January 17 1970

## **Introduction**

The year 1970 was that of war. Richard Nixon created more conflict in Vietnam. Protests across the U.S. marched in opposition to the violent war. The U.S. senate removes some of the power Nixon and Johnson had in the war, which began the process of the war's end. However, the year was not just about the conflict in Vietnam. There was also conflict among arguably the most famous band ever. 1970 was the year The Beatles split up. Even though those things are important (one of those things more than others) that isn't the main focus. Many of the Black Panther Party Newspapers were released, but this Wiki will focus mainly on the article written for January 17, 1970 and a few of their major headlines.

## **The Black Panther Party**

The Black Panther Party, or BPP, was a group of people that wished to resolve the violence done to the black community. Many think of them as the black version of the Ku Klux Klan due to the pronounced presence of weapons at their meetings. However, the Black Panther Party made it clear that they were like their mascot. The panther would only attack in defense, never offense. The Black Panther Party displayed this by having rallies after an event had occurred, and would never attack unless provoked.

## **Major Headlines**

* The Victors Prove The L.A. Judicial System To Be A Lie, Farce and Mockery of Justice
	+ This was a trial against several members of the Black Panther Party
	+ Many police officers called to the stand could not actually verify the members' actual location
	+ Due to a lack of true testimony and solid evidence, the members were released, and the system dubbed a "farce and mockery of justice"
* Prisoners Are Denied Health Rights
	+ Concern on this topic began on December 8, 1969 after LAPD police conducted raids without warrants.
	+ Panthers who have been arrested were victims of medical abuse that damaged their health and denied them the right of proper medical treatment.
	+ Prisoners x-rays were taken before the medical mistreatment, as well as beatings done by officers. This meant that the damage done by a brutal police force wouldn't show up on an x-ray.
	+ A prisoner named Paul Redd was arrested without harm. After drawing "revolutionary art" in his cell, his hand was destroyed by officers.
	+ Several more examples show police brutality and lack of care for inmates.
* Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton, Drugged Then Murdered
	+ On January 4, 1970, a Monday, the Deputy Minister of Defense released information at a press conference stating that a man named Fred Hampton had been drugged prior to his death.
	+ The amount of drugs in his system was enough to debilitate him.
	+ The Black Panther Party believed this to be a "clearly planned" assassination.
* Panther, An Epileptic, Seeks His Freedom
	+ The epileptic in the handline is named Lee Berry.
	+ Lee Berry was being held in maximum security since his arrest at the Veterans Hospital.
	+ He was denied medical attention to his serious condition.
	+ He had eight seizures during the length of nine months.
	+ He was given sedatives and was unable to respond to a guard for a "count." After not being able to respond, Lee was given a "severe beating."
	+ In December of 1969, Lee was moved to Bellevue Hospital after going into a coma.
	+ There was a demonstration held in front of the hospital.
* Family of Ten Threatened With Eviction
	+ Many major cities began removing blacks from their housing, and this removal was dubbed as "Urban Renewal."
	+ The logic of this was "'these poor colored people and all the other poor souls who live in these dilapidated houses don't make very much money nor do they have much political power, plus their neighborhoods are usually close to our burgeoning downtown areas. It therefore seems to me that we should lay up all of the land, force all of the residents to move and build apartments in their places that can serve as housing for all those people who are not poor and who contribute greatly to the city's economy. We will call this project URBAN RENEWAL.'"
		- Translation "we take out the black people who are already struggling, replace their homes with better ones, invite them back if they make enough money even though we know they already don't."
	+ The Black Panther: Mirror of the People
		- This part of the newspaper explains the reason for the newspaper.
		- The newspaper has the message of getting the news out to the people and what they need to hear.
	+ Eritrea...The Little Known Struggle
		- Eritrea had been going through struggle since 1961 and the outside world was not very interested or knowledgeable about it.
		- Once an Italian colony, Eritrea was stripped of its possessions once WWII ended.
		- A policy pushed by the U.S. made the country a protectorate of the United Nations.
		- Eritrea tried to become an independent nation, but was unable to do so.

## **Summary**

The newspaper on this day contained lots of information on the apparent lack of care for the black community. The focus on police brutality was clear already because that's why the Black Panther Party was made, but the focus on the abuse inside the jail was staggering. Most of the talk of brutality was during arrest and even before. Black inmates being denied basic healthcare and safety inside of jail, not because of other inmates, but due to officers abusing their power.

Another item of interest was the obvious removal of black people from communities. The clear want of black people to be gone from cities and replaced with buildings that everyone knew blacks couldn't afford, was so blatantly obvious, it's staggering that the Black Panther Party had to straight up translate what they quote said.

It's amazing how the Black Panther Party was only a defensive party. It takes large amounts of mental strength to hold back what is truly felt when everything around is screaming to fight back. The Black Panther Party was in no way the black version of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan attacked the innocent and slaughtered the weak. The Black Panther Party defended a community in poverty when no one else would.