December 18 1971

## Context

To get a better idea of the context behind this specific Black Panther Party newsletter, here is a list of some things that happened in 1971:

* Often marked as the "Start of the Digital Age", since the Microprocessor was invented that year.
* The voting age in America was lowered to 18 years old when the 26th amendment was ratified.
* Richard Nixon was president.
* The Walt Disney World Theme Park opened.
* India and Pakistan erupt into full-scale war over border battles.
* NASA's Apollo 14 launched.
* The Soviet Union launched their first space station, Salyut 1.
* The New York Times starts to publish portions of the Pentagon Papers, which led to distrust in the US Government from the American People.
* Charles Manson and 3 of his followers received the death penalty
* "Family Affair" by Sly and the Family Stone was the #1 song in America at the time

## The retrial of Huey P. Newton

Huey P. Newton was known best for co-founding the Black Panther Party with Bobby Seale. Seale and Newton created the 10-point-program for the Black Panther Party as well.

In this particular issue of the Black Panther Party Newsletter, Newton is about to face his fourth trial, due to another jury unable to reach a verdict. The Black Panthers viewed this trial to be unjust saying, "It is the County, not the People, who brought this case to trial. It is the State of California, not the People, which has wasted millions of dollars to bring a false conviction against Huey P. Newton and use its machinery to silence Huey P. Newton."

The article then goes on to claim that the State government has attempted to murder Newton. According to the article, "Unable to murder Huey P. Newton back in October of 1967, the State government attempted to justify their murderous attempt and carry out their task by creating a dramatic story, to be upheld by the people." Later, they finish off the article by saying, "The system of selecting the grand jury needs challenging, as it is discriminatory, not only on the basis of race and sex, but on the basis of age; and the county jury selection process must be completely overhauled, in favor of one that would allow Blacks, other minorities and poor people to sit on juries in this county. The inability of the jury to reach a decision once again has revealed one outstanding point: The gross corruption of the California State Judicial Process."

## Reverend Nichols and the School Board

Reverend Henry Nichols was a huge supporter of civil rights, social issues, and education in the 60s and 70s. He was the Vice President of the Board of Education in Philadelphia form 1965 to 1971. In 1971, he was not allowed to be on the Board of Education any longer, believed to be caused by Mayor James H.J. Tate and Mayor-elect Frank L. Rizzo. It is believed that Rizzo did this because when he was police commissioner, Nichols made a comment about officers, calling them "a bunch of slap-happy cops."

This led to a major backlash from members of the Black community in Philadelphia. Black students gathered together to peacefully protest the removal of Reverend Nichols, but were met with a brutal response from the police. A quote from the newspaper stated, "As many Black Philadelphians can recall, one day that month, Black students peacefully demonstrated en masse at the Board of Education Building, to transform the Philadelphia education system into a meaningful one for black students. Naturally, the police were out in full force. Rizzo's command of "Get their black asses" set the police upon the students, brutalizing them at will."

To fight back against this, the article states, "The Black community, which strongly supports Reverend Nichols, would not tolerate this state of affairs, and began a vigorous campaign to have the brother reappointed. In the face of 16,000 names demanding that he be reappointed, Tate-Rizzo said, 'No.' Subsequently, Tate told him, 'You can't be controlled.'" Since Tate and Rizzo ignored the wants of the black community, it outraged them and they protested at City Hall. Unfortunately, they were still ignored. Taking an even bigger step, the article states, "(T)he Black Ministers Association has called for a boycott of all white businesses in Philadelphia until Reverend Nichols is reappointed. The Pennsylvania Chapter of the Black Panther Party heartily endorses this boycott as it is the urgent desire of the Black Community that Reverend Henry Nichols be reappointed." They finished out this article by using Tate's quote that said Reverend Nichols cannot be controlled as a empowering statement, rather than the original meaning by Tate.

## Hospitals in Black Communities Closing

One of the many things the Black Panther Party advocated for was equal healthcare. In the city of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina, there was an obvious disadvantage in Black communities beginning.

    The articles goes on to explain, "The main hospital serving the people of East Winston, and also the Walker-town community, is Reynolds Memorial Hospital.... While the hospital mainly serves the Black community of Winston-Salem, it also serves part of the white community. The emergency room handles most of the emergencies (accidents, heart attacks, stabbings, shootings) in the Black Community of Winston-Salem, and is therefore, obviously necessary for the people's survival. The Forsyth County Hospital Authority, the governing (dictating) body over Reynolds Memorial Hospital and Forsyth Memorial Hospital, in conspiracy with the Forsyth Health Planning Council, is plotting to phase out RMH into a general hospital, and, close the emergency room... Therefore, when people I'm the Black community are in emergency room situations, and in urgent need of immediate medical attention, they will have to go to the Forsyth Memorial Hospital on the other side of town, miles away."

To counter this, the Winston-Salem Branch of the Black Panther Party began the process of opening a People's Free Health Clinic with mobile units, so the Black community has better access to immediate healthcare. They end this article by saying, "WE must protest and resist, or any of us could die on the way to somewhere else."

## Other Key Features

One other main article included in this issue of the Black Panther Party Newsletter was "Eight Old Fascist's To Judge David". This article discusses David Hilliard and the abuse and mistreatment he was facing in prison and on trial. For example, "Folsom officials have harassed, kicked out and removed visitors from David's lists. They have also held up and censored his mail to and from his family and friends. They have even denied David his legal materials, as well as any reading materials of any sort." They also go on to reveal how small Hilliard's cell is, how the government is falsifying charges, and give descriptions of the parole board who will decide if Hilliard gets released or not.

There are also articles about Bobby Seales speech in Chicago, on December 4th, the second anniversary of the assassinations of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, the closing of committees for the Black Panther Party due to misplacing of funds, and an interview with Father Earl A. Neil. Hampton and Clark were a prominent members of the Black Panther Party who were murdered by law enforcement officials, for no reason. They were ambushed in their hotel rooms and shot and killed, while Clark stood guard and Hampton slept.

## References

Reverend Nichols Obituary By the New York Times

Article About the History of Reynolds Memorial Hospital

Black Panther Party Ten Point Program

Dissertation about the Philadelphia branch of the Black Panther Party

People V. Newton case Wikipedia