallies because every Panther was armed and no laws were broken. The Party 's ideals resonated with several community members, who then brought their own guns to the next rallies. Protest at the statehouse Awareness of the Black Panther Party for Self - Defense grew rapidly after their May 2, 1967, protest at the California State Assembly. On May 2, 1967, the California State Assembly Committee on Criminal Procedure was scheduled to convene to discuss what was known as the `` Mulford Act '', which would make the public carrying of loaded firearms illegal. Eldridge Cleaver and Newton put together a plan to send a group of 26 armed Panthers led by Seale from Oakland to Sacramento to protest the bill. The group entered the assembly carrying their weapons, an incident which was widely publicized, and which prompted police to arrest Seale and five others. The group pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of disrupting a legislative session. Black Panther convention, Lincoln Memorial, June 19, 1970. In May 1967, the Panthers invaded the State Assembly Chamber in Sacramento, guns in hand, in what appears to have been a publicity stunt. Still, they scared a lot of important people that day. At the time, the Panthers had almost no following. Now, ( a year later ) however, their leaders speak on invitation almost anywhere radicals gather, and many whites wear `` Honkeys for Huey '' buttons, supporting the fight to free Newton, who has been in jail since last Oct. 28 ( 1967 ) on the charge that he killed a policeman... Ten - Point program Main article : Ten - Point Program The Black Panther Party first publicized its original Ten - Point program on May 15, 1967, following the Sacramento action, in the second issue of The Black Panther newspaper. The original ten points of `` What We Want Now ! '' follow : We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community. We want full employment for our people. We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society. We want all Black men to be exempt from military service. We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people. We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails. 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. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace. Late 1967 to early 1968 Chronology July 1967 : the United Front Against Fascism conference is held in Oakland. August 1967 : The Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) directs its program `` COINTELPRO '' to `` neutralize '' what they call `` black nationalist hate groups ''. October 28, 1967 : Huey Newton allegedly kills police officer John Frey. At this time there were fewer than one hundred Party members. Early Spring 1968 : Eldridge Cleaver 's Soul on Ice is published. April 4, 1968 : Martin Luther King is assassinated. Riots break out nationwide. April 6, 1968 : A team of Panthers led by Eldridge Cleaver ambushes Oakland police officers. Panther Bobby Hutton is killed. United Front against Fascism In July 1969 the BPP organized the United Front Against Fascism conference in Oakland, which was attended by around 5,000 people representing a number of groups. COINTELPRO COINTELPRO document outlining the FBI 's plans to ' neutralize ' Jean Seberg for her support for the Black Panther Party, by attempting to publicly `` cause her embarrassment '' and `` tarnish her image ''. In August 1967, the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) instructed its program `` COINTELPRO '' to `` neutralize '' what the FBI called `` black nationalist hate groups '' and other dissident groups. In September 1968, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover described the Black Panthers as `` the greatest threat to the internal security of the country ''. By 1969, the Black Panthers and their allies had become primary COINTELPRO targets, singled out in 233 of the 295 authorized `` Black Nationalist '' COINTELPRO actions. The goals of the program were to prevent the unification of militant black nationalist groups and to weaken the power of their leaders, as well as to discredit the groups to reduce their support and growth. The initial targets included the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Revolutionary Action Movement and the Nation of Islam. Leaders who were targeted included the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Stokely Carmichael, H. Rap Brown, Maxwell Stanford and Elijah Muhammad. Part of the COINTELPRO actions were directed at creating and exploiting existing rivalries between black nationalist factions. One such attempt was to `` intensify the degree of animosity '' between the Black Panthers and the Blackstone Rangers, a Chicago street gang. They sent an anonymous letter to the Ranger 's gang leader claiming that the Panthers were threatening his life, a letter whose intent was to induce `` reprisals '' against Panther leadership. In Southern California similar actions were taken to exacerbate a `` gang war '' between the Black Panther Party and a group called the US Organization. It was alleged that the FBI had sent a provocative letter to the US Organization in an attempt to increase existing antagonism between US and the Panthers. COINTELPRO also aimed to dismantle the Black Panther Party by targeting the social / community programs they endorsed, one of the most influential being the Free Breakfast for Children Program. The success of the Free Breakfast for Children Program served to `` shed light on the government 's failure to address child poverty and hunger -- pointing to the limits of the nation 's War on Poverty ''. The ability of the Party to organize and provide for children more effectively than the U.S. government led the FBI to criticize the program as a means of exposing children to Panther Propaganda. In response to this, as an effort of disassembling the program, `` Police and Federal Agents regularly harassed and intimidated program participants, supporters, and Party workers and sought to scare away donors and organizations that housed the programs like churches and community centers ''. Huey Newton charged with murdering John Frey On October 28, 1967, Oakland police officer John Frey was shot to death in an altercation with Huey P. Newton during a traffic stop. In the stop, Newton and backup officer Herbert Heanes also suffered gunshot wounds. Newton was convicted of voluntary manslaughter at trial, but the conviction was later overturned. In his book Shadow of the Panther, writer Hugh Pearson alleges that Newton, while intoxicated in the hours before he was shot and killed, claimed to have willfully killed John Frey. Free Huey ! Campaign At the time, Newton claimed that he had been falsely accused, leading to the `` Free Huey '' campaign. This incident gained the party even wider recognition by the radical American left. Newton was released after three years, when his conviction was reversed on appeal. As Newton awaited trial, the Black Panther party 's `` Free Huey '' campaign developed alliances with numerous individuals, students and anti-war activists, `` advancing an anti-imperialist political ideology that linked the oppression of antiwar protestors to the oppression of blacks and Vietnamese ''. The `` Free Huey '' campaign attracted black power organizations, New Left groups, and other activist groups such as the Progressive Labor Party, Bob Avakian of the Community for New Politics, and the Red Guard. For example, the Black Panther Party collaborated with the Peace and Freedom Party, which sought to promote a strong antiwar and antiracist politics in opposition to the establishment democratic party. The Black Panther Party provided needed legitimacy to the Peace and Freedom Party 's racial politics and in return received invaluable support for the `` Free Huey '' campaign. Founding of the LA chapter In 1968 the southern California chapter was founded by Alprentice `` Bunchy '' Carter in Los Angeles. Carter was the leader of the Slauson street gang, and many of the LA chapter 's early recruits were Slausons. Killing of Bobby Hutton On April 7, 1968, seventeen - year - old Panther national treasurer Bobby Hutton was killed, and Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther Party Minister of Information, was wounded in a shootout with the Oakland police. Two police officers were also shot. Although at the time the BPP claimed that the police had ambushed them, several party members later admitted that Cleaver had led the Panther group on a deliberate ambush of the police officers, provoking the shoot - out. Seven other Panthers, including chief of staff David Hilliard, were also arrested. Hutton 's death became a rallying issue for Panther supporters. Late 1968 Chronology April to mid-June 1968 : Cleaver is in jail. Mid-July 1968 : Huey Newton 's murder trial commences. Panthers hold `` Free Huey '' rallies outside the courthouse daily. August 5, 1968 : Three Panthers were killed in a gun battle with police at a Los Angeles gas station. Early September 1968 : Newton is convicted of manslaughter. Late September 1968 : days before he is due to return to prison to serve out a rape conviction, Cleaver flees to Cuba and later Algeria. October 5, 1968 : a Panther is killed in a gunfight with police in Los Angeles. November 1968 : the BPP finds numerous supporters, establishing relationships with the Peace and Freedom Party and SNCC. Monetary contributions are flowing in, and BPP leadership begins embezzling donated funds. In 1968, the group shortened its name to the Black Panther Party and sought to focus directly on political action. Members were encouraged to carry guns and to defend themselves against violence. An influx of college students joined the group, which had consisted chiefly of `` brothers off the block ''. This created some tension in the group. Some members were more interested in supporting the Panthers ' social programs, while others wanted to maintain their `` street mentality ''. By 1968, the party had expanded into many cities throughout the United States, among them, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Newark, New Orleans, New York City, Omaha, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toledo, and Washington, D.C. Peak membership was near 10,000 by 1969, and their newspaper, under the editorial leadership of Eldridge Cleaver, had a circulation of 250,000. The group created a Ten - Point Program, a document that called for `` Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice and Peace '', as well as exemption from conscription for black men, among other demands. With the Ten - Point program, `` What We Want, What We Believe '', the Black Panther Party expressed its economic and political grievances. Curtis Austin states that by late 1968, Black Panther Party ideology had evolved to the point where they began to reject black nationalism and became more a `` revolutionary internationalist movement '' : ( The Party ) dropped its wholesale attacks against whites and began to emphasize more of a class analysis of society. Its emphasis on Marxist -- Leninist doctrine and its repeated espousal of Maoist statements signaled the group 's transition from a revolutionary nationalist to a revolutionary internationalist movement. Every Party member had to study Mao Tse - tung 's `` Little Red Book '' to advance his or her knowledge of peoples ' struggle and the revolutionary process. Panther slogans and iconography spread. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two American medalists, gave the black power salute during the playing of the American national anthem. The International Olympic Committee banned them from the Olympic Games for life. Hollywood celebrity Jane Fonda publicly supported Huey Newton and the Black Panthers during the early 1970s. She actually ended up informally adopting the daughter of two Black Panther members, Mary Luana Williams. Fonda and other Hollywood celebrities became involved in the Panthers ' leftist programs. The Panthers attracted a wide variety of left - wing revolutionaries and political activists, including writer Jean Genet, former Ramparts magazine editor David Horowitz ( who later became a major critic of what he describes as Panther criminality ) and left - wing lawyer Charles R. Garry, who acted as counsel in the Panthers ' many legal battles. The BPP adopted a `` Serve the People '' program, which at first involved a free breakfast program for children. By the end of 1968, the BPP had established 38 chapters and branches, claiming more than five thousand members. Eldridge and Kathleen Cleaver left the country days before Cleaver was to turn himself in to serve the remainder of a thirteen - year sentence for a 1958 rape conviction. They settled in Algeria. By the end of the year, Party membership peaked at around 2,000. Party members engaged in criminal activities such as extortion, stealing, violent discipline of BPP members, and robberies. The BPP leadership took one third of the proceeds from robberies committed by BPP members. Survival programs Inspired by Mao Zedong 's advice to revolutionaries in The Little Red Book, Newton called on the Panthers to `` serve the people '' and to make `` survival programs '' a priority within its branches. The most famous of their programs was the Free Breakfast for Children Program, initially run out of an Oakland church. The Free Breakfast For Children program was especially significant because it served as a space for educating youth about the current condition of the Black community, and the actions that the Party was taking to address that condition. `` While the children ate their meal ( s ), members ( of the Party ) taught them liberation lessons consisting of Party messages and Black history. '' Through this program, the Party was able to influence young minds, and strengthen their ties to communities as well as gain widespread support for their ideologies. The breakfast program became so popular that the Panthers Party claimed to have fed twenty thousand children in the 1968 - 69 school year. Other survival programs were free services such as clothing distribution, classes on politics and economics, free medical clinics, lessons on self - defense and first aid, transportation to upstate prisons for family members of inmates, an emergency - response ambulance program, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and testing for sickle - cell disease. Political activities In 1968, BPP Minister of Information Eldridge Cleaver ran for Presidential office on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket. They were a big influence on the White Panther Party, that was tied to the Detroit / Ann Arbor band MC5 and their manager John Sinclair, author of the book Guitar Army that also promulgated a ten - point program. 1969 Chronology Early 1969 : In late 1968 and January 1969, the BPP began to purge members due to fears about law enforcement infiltration and various petty disagreements. January 14, 1969 : The Los Angeles chapter gets into a shootout with members of the competing US Organization, and two Panthers are killed. January 1969 : The Oakland BPP begins the first free breakfast program for children. March 1969 : There is a second purge of BPP members. April 1969 : Twenty - one members of the New York chapter are indicted and jailed for a bombing conspiracy. May 1969 : Two more southern California Panthers are killed in violent disputes with US Organization members. May 1969 : Members of the New Haven chapter torture and murder Alex Rackley, who they suspected of being an informant. July 17, 1969 : Two policemen are shot and a Panther is killed in a gun battle in Chicago. Late July 1969 : The BPP ideology undergoes a shift, with a turn toward self - discipline and anti-racism. August 1969 : Bobby Seale is indicted and imprisoned in relation to the Rackley murder. October 18, 1969 : A Panther is killed in a gunfight with police outside a Los Angeles restaurant. Mid-to - late 1969 : COINTELPRO activity increases. November 13, 1969 : A Panther is killed in a gunfight with police in Chicago. December 4, 1969 : Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are killed by law enforcement in Chicago. Late 1969 : David Hilliard, current BPP head, advocates violent revolution. Panther membership is down significantly from the late 1968 peak. Shoot - out with the US organization Violent conflict between the Panther chapter in LA and the US Organization, a rival group, resulted in shootings and beatings, and led to the murders of at least four Black Panther Party members. On January 17, 1969, Los Angeles Panther Captain Bunchy Carter and Deputy Minister John Huggins were killed in Campbell Hall on the UCLA campus, in a gun battle with members of the US Organization. Another shootout between the two groups on March 17 led to further injuries. Two more Panthers died. Black Panther Party Liberation schools Paramount to their beliefs regarding the need for individual agency in order to catalyze community change, the Black Panther Party ( BPP ) strongly supported the education of the masses. As part of their Ten - Point Program which set forth the ideals and goals of the party, they demanded an equitable education for all black people. Number 5 of the `` What We Want Now ! '' section of the program reads : `` We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society. '' In order to ensure that this occurred, the Black Panther Party took the education of their youth in their own hands by first establishing after - school programs and then opening up Liberation Schools in a variety of locations throughout the country which focused their curriculum on Black history, writing skills, and political science. Intercommunal Youth Institute The first Liberation School was opened by the Richmond Black Panthers in July 1969 with brunch served and snacks provided to students. Another school was opened in Mt. Vernon New York on July 17 of the subsequent year. These schools were informal in nature and more closely resembled after - school or summer programs. While these campuses were the first to open, the first full - time and longest - running Liberation school was opened in January 1971 in Oakland in response to the inequitable conditions in the Oakland Unified School District which was ranked one of the lowest scoring districts in California. Named the Intercommunal Youth Institute ( IYI ), this school, under the directorship of Brenda Bay, and later, Ericka Huggins, enrolled twenty - eight students in its first year, with the majority being the children of Black Panther parents. This number grew to fifty by the 1973 - 1974 school year. In order to provide full support for Black Panther parents whose time was spent organizing, some of the students and faculty members lived together year around. The school itself was dissimilar to traditional schools in a variety of ways including the fact that students were separated by academic performance rather than age and students were often provided one on one support as the faculty to student ratio was 1 : 10. The Panther 's goal in opening Liberation Schools, and specifically the Intercommunal Youth Institute, was to provide students with an education that was n't being provided in the `` white '' schools, as the public schools in the district employed a eurocentric assimilationist curriculum with little to no attention to black history and culture. While students were provided with traditional courses such as English, Math, and Science, they were also exposed to activities focused on class structure and the prevalence of institutional racism. The overall goal of the school was to instill a sense of revolutionary consciousness in the students. With a strong belief in experiential learning, students had the opportunity to participate in community service projects as well as practice their writing skills by drafting letters to political prisoners associated with the Black Panther Party. Huggins is noted as saying, `` I think that the school 's principles came from the socialist principles we tried to live in the Black Panther Party. One of them being critical thinking - that children should learn not what to think but how to think... the school was an expression of the collective wisdom of the people who envisioned it. And it was... a living thing ( that ) changed every year. Funding for the Intercommunal Youth Institute was provided through a combination of Black Panther fundraising and community support. Oakland Community School In 1974, due to increased interest in enrolling in the school, school officials decided to move to a larger facility and subsequently changed the school 's name to Oakland Community School. During this year, the school graduated its first class. Although the student population continued to grow ranging between 50 and 150 between 1974 - 1977, the original core values of individualized instruction remained. In September 1977, the school received a special award from Governor Edmund Brown Jr. and the California Legislature for `` having set the standard for the highest level of elementary education in the state. The school eventually closed in 1982 due to governmental pressure on party leadership which caused insufficient membership and funds to continue running the school. Killing of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark In Chicago, on December 4, 1969, two Panthers were killed when the Chicago Police raided the home of Panther leader Fred Hampton. The raid had been orchestrated by the police in conjunction with the FBI. Hampton was shot and killed, as was Panther guard Mark Clark. A federal investigation reported that only one shot was fired by the Panthers, and police fired at least 80 shots. The only shot fired by the Panthers was from Mark Clark, who appeared to fire a single round determined to be the result of a reflexive death convulsion after he was immediately struck in the chest by shots from the police at the start of the raid. Hampton was sleeping next to his pregnant fiancée, and was subsequently shot twice in the head at point blank range while unconscious. Coroner reports show that Hampton was drugged with a powerful barbiturate that night, and would have been unable to have been awoken by the sounds of the police raid. His body was then dragged into the hallway. He was 21 years old and unarmed at the time of his death. Seven other Panthers sleeping at the house at the time of the raid were then beaten and seriously wounded, then arrested under charges of aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officers involved in the raid. These charges would later be dropped. Former FBI agent Wesley Swearingen asserts that the Bureau was guilty of a `` plot to murder '' the Panthers. Hampton had been slipped the barbiturates which had left him unconscious by William O'Neal, who had been working as an FBI informant. Cook County State 's Attorney Edward Hanrahan, his assistant and eight Chicago police officers were indicted by a federal grand jury over the raid, but the charges were later dismissed. In 1979 civil action, Hampton 's family won $1.85 million from the city of Chicago in a wrongful death settlement. Torture - murder of Alex Rackley In May 1969, three members of the New Haven chapter tortured and murdered Alex Rackley, a 19 - year - old member of the New York chapter, because they suspected him of being a police informant. Three party officers -- Warren Kimbro, George Sams Jr., and Lonnie McLucas -- later admitted taking part. Sams, who gave the order to shoot Rackley at the murder scene, turned state 's evidence and testified that he had received orders personally from Bobby Seale to carry out the execution. Party supporters responded that Sams was himself the informant and an agent provocateur employed by the FBI. The case resulted in the New Haven Black Panther trials of 1970. Kimbro and Sams were convicted of the murder, but the trials of Seale and Ericka Huggins ended with a hung jury, and the prosecution chose not to seek another trial. International ties Activists from many countries around the globe supported the Panthers and their cause. In Scandinavian countries such as Norway and Finland, for example, left - wing activists organized a tour for Bobby Seale and Masai Hewitt in 1969. At each destination along the tour, the Panthers talked about their goals and the `` Free Huey ! '' campaign. Seale and Hewitt made a stop in Germany as well, gaining support for the `` Free Huey ! '' campaign. 1970 Chronology January 1970 : Leonard Bernstein holds a fundraiser for the BPP, which was notoriously mocked by Tom Wolfe in Radical Chic & Mau - Mauing the Flak Catchers. Spring 1970 : The Oakland BPP engages in another ambush of police officers with guns and fragmentation bombs. Two officers are wounded. May 1970 : Huey Newton 's conviction is overturned, but he remains incarcerated. July 1970 : Newton tells The New York Times that `` we 've never advocated violence ''. August 1970 : Newton is released from prison. In 1970, a group of Panthers traveled through Asia and they were welcomed as guests of the governments of North Vietnam, North Korea, and China. The group 's first stop was in North Korea, where the Panthers met with local officials in order to discuss ways in which they could help each other fight against American imperialism. Eldridge Cleaver traveled to Pyongyang twice in 1969 and 1970, and following these trips he made an effort to publicize the writings and works of North Korean leader Kim Il - sung in the United States. After leaving North Korea, the group traveled to North Vietnam with the same agenda in mind : finding ways to put an end to American imperialism. Eldridge Cleaver was invited to speak to Black GIs by the North Vietnamese government. He encouraged them to join the Black Liberation Struggle by arguing that the United States government was only using them for its own purposes. Instead of risking their lives on the battlefield for a country that continued to oppress them, Cleaver believed that the black GIs should risk their lives in support of their own liberation. After leaving Vietnam, Cleaver met with the Chinese ambassador to Algeria in order to express their mutual animosity towards the American government. When Algeria held its first Pan-African Cultural Festival, they invited many important figures from the United States. Among the important figures invited to the festival were Bobby Seale and Eldridge Cleaver. The cultural festival allowed Black Panthers to network with representatives of various international anti-imperialist movements. This was a significant time, which lead to the formation of the International Section of the Party. It is at this festival that Cleaver met with the ambassador of North Korea, who later invited him to an International Conference of Revolutionary Journalists in Pyongyang. Eldridge also met with Yasser Arafat, and gave a speech supporting the Palestinians and their goal of achieving liberation. 1971 Chronology January 1971 : Newton expels Geronimo Pratt who, since 1970, had been in jail facing a pending murder charge. Newton also expels two of the New York 21 and his own secretary, who flee the country. February 1971 : a fall - out between Newton and Cleaver ensues after they argue during a live broadcast link - up. Newton expels Cleaver and the entire international section from the party. Spring 1971 : the Newton and Cleaver factions engage in retaliatory assassinations of each other 's members, resulting in the deaths of four people. May 1971 : Bobby Seale is acquitted of ordering the Rackley murder, and returns to Oakland. Mid-to - late 1971 : nationally, hundreds of Party members quit the BPP. Late - September 1971 : Newton visits and stays in China for 10 days. Newton focuses the BPP on the Party 's Oakland school and various other social service programs. In early 1971, the BPP founded the `` Intercommunal Youth Institute '' in January 1971, with the intent of demonstrating how black youth ought to be educated. Ericka Huggins was the director of the school and Regina Davis was an administrator. The school was unique in that it did not have grade levels but instead had different skill levels so an 11 - year - old could be in second - level English and fifth - level science. Elaine Brown taught reading and writing to a group of 10 - to 11 - year - olds deemed `` uneducable '' by the system. The school children were given free busing ; breakfast, lunch, and dinner ; books and school supplies ; children were taken to have medical checkups ; many children were given free clothes. Split Significant disagreements among the Party 's leaders over how to confront ideological differences led to a split within the party. Certain members felt that the Black Panthers should participate in local government and social services, while others encouraged constant conflict with the police. For some of the Party 's supporters, the separations among political action, criminal activity, social services, access to power, and grass - roots identity became confusing and contradictory as the Panthers ' political momentum was bogged down in the criminal justice system. These ( and other ) disagreements led to a split. Some Panther leaders, such as Huey Newton and David Hilliard, favored a focus on community service coupled with self - defense ; others, such as Eldridge Cleaver, embraced a more confrontational strategy. Eldridge Cleaver deepened the schism in the party when he publicly criticized the Party for adopting a `` reformist '' rather than `` revolutionary '' agenda and called for Hilliard 's removal. Cleaver was expelled from the Central Committee but went on to lead a splinter group, the Black Liberation Army, which had previously existed as an underground paramilitary wing of the Party. The split turned violent, as the Newton and Cleaver factions carried out retaliatory assassinations of each other 's members, resulting in the deaths of four people. Delegation to China In late September 1971, Huey P Newton led a delegation to China and stayed for 10 days. At every airport in China, Huey was greeted by thousands of people waving copies of the Little Red Book and displaying signs that said `` we support the Black Panther Party, down with US imperialism '' or `` we support the american people but the Nixon imperialist regime must be overthrown ''. During the trip the Chinese arranged for him to meet and have dinner with a DPRK ambassador, a Tanzanian ambassador, and delegations from both North Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam. Huey was under the impression he was going to meet Mao Zedong, but instead had two meetings with the first Premier of the People 's Republic of China Zhou Enlai. One of these meetings also included Mao Zedong 's wife Jiang Qing. Huey described China as `` a free and liberated territory with a socialist government ''. 1972 -- 74 Chronology Early 1972 : Newton shuts down chapters around the country, and calls the key members to Oakland. Mid-1972 : BPP members or supporters win a number of minor offices in the Oakland city elections. 1973 : The BPP focuses nearly all of its resources on winning political power in the Oakland city government. Seale runs for mayor ; Elaine Brown runs for city council. Both lose, and many Party members resign after the losses. Early 1974 : Newton embarks on a major purge, expelling Bobby and John Seale, David and June Hilliard, Robert Bay, and numerous other top party leaders. Dozens of other Panthers loyal to Seale resigned or deserted. August 1974 : Newton murders Kathleen Smith, a teenage prostitute. He flees to Cuba. Elaine Brown takes over the leadership in his absence. December 1974 : Accountant Betty van Patter is murdered, after threatening to disclose irregularities in the Party 's finances. Newton solidifies control and centralizes Power in Oakland In 1972, the party began closing down dozens of chapters and branches all over the country, and bringing members and operations to Oakland. The political arm of the southern California chapter was shut down and its members moved to Oakland, although the underground military arm remained for a time. The underground remnants of the LA chapter, which had emerged from the Slausons street gang, eventually re-emerged as the Crips, a street gang who at first advocated social reform before devolving into racketeering. The party developed a five - year plan to take over the city of Oakland politically. Bobby Seale ran for mayor, Elaine Brown ran for city council, and other Panthers ran for minor offices. Neither Seale nor Brown were elected. A few Panthers won seats on local government commissions. Minister of Education Ray `` Masai '' Hewitt created the Buddha Samurai, the party 's underground security cadre in Oakland. Newton expelled Hewitt from the party later in 1972, but the security cadre remained in operation under the leadership of Flores Forbes. One of the cadre 's main functions was to extort and rob drug dealers and after - hours clubs. Newton indicted for violent crimes In 1974, Huey Newton and eight other Panthers were arrested and charged with assault on police officers. Newton went into exile in Cuba to avoid prosecution for the murder of Kathleen Smith, an eighteen - year - old prostitute. Newton was also indicted for pistol - whipping his tailor, Preston Callins. Although Newton confided to friends that Kathleen Smith was his `` first nonpolitical murder '', he was ultimately acquitted, after one witness 's testimony was impeached by her admission that she had been smoking marijuana on the night of the murder, and another prostitute witness recanted her testimony. Newton was also acquitted of assaulting Preston Callins after Callins refused to press charges. 1974 -- 77 The Panthers under Elaine Brown In 1974, as Huey Newton prepared to go into exile in Cuba, he appointed Elaine Brown as the first Chairwoman of the Party. Under Brown 's leadership, the Party became involved in organizing for more radical electoral campaigns, including Brown 's 1975 unsuccessful run for Oakland City Council. The Party supported Lionel Wilson in his successful election as the first black mayor of Oakland, in exchange for Wilson 's assistance in having criminal charges dropped against Party member Flores Forbes, leader of the Buddha Samurai cadre. In addition to changing the Party 's direction towards more involvement in the electoral arena, Brown also increased the influence of women Panthers by placing them in more visible roles within the previously male - dominated organization. Death of Betty Van Patter Panther leader Elaine Brown hired Betty Van Patter in 1974 as a bookkeeper. Van Patter had previously served as a bookkeeper for Ramparts magazine, and was introduced to the Panther leadership by David Horowitz, who had been Ramparts ' editor and a major fundraiser and board member for the Panther school. Later that year, after a dispute with Brown over financial irregularities, Van Patter went missing on December 13, 1974. Some weeks later, her severely beaten corpse was found on a San Francisco Bay beach. There was insufficient evidence for police to charge anyone with van Patter 's murder, but the Black Panther Party leadership was `` almost universally believed to be responsible ''. Huey Newton later allegedly confessed to a friend that he had ordered Van Patter 's murder, and that Van Patter had been tortured and raped before being killed. 1977 -- 82 Return of Huey Newton and the demise of the Party In 1977, Newton returned from exile in Cuba, and found that some men in the party were concerned about the increased power delegated to women, who now outnumbered men in the organization. According to Elaine Brown, Newton authorized the disciplining of school administrator Regina Davis as punishment for reprimanding a male coworker. Davis was hospitalized with a broken jaw. Brown said `` The beating of Regina would be taken as a clear signal that the words ' Panther ' and ' comrade ' had taken a gender on gender connotation, denoting an inferiority in the female half of us. '' Brown resigned from the party and fled to LA. Although many scholars and activists date the Party 's downfall to the period before Brown became the leader, an increasingly smaller cadre of Panthers continued to exist through the 1970s. By 1980, Panther membership had dwindled to 27, and the Panther - sponsored school closed in 1982 after it became known that Newton was embezzling funds from the school to pay for his drug addiction. Panthers attempt to assassinate a witness against Newton In October 1977 Flores Forbes, the party 's assistant chief of staff, led a botched attempt to assassinate Crystal Gray, a key prosecution witness in Newton 's upcoming trial who had been present the day of Kathleen Smith 's murder. Unbeknownst to the assailants, they attacked the wrong house and the occupant returned fire. During the shootout one of the Panthers, Louis Johnson, was killed and the other two assailants escaped. One of the two surviving assassins, Flores Forbes, fled to Las Vegas, Nevada, with the help of Panther paramedic Nelson Malloy. Fearing that Malloy would discover the truth behind the botched assassination attempt, Newton allegedly ordered a `` house cleaning '', and Malloy was shot and buried alive in the desert. Although permanently paralyzed from the waist down, Malloy recovered from the assault and told police that fellow Panthers Rollin Reid and Allen Lewis were behind his attempted murder. Newton denied any involvement or knowledge and said the events `` might have been the result of overzealous party members ''. Newton was ultimately acquitted of the murder of Kathleen Smith, after Crystal Gray 's testimony was impeached by her admission that she had smoked marijuana on the night of the murder, and acquitted of assaulting Preston Callins after Callins refused to press charges. Women and Womanism At its beginnings, the Black Panther Party reclaimed black masculinity and traditional gender roles. A notice in the first issue of The Black Panther, the Panthers ' newspaper, applauded the Panthers -- by then an all -- male organization -- as `` the cream of Black Manhood... there for the protection and defense of our Black community ''. Scholars consider the Party 's stance of armed resistance highly masculine, with the use of guns and violence affirming proof of manhood. In 1968, the Black Panther Party newspaper stated in several articles that the role of female Panthers was to `` stand behind black men '' and be supportive. The first black woman to join the party was Joan Tarika Lewis, in 1967. Nevertheless, women were present in the party from the early days and expanded their roles throughout the life of the party. Women often joined the party because they were trying to fight against gender unequal gender norms. By 1969, the Black Panther Party newspaper officially stated that men and women are equal and instructed male Panthers to treat female Party members as equals, a drastic change from the idea of the female Panther as subordinate. That same year, Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton of the Illinois chapter conducted a meeting condemning sexism. After 1969, the Party considered sexism counter-revolutionary. The Black Panthers adopted a womanist ideology in consideration of the unique experiences of African - American women, affirming the belief that racism is more oppressive than sexism. Womanism was a mix of black nationalism and the vindication of women, putting race and community struggle before the gender issue. Womanism posited that traditional feminism failed to include race and class struggle in its denunciation of male sexism and was therefore part of white hegemony. In opposition to some feminist viewpoints, womanism promoted a gender role point of view that men are not above women, but hold a different position in the home and community, so men and women must work together for the preservation of African - American culture and community. From this point forward, the Black Panther Party newspaper portrayed women as revolutionaries, using the example of party members such as Kathleen Cleaver, Angela Davis and Erika Huggins, all political and intelligent women. The Black Panther Party newspaper often showed women as active participants in the armed self - defense movement, picturing them with children and guns as protectors of the home, the family and the community. Police killed or incarcerated many male leaders, but female Panthers were less targeted in the party for much of the 1960s and 1970s. By 1968, women made up two - thirds of the party, while many male members were out of duty. In the absence of much of the original male leadership women moved into all parts of the organization. Roles included leadership positions, implementing community programs, and uplifting the black community. Women in the group called attention to sexism within the Black Panther Party, and worked to make changes from within. From 1968 to the end of its publication in 1982, the head editors of the Black Panther Party newspaper were all women. In 1970, approximately 40 % to 70 % of Party members were women, and several chapters, like the Des Moines, Iowa, and New Haven, Connecticut, were headed by women. During the 1970s, recognizing the limited access poor women had to abortion, the Party officially supported women 's reproductive rights, including abortion. That same year, the Party condemned and opposed prostitution. Many African - American women Panthers began to demand childcare in order to be able to fully participate in the organization. The Black Panther Party responded to the women by establishing on - site child development centers in multiple chapters across the United States. `` Childcare became largely a group activity '', the children would be raised collectively during the week. This was following the Panther 's commitment to collectivism and an extension of the African - American extended family tradition. Childcare allowed women Panthers to still be able to embrace motherhood, while at the same time allowing them to fully participate in the Party. Creating Childcare to the Party allowed women Panthers to not to have to make the choice between motherhood and activism. The Black Panther Party experienced significant problems in several chapters with sexism and gender oppression, particularly in the Oakland chapter where cases of sexual harassment and gender division were common. When Oakland Panthers arrived to bolster the New York City Panther chapter after twenty one New York leaders were incarcerated, they displayed such chauvinistic attitudes towards New York Panther women that they had to be fended off at gunpoint. Some Party leaders thought the fight for gender equality was a threat to men and a distraction from the struggle for racial equality. In response, the Chicago and New York chapters, among others, established equal gender rights as a priority and tried to eradicate sexist attitudes. By the time the Black Panther Party disbanded, official policy was to reprimand men who violated the rules of gender equality. Gender Dynamics In the beginning, recruiting women was not at the forefront to Huey Newton 's and Bobby Seale 's minds. In an interview with Seale, he stated that Newton targeted `` brothers who had been pimping, brothers who had been peddling dope, brothers who ai n't gon na take no shit, brothers who had been fighting the pigs ''. Also, they did n't realize that women could help the fight until one came into an interest meeting asking about `` female leadership. '' Regina Jennings recalls that many men in leadership positions had an `` unchecked '' sexism problem and her task was to `` lift the bedroom out of their minds. '' She even remembers overhearing a conversation between some Panthers when were was being recruited : `` Some concluded that the FBI sent me, but the captain assured them with salty good humor that, ' She 's too stupid to be from the FBI. ' He thought my cover and my comments too honest, too loud, and too ridiculous to be serious. '' She recalls her days in Oakland, California as a teenager looking for something to do to add purpose to her life and to her community. She grew up around police brutality, so it was nothing new. Her goal in joining was `` smashing racism '' because she viewed herself as Black before she was a women. In her community, that identity is what she felt held her back the most. Women 's accomplishments The Black Panther Party was involved in many community projects as part of their organization. These projects included community outreach, like the breakfast program, education, and health programs. In many cases women were the ones primarily involved with administering these types of programs. From the beginning of the Black Panther Party education was a fundamental goal of the organization. This was highlighted in the Ten Point Platform, the newspaper that was distributed by the party, and the public commentary shared by the Panthers. The newspaper was one of the primary and original consciousness raising and educational measures taken by the party. Despite the fact that men were out distributing the newspaper, women like Elaine Brown and Kathleen Cleaver were behind the scenes working on those papers. Elaine Brown Elaine Brown rose to power within the BPP by filling the position of minister of information, after Eldridge Cleaver fled the country. In 1974 Elaine Brown took the seat of chair for the Black Panther Party in Oakland. She was appointed by Huey Newton, the previous chair, while Newton and other high - ranking members were dealing with legal issues. From the beginning of her tenure as chair, she faced opposition within the party and warned against a coup. During her time as chair she appointed many female officials, and faced backlash for her policies focused on equality within the organization. When Huey Newton returned from exile and approved of the beating of one of the female leaders of a panther school, Brown decided to leave the organization. Gwen Robinson In an interview conducted by Judson Jeffries, Gwen Robinson reflects and relays stories and her experiences before and during her time in the Black Panther Party Detroit Division. She explains that she joined the Party in October 1969 with a little push back from her mother, who participated in a march with Dr. King in the early part of the decade. She chose the Black Panther Party ( BBP ) because `` ( She ) felt a closeness and a bond with them '' that she did n't feel with other organizations around at the time, like the `` SNCC, NAACP, the Urban League, the Nation of Islam, Shrines of Madonna, Eastside Voice of Independent Detroit ( ESVID ), the Republic of New Africa, and the Revolutionary Action Movement. '' She dropped out of high school in the 12th grade because at this point she had a good standing with the Party and the environment of her high school education was n't the best for black folks at the time. She attended Denby High School in Detroit. `` There were some students who would use the N word freely '' and `` a P.E. instructor accused ( her ) of stealing her keys. '' She was also `` shoved '' into the pool when she refused to swim in fear of getting her hair wet and her White teacher who taught Afro - American history would kick people out of the class `` if you challenged his position on certain Black leaders. '' In conclusion, dropping out of school was a means to an ends. She continued her work in the BBP and `` was living as part of a collective '' where all the work was shared and she enjoyed her time selling newspapers all day long. She climbed the ranks and became the branch 's Communications Secretary for the next to the last year of her membership in January 1971. She was placed in this position after the former left due to `` some issues related to sexism ''. In this branch, unlike the average BBP divisions, the ways of thinking of the `` brothers '' never turned violent or physical. She claims, `` that kind of thing did n't take place in Detroit. '' She left the organization in 1973, but she still had a link to the group through her husband. He was their Circulation Manager. The legacy she wishes to leave behind is collective work can take you anywhere. When asked, `` what is the legacy of the Detroit branch, in your opinion ? '' She answers, `` It 's crucial that people realize that the strength of the organization was rooted in discipline, deep commitment, and a genuine love for the people. '' Aftermath and legacy New York City Councilman Charles Barron is one of numerous former Panthers to have held elected office in the US There is considerable debate about what impact the Black Panther Party had on the wider society, or even on their local environment. Author Jama Lazerow writes : As inheritors of the discipline, pride, and calm self - assurance preached by Malcolm X, the Panthers became national heroes in black communities by infusing abstract nationalism with street toughness -- by joining the rhythms of black working - class youth culture to the interracial élan and effervescence of Bay Area New Left politics... In 1966, the Panthers defined Oakland 's ghetto as a territory, the police as interlopers, and the Panther mission as the defense of community. The Panthers ' famous `` policing the police '' drew attention to the spatial remove that White Americans enjoyed from the police brutality that had come to characterize life in black urban communities. Professor Judson L. Jeffries of Purdue University calls the Panthers `` the most effective black revolutionary organization in the 20th century ''. The Los Angeles Times, in a 2013 review of Black Against Empire, an `` authoritative '' history of the BPP published by University of California Press, call the organization a `` serious political and cultural force '' and `` a movement of intelligent, explosive dreamers ''. The Black Panther Party is featured in the exhibits and curriculum of the National Civil Rights Museum. Numerous former Panthers have held elected office in the United States, some into the 21st century ; these include Charles Barron ( New York City Council ), Nelson Malloy ( Winston - Salem City Council ), and Bobby Rush ( US House of Representatives ). Most of these officials hold positive assessments of the BPP 's overall contribution to black liberation and American democracy. In 1990, the Chicago City Council passed a resolution declaring `` Fred Hampton Day '' in honor of the slain leader. In Winston - Salem in 2012, a large contingent of local officials and community leaders came together to install a historic marker of the local BPP headquarters ; State Representative Earline Parmone declared `` ( The Black Panther Party ) dared to stand up and say, ' We 're fed up and we 're not taking it anymore '... Because they had courage, today I stand as... the first African American ever to represent Forsyth County in the state Senate ''. In October 2006, the Black Panther Party held a 40 - year reunion in Oakland. Black Panther 40th Reunion, 2006. In January 2007, a joint California state and Federal task force charged eight men with the August 29, 1971, murder of California police officer Sgt. John Young. The defendants have been identified as former members of the Black Liberation Army. Two have been linked to the Black Panthers. In 1975 a similar case was dismissed when a judge ruled that police gathered evidence through the use of torture. On June 29, 2009, Herman Bell pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of Sgt. Young. In July 2009, charges were dropped against four of the accused : Ray Boudreaux, Henry W. Jones, Richard Brown and Harold Taylor. Also that month Jalil Muntaquim pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit voluntary manslaughter becoming the second person to be convicted in this case. Since the 1990s, former Panther chief of staff David Hilliard has offered tours of sites in Oakland that are historically significant to the Black Panther Party. Groups and movements inspired and aided by the Black Panthers Various groups and movements have picked names inspired by the Black Panthers : Assata 's Daughters, an all - black activist group in Chicago, was founded in 2015 by Page May ; the group is named after Black Panther Assata Shakur and has objectives similar to the Black Panther 's 10 - Point Program. Gray Panthers, often used to refer to advocates for the rights of seniors ( Gray Panthers in the United States, The Grays -- Gray Panthers in Germany ). Polynesian Panthers, an advocacy group for Māori and Pacific Islander people in New Zealand. Black Panthers, a protest movement that advocates social justice and fights for the rights of Mizrahi Jews in Israel. White Panthers, used to refer to both the White Panther Party, a far - left, anti-racist, white American political party of the 1970s, as well as the White Panthers UK, an unaffiliated group started by Mick Farren. The Pink Panthers, used to refer to two LGBT rights organizations. Dalit Panthers, an Indian social reform movement, which fights against Caste Oppression in Indian Society. The British Black Panther movement, which flourished in London in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was not affiliated with the American organization although it fought for many of the same rights. The French Black Dragons, a black antifascist group closely linked to the punk rock and rockabilly scene. The Young Lords Huey P. Newton Gun Club, a gun club named after the Black Panther Party 's founder. Memphis Black Autonomy Federation In April 1977 Panthers were key supporters of the 504 Sit - In, the longest of which was the 25 - day occupation of the San Francisco Federal Building by over 120 people with disabilities. Panthers provided daily home - cooked meals and support of the people that proved essential to the protest 's success, which in turn inspired a movement that was instrumental in getting the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ) passed thirteen years later. New Black Panther Party See also : New Black Panther Party In 1989, a group calling itself the `` New Black Panther Party '' was formed in Dallas, Texas. Ten years later, the NBPP became home to many former Nation of Islam members when its chairmanship was taken by Khalid Abdul Muhammad. The Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center include the New Black Panthers on their lists of designated hate groups. The Huey Newton Foundation, former chairman and co-founder Bobby Seale, and members of the original Black Panther Party have insisted that this New Black Panther Party is illegitimate and they have strongly objected to it by stating that there `` is no new Black Panther Party ''. See also Angela Davis Assata Shakur Black feminism Black Panther Party, Winston - Salem, North Carolina Chapter Black Panthers ( Israel ) Counterculture of the 1960s Dalit Panthers Denis Walker George Jackson Brigade Gun Control Act of 1968 I Wor Kuen Jose Cha Cha Jimenez List of members of the Black Panther Party Mark Essex New Communist movement New Left Patriot Party ( 1960s -- 1980s ) Polynesian Panthers Protests of 1968 Rainbow Coalition ( Fred Hampton ) Red Guard Party Red Power movement Rice / Poindexter case Renault Robinson Seattle Black Panther Party History and Memory Project Soledad Brothers Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Students for a Democratic Society Symbionese Liberation Army The Revolutionary Black Panther Party US Organization Up Against the Wall Motherfucker Weather Underground White Panther Party World communism Young Lords References Jump up ^ Joseph, Peniel ( 2006 ). Waiting ' Til the Midnight Hour : A Narrative History of Black Power in America. Henry Holt. p. 219. Jump up ^ Van Deburg, William L. New Day in Babylon : The Black Power Movement and American Culture, 1965 - 1975. University of Chicago Press. p. 155. Jump up ^ Brown, Mark ( 27 December 2013 ). `` Britain 's black power movement is at risk of being forgotten, say historians ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2017. Jump up ^ Meghelli, Samir ( 2009 ), `` '' From Harlem to Algiers : Transnational Solidarities Between the African American Freedom Movement and Algeria, 1962 - 1978 `` '', in Marable, Manning, Black Routes to Islam, Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 99 -- 119. ^ Jump up to : `` October 15, 1966 : The Black Panther Party Is Founded ''. The Nation. ISSN 0027 - 8378. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 15. Jump up ^ Austin 2006 ; Bloom & Martin 2013 ; March 2010 ; Joseph 2006 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 152 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, chapter 7 Jump up ^ Nelson, Alondra ( 2011 ). Body and Soul : The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination. University of Minnesota Press. ^ Jump up to : `` Mapping the Black Panther Party in Key Cities ''. Mapping American Social Movements. Jump up ^ `` Hoover and the F.B.I. '' Luna Ray Films, LLC. PBS.org. Retrieved January 24, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Hoover Calls Panthers Top Threat to Security ''. The Washington Post. WP Company LLC d / b / a The Washington Post. 16 July 1969. Retrieved 9 February 2017. Jump up ^ `` Panthers ' threaten ' U.S., Hoover says ''. Afro - American. Afro - American Company of Baltimore City. Jul 26, 1969. Retrieved 9 February 2017. Jump up ^ Final report of the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, United States Senate. Jump up ^ O'Reilly, Kenneth. Racial Matters : The FBI 's Secret File on Black America, 1960 - 1972. Free Press. Jump up ^ Churchill and Vander Wall ( 2002 ). The COINTELPRO Papers : Documents from the FBI 's Secret Wars Against Dissent in the United States. South End Press. Jump up ^ Haas, Jeffrey ( 2010 ). The Assassination of Fred Hampton : How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Chicago Review Press. Jump up ^ Barker 2015 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, conclusion Jump up ^ Philip Foner, The Black Panthers Speak, Da Capo Press, 2002. Jump up ^ Austin 2006, p. 331 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 3 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 340 Jump up ^ Murch 2010, p. 4 Jump up ^ Murch 2010, p. 5 Jump up ^ Murch 2010, p. 6 ^ Jump up to : Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 11 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 11 -- 12 ^ Jump up to : Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 12 Jump up ^ McElrath, Jessica. The Black Panthers. afroamhistory.about.com. Retrieved June 25, 2016. Jump up ^ Murch 2010, pp. 5 -- 7 Jump up ^ Seale 1970, part I ; Newton 1973, parts 2 - 3 ; Bloom & Martin 2013, chapter 1 ; Murch 2010, part II and chapter 5 Jump up ^ Seale 1970, p. 13 Jump up ^ Murch 2010, chapter 3 Jump up ^ Robin D.G. Kelley `` Black Like Mao : Red China and Black Revolution '', Souls : A Critical Journal of Black Politics, Vol. 1, No. 4, Fall 1999 ( Columbia University Press ). Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 30 -- 36 Jump up ^ Seale 1970, chapters 6 -- 7 Jump up ^ `` Negroes With Guns - Description '', Wayne State University Press website. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 30 -- 39 Jump up ^ Seale, Bobby. Seize the Time : The Story of The Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton. pp. 79 -- 83. ISBN 0 - 933121 - 30 - X. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 39 -- 44 ^ Jump up to : Pearson 1994, p. 109 Jump up ^ `` Black Panther Party ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved March 27, 2008. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 45 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 46 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 48 ^ Jump up to : Black Panther Newspaper, May 15, 1967, p. 3 ; Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 71 -- 72 Jump up ^ Austin 2006, pp. x-xxiii Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, pp. 108 -- 120 Jump up ^ David Farber. The Age of Great Dreams : America in the 1960s. p. 207. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 51 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 52 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 50 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 52 -- 53 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 54 -- 55 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 55 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 57 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 129 Jump up ^ `` Black Panthers : A Taut, Violent Drama ''. St. Petersburg Times. July 21, 1968. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 300. Jump up ^ Spencer, Robyn C. ( January 26, 2017 ). `` The Black Panther Party and Black Anti-fascism in the United States ''. Duke University Press. Retrieved July 28, 2018. Jump up ^ Stohl, 249. Jump up ^ `` COINTELPRO '' A Huey P. Newton Story, Public Broadcasting System website. Jump up ^ `` Black Panther Party Pieces of History : 1966 -- 1969 ''. Itsabouttimebpp.com. Retrieved August 27, 2010. ^ Jump up to : Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 186 Jump up ^ `` History of the Black Panther Party, Part Two '' Civilrightsteaching.org/Teaching for Change. Archived October 31, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Police Officer John F. Frey ''. The Officer Down Memorial Page ( ODMP ). Retrieved September 12, 2015. Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, pp. 7, 221 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 3 Jump up ^ December 15, 1971. `` Case Against Newton Dropped ''. The Dispatch ( Lexington, North Carolina ) via UPI. Retrieved August 5, 2012. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 110 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 104 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 107 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 109 Jump up ^ Gerald Horne, Fire this Time : The Watts Uprising and the 1960s, University of Virginia Press, 1995. Jump up ^ Kate Coleman, 1980, `` Souled Out : Eldridge Cleaver Admits He Ambushed Those Cops ''. New West Magazine. Jump up ^ Austin 2006, p. 166 Jump up ^ David Hilliard, This Side of Glory Jump up ^ `` Interview With Eldridge Cleaver ; The Two Nations Of Black America ''. PBS. Retrieved 30 March 2014. Jump up ^ Epstein, Edward Jay ( February 13, 1971 ). `` The Black Panthers and the Police : A Pattern of Genocide ? ''. The New Yorker. p. 4. Retrieved June 8, 2007. Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, pp. 152 -- 158 ^ Jump up to : Epstein, Edward Jay ( February 13, 1971 ). `` The Black Panthers and the Police : A Pattern of Genocide ? ''. New Yorker. Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, pp. 185, 191 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 175 ^ Jump up to : Asante, Molefi K. ( 2005 ). Encyclopedia of Black Studies. Sage Publications Inc. pp. 135 -- 137. ISBN 0 - 7619 - 2762 - X. Jump up ^ Newton, Huey ( October 15, 1966 ). `` The Ten - Point Program ''. War Against the Panthers. Marxist.org. Retrieved June 5, 2006. Jump up ^ Lazerow & Williams 2006, p. 46 Jump up ^ Austin 2006, p. 170 Jump up ^ Horowitz, David ( 13 December 1999 ). `` Black Murder Inc ''. FrontPage Magazine. Retrieved 31 March 2014. Jump up ^ Editor, Lilly Workneh Black Voices Senior ; Editor, The Huffington Post Taryn Finley Black Voices Associate ; Post, The Huffington ( 2016 - 02 - 18 ). `` 27 Important Facts Everyone Should Know About The Black Panthers ''. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017 - 02 - 07. Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, pp. 173, 176 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, pp. 186 -- 187, 191 Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 184 Jump up ^ Black Panther Party Community Programs 1966 - 1982 Jump up ^ Westneat, Danny ( May 11, 2005 ). `` Reunion of Black Panthers stirs memories of aggression, activism ''. Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved March 31, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver Dies at 62 ''. latimes. Retrieved September 12, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Wahad, D.B., Abu - Jamal, M., Shakur, A., Fletcher, J., Jones, T., & Lotringer, S. ( 1993 ). Still Black, still strong : Survivors of the U.S. war against Black revolutionaries. Semiotexte. pp. 221 - 242 ^ Jump up to : Murch, D.J. ( 2010 ). `` Living for the city : Migration, education, and the rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California ''. pp. 171 - 185 ^ Jump up to : Woodard, K., Theoharis, J., & Gore, D.F. ( 2009 ). Want to start a revolution ? : Radical women in the black freedom struggle. New York University Press. pp. 168 - 181 ^ Jump up to : Programs. ( n.d. ). Retrieved from https://nhdblackpantherparty.weebly.com/programs.html ^ Jump up to : Liberation Schools. ( n.d. ). Retrieved from http://scalar.usc.edu/works/pictures-and-progress-the-black-panther-1966-2016/liberation-schools Jump up ^ Ted Gregory, `` Black Panther Raid and the Death of Fred Hampton '', Chicago Tribune. Jump up ^ `` BPP, Chicago Branch '', Encyclopedia of African - American History ( ABC - CLIO ), p. 672. Jump up ^ `` Wes Swearigen on FBI Assassination of Fred Hampton ''. colorado.edu. Retrieved September 12, 2015. Jump up ^ Michael Newton, The Encyclopedia of American Law Enforcement, 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` William Kunstler : Disturbing the Universe '' https://www.pbs.org/pov/disturbingtheuniverse/, PBS website. Jump up ^ Edward Jay Epstein, `` The Black Panthers and the Police : A Pattern of Genocide ? '' New Yorker, February 13, 1971. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, p. 313 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 201 Jump up ^ Young, Benjamin. `` North Korea and the American Radical Left ''. NKIDP e-Dossier no. 14. Woodrow Wilson Center. Retrieved 5 March 2014. Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 318 -- 321 Jump up ^ Marable, Manning ; Agard - Jones, Vanessa ( 2008 ). Transnational Blackness : Navigating the Global Color Line. New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan. p. 183. ISBN 9780230602687. https://books.google.com/books?id=OEJaCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA183&lpg=PA183&dq=barbara+easley+cox+algiers&source=bl&ots=1lhCgQK37V&sig=MuxMKAEjWvL0w-AhGakpbIPdSXE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiP97T387TZAhVIG6wKHbWBD9Y4ChDoAQg7MAM#v=onepage&q=barbara%20easley%20cox%20algiers&f=false Jump up ^ Bloom & Martin 2013, pp. 314 -- 317 ^ Jump up to : Donald Cox, `` Split in the Party '', New Political Science, Vol. 21, No. 2, 1999. Jump up ^ Peniel Joseph, p. 268 ^ Jump up to : Revolutionary Suicide Penguin classics Delux Edition '' page 349 Jump up ^ Jones, Charles Earl, The Black Panther Reconsidered, Black Classic Press, 1998, p. 186. ^ Jump up to : Brown 1993, p. 391 Jump up ^ Brown 1993, p. 392 Jump up ^ Brown 1993, p. 393 Jump up ^ Brian Baggins. `` Black Panther Party ''. marxists.org. Retrieved September 12, 2015. Jump up ^ Revolutionary Suicide Penguin classics Deluxe Edition '' page 351 Jump up ^ Revolutionary Suicide Penguin classics Delux Edition '' page 352 ^ Jump up to : Forbes 2006 Jump up ^ Virginia Heffernan, `` The Gangs of Los Angeles : Roots, Branches and Bloods '', THE New York Times, February 6, 2007. Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, pp. 265, 286, 328 ^ Jump up to : Kelley, Ken. September 15, 1989. `` Huey Newton : I 'll Never Forget ''. East Bay Express, Volume 11, No. 49. Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 283 ^ Jump up to : Perkins, Margo V. Autobiography As Activism : Three Black Women of the Sixties. Jackson : University Press of Mississippi, 2000, p. 5. Jump up ^ Horowitz, David ( December 13, 1999 ) `` Who killed Betty Van Patter ? '' http://www.salon.com/1999/12/13/betty/ Salon.com. Archived December 19, 2005, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Brown 1993, pp. 363 -- 367 Jump up ^ Frank Browning. The Strange Journey of David Horowitz. Mother Jones Magazine, May 1987, p. 34 ( on Google books ) Jump up ^ Christopher Hitchens, `` Left - leaving, left - leaning '', Los Angeles Times, November 16, 2003. Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 328 Jump up ^ Ryder, Ulli Kira ( December 2008 ). `` As Shelters Against the Cold '' : Women Poets of the Black Arts and Chicano Movements, 1965 -- 1978 ( Dissertation ). ProQuest. p. 124. Retrieved September 17, 2016. Jump up ^ McClendon III, John H. ( 1996 ). `` Elaine Brown ''. In Smith, Jessie Carney. Notable Black American Women, Book 2. VNR AG. pp. 66 -- 67. Jump up ^ Brown 1993, p. 444 Jump up ^ Keating, Fiona ( 24 October 2015 ). `` Women of the revolution : More than 50 % of the Black Panther Party were women and carried guns ''. International Business Times. Jump up ^ Brown 1993, pp. 444 -- 450 Jump up ^ Pearson 1994, p. 299 Jump up ^ `` Gunmen Try To Kill Witness Against Black Panther Leader ''. The Leader - Post. October 25, 1977. Jump up ^ Turner, Wallace ( December 14, 1977 ). `` Coast Inquiries Pick Panthers As Target ; Murder, Attempted Murders and Financing of Poverty Programs Under Oakland Investigation ''. New York Times. Jump up ^ `` The Odyssey of Huey Newton ''. Time Magazine. November 13, 1978. ^ Jump up to : Lumsden, Linda ( 2009 ). `` Good Mothers With Guns : Framing Black Womanhood in the Black Panther, 1968 -- 1980 ''. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 86 ( 4 ). Jump up ^ Spencer, Robyn Ceanne ( 2008 ). `` Engendering the Black Freedom Struggle : Revolutionary Black Womanhood and the Black Panther Party in the Bay Area, California ''. Journal of Women History. 20 ( 1 ) : 92. access - date = requires url = ( help ) ^ Jump up to : Williams, Jakobi ( 2012 ). `` ' Do n't no woman have to do nothing she do n't want to do ' : Gender, Activism, and the Illinois Black Panther Party ''. Black Women, Gender & Families. 6 ( 2 ). Jump up ^ The Black Panther party ( reconsidered ). Jones, Charles E. ( Charles Earl ), 1953 -. Baltimore : Black Classic Press. 1998. ISBN 0933121962. OCLC 39228699. ^ Jump up to : 1936 -, Seale, Bobby, ( 1991 ). Seize the time : the story of the Black Panther party and Huey P. Newton. Baltimore, Md. : Black Classic Press. ISBN 9780933121300. OCLC 24636234. Jump up ^ Cleaver, Kathleen Neal ( 1999 - 06 - 01 ). `` Women, power, and revolution ''. New Political Science. 21 ( 2 ) : 231 -- 236. doi : 10.1080 / 07393149908429865. ISSN 0739 - 3148. ^ Jump up to : Blackmon 2008, p. 28 Jump up ^ Blackmon 2008, p. 2 Jump up ^ `` Whose Revolution is This - Gender 's Divisive Role in the Black Panther Party Ninth Symposium Issue of Gender and Sexuality Law : Note 9 Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law 2008 ''. heinonline.org. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Say It Loud : 9 Black Women in the Black Power Movement Everyone Should Know ''. For Harriet Celebrating the Fullness of Black Womanhood. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 06. Jump up ^ Bauer, Kari ( February 22, 2016 ). `` No Revolution Without Us : Feminists of the Black Panther Party, with Lynn C. French and Salamishah Tillet ''. Urban Democracy Lab. Retrieved 25 June 2016. Jump up ^ Regina Jennings, `` Africana Womanism in the Black Panthers Party : a Personal story '', The Western Journal of Black Study 25 / 3 ( 2001 ). Jump up ^ Austin 2006, pp. 300 -- 301 Jump up ^ Alameen - Shavers, Antwanisha ( Fall 2016 ). `` The Woman Question : Gender Dynamics within the Black Panther Party ''. Spectrum : A Journal on Black Men. 5 : 33 -- 62. ^ Jump up to : Jennings, Regina ( 2001 ). `` Africana Womanism in The Black Panther Party : A Personal Story ''. The Western Journal of Black Studies. 25 : 146 -- 152. Jump up ^ Cleaver, Kathleen ; Katsiaficas ( 2001 ). Liberation, Imagination and the Black Panther Party : A new look at the Panthers and their legacy. New York : Routledge. ^ Jump up to : Brown, DeNeen L. ( 2018 - 01 - 10 ). `` ' I have all the guns and money ' : When a woman led the Black Panther Party ''. Washington Post. ISSN 0190 - 8286. Retrieved 2018 - 02 - 18. ^ Jump up to : Jeffries, Judson L. ( Fall 2016 ). `` Conversing with Gwen Robinson ''. Spectrum : A Journal of Black Men. 5 : 137 -- 145. Jump up ^ Jeffries, Judson ( Fall 2016 ). `` Conversing with Gwen Robinson ''. Spectrum : A Journal on Black Men. 5 : 137 -- 145 -- via Project Muse. Jump up ^ Lazerow & Williams ( 2006 ). p. 37 Jump up ^ Jordan Green, `` The strange history of the Black Panthers in the Triad '' Archived September 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., Yes ! Weekly, April 11, 2006. Jump up ^ Hector Tobar `` ' Black Against Empire ' tells the history of Black Panthers '', The Los Angeles Times, January 24, 2013. Jump up ^ `` What Do We Want ? Black Power '' National Civil Rights Museum. Jump up ^ National Civil Rights Museum Curriculum Guide Archived October 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Black Power - Questions to Consider '' Archived October 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine., National Civil Rights Museum. Jump up ^ Layla Garms, `` Black Panther Legacy Honored with Marker '', The Chronicle of Winston - Salem, October 18, 2012. Jump up ^ Photos of the Black Panther Party, Oakland 2006. Jump up ^ Ex-militants charged in S.F. police officer 's ' 71 slaying at station ( via SFGate ) Jump up ^ See Black Liberation Army tied to 1971 slaying and Suspects arrested in police officer 's 1971 shooting had settled into quiet lives. USA Today. Jump up ^ Wohlsen, Marcus ( January 23, 2007 ). `` 8 arrested in 1971 cop - killing tied to Black Panthers ''. The San Diego Union - Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved August 14, 2016. Jump up ^ `` 2nd guilty plea in 1971 killing of S.F. officer '' ( via SFGate ). Jump up ^ DelVecchio, Rick ( October 25, 1997 ). `` Tour of Black Panther Sites : Former member shows how party grew in Oakland ''. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 15, 2011. Jump up ^ `` We 're Assata 's Daughters ''. Zed Collective. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 14 March 2017. Jump up ^ Holly Williams, `` Power struggle : A new exhibition looks back at the rise of the British Black Panthers '', The Independent, October 13, 2013. Jump up ^ Hazelann Williams, `` Reliving The British Black Panther Movement '', The Voice, January 9, 2012. Jump up ^ Schweik, Susan ( 2011 ). `` Lomax 's Matrix The Black Power of 504 ''. Disability Studies Quarterly. 31 : 1. Jump up ^ `` Active U.S. Hate Groups : Black Separatist ''. Splcenter.org. Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2016. CS1 maint : Unfit url ( link ) Jump up ^ Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. `` There Is No New Black Panther Party : An Open Letter From the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation ''. Archived from the original on April 1, 2011. CS1 maint : Unfit url ( link ) Bibliography Austin, Curtis J. ( 2006 ). Up Against the Wall : Violence in the Making and Unmaking of the Black Panther Party. University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1 - 55728 - 827 - 5. Alkebulan, Paul ( 2007 ). Survival Pending Revolution : The History of the Black Panther Party. Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press. Barker, Thomas ( February 13, 2015 ). `` Black and White : The Liberal Media and the Ideology of Black Victimhood ''. CounterPunch. Blackmon, Janiece L. ( 2008 ). I Am Because We Are : Africana Womanism as a Vehicle of Empowerment and Influence. Blacksburg : Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Bloom, Joshua ; Martin, Waldo E. Jr. ( 2013 ). Black against Empire : The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party. University of California Press. p. 315. ISBN 9780520953543. Retrieved 2015 - 12 - 16. Brown, Elaine ( 1993 ). A Taste of Power : A Black Woman 's Story. Anchor. ISBN 0 - 679 - 41944 - 6. Churchill, Ward ; Vander Wall, Jim ( 1988 ). Agents of Repression : The FBI 's Secret War Against the Black Panther Party and the American Indian Movement. South End Press. ISBN 0 - 89608 - 294 - 6. Dooley, Brian ( 1998 ). Black and Green : The Fight for Civil Rights in Northern Ireland and Black America. Pluto Press. Forbes, Flores A. ( 2006 ). Will You Die With Me ? My Life and the Black Panther Party. Atria Books. ISBN 0 - 7434 - 8266 - 2. Hilliard, David ; Cole, Lewis ( 1993 ). This Side of Glory : The Autobiography of David Hilliard and the Story of the Black Panther Party. Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 0 - 316 - 36421 - 5. Lewis, John ( 1998 ). Walking with the Wind. Simon and Schuster. p. 353. ISBN 0 - 684 - 81065 - 4. Lazerow, Jama ; Williams, Yohuru, eds. ( 2006 ). In Search of the Black Panther Party : New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement. Durham : Duke University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8223 - 3890 - 1. Murch, Donna ( 2010 ). Living for the City : Migration, Education, and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California. University of North Carolina. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8078 - 7113 - 3. Pearson, Hugh ( 1994 ). The Shadow of the Panther : Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America. De Capo Press. ISBN 0 - 201 - 48341 - 6. Rhodes, Jane ( 2007 ). Framing the Black Panthers : The Spectacular Rise of a Black Power Icon. New York : The New Press. Shames, Stephen ( 2006 ). `` The Black Panthers ''. Aperture. A photographic essay of the organization, allegedly suppressed due to Spiro Agnew 's intervention in 1970. Swirski, Peter ( 2010 ). `` 1960s The Return of the Black Panther : Irving Wallace 's The Man ''. Ars Americana Ars Politica. Montreal, London : McGill - Queen 's University Press. pp. 26 -- 56. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7735 - 3766 - 8. JSTOR j. ctt80bj0. Further reading and resources `` The Black Panthers : Vanguard of the Revolution Documentary about Black Panther Party Independent Lens PBS ''. Independent Lens. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 06. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Black Panther Party Wikimedia Commons has media related to Black Panthers. Seattle Black Panther Party History and Memory Project The largest collection of materials on any single chapter. Mapping American Social Movements : Mapping the Black Panther Party in Key Cities tracks the geography of the BPP, including offices, facilities, and locations of key events in six cities. ( 1 ) official website according to the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. FBI file on the BPP https://web.archive.org/web/20150704181939/https://vault.fbi.gov/Black%20Panther%20Party Incidents attributed to the Black Panthers at the START database Young Lords in Lincoln Park FBI Docs Contains FBI Files on BPP members, information on destroyed BPP FBI files, and inventories of BPP FBI files held by the National Archives Archives UC Berkeley Social Activism Online Sound Recordings : The Black Panther Party Hartford Web Publishing collection of BPP documents The Black Panther Party Newspaper, Electronic Archive, Published in Black Thought and Culture, Alexander Street Press, Alexandria, VA 2005. Wayne Au, `` ' What We Want, What We Believe ' : Teaching with the Black Panthers ' Ten Point Program '', 7 - page lesson plan for high school students, 2001, Zinn Education Project / Rethinking Schools. The Party 's Over, a 1978 profile and history of the Party by New Times magazine. Benjamin R. Young, `` ' Our Common Struggle against Our Common Enemy ' : North Korea and the American Radical Left '', NKIDP e-Dossier no. 14, Woodrow Wilson Center. An essay and selection of primary sources on the Black Panther Party 's ties with North Korea in the late 1960s. Berger, Maurice ( September 8, 2016 ). `` Reconsidering the Black Panthers Through Photos ''. The New York Times. Black Panther Party Founders Huey P. Newton Bobby Seale Other members Ashanti Alston Richard Aoki Charles Barron William Lee Brent Elaine Brown Joan Tarika Lewis Safiya Bukhari Stokely Carmichael Bunchy Carter Eldridge Cleaver Kathleen Cleaver Donald Cox Angela Davis Aaron Dixon Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin James Forman David Hilliard Ericka Huggins John Huggins George Jackson Jamal Joseph Chaka Khan Robert Hillary King Pete O'Neal Geronimo Pratt Larry Pinkney Alex Rackley Malik Rahim Nile Rodgers Bobby Rush Afeni Shakur Robert Trivers Mumia Abu - Jamal H. Rap Brown Marshall `` Eddie '' Conway Warren Kimbro Lonnie McLucas George W. Sams Jr. Assata Shakur Russell Melvin Shoats Veronza Bowers, Jr. Robert Hillary King Dhoruba bin Wahad Herman Wallace Albert Woodfox Mark Clark Fred Hampton Bobby Hutton Influences Black Power Deacons for Defense and Justice Frantz Fanon Lowndes County Freedom Organization Maoism Socialism Malcolm X Robert F. Williams Inspired groups American Indian Movement Black Guerrilla Family Black Liberation Army Black Panthers ( Israel ) Black Riders Liberation Party British Black Panthers George Jackson Brigade Gray Panthers Huey P. 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3 ISNI : 0000 0001 2180 572X LCCN : n80095585 NKC : kn20080317001 NLA : 49288640 SELIBR : 310102 SUDOC : 033731055 VIAF : 148335011 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Panther_Party&oldid=856104947 '' Categories : Black Panther Party 1966 establishments in California African and Black nationalism in the United States African - American history in Oakland, California Anti-fascist organizations Anti-racism Black political parties in the United States Black Power Civil rights movement COINTELPRO targets Communism in the United States Counterculture of the 1960s Crime in the San Francisco Bay Area Defunct American political movements History of Oakland, California History of socialism Maoist organizations in the United States New Left Political movements Political parties established in 1966 Political parties of minorities Politics and race in the United States Politics of Oakland, California Socialism in the United States Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from August 2018 Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL CS1 maint : Unfit url Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages Articles needing more viewpoints from July 2016 Use mdy dates from June 2012 All articles with specifically marked weasel - 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Question: when did the black panther party come out
Answer: October 1966