May 19 1970

## **Overview**

In the May 19,1970 issue of the Black Panther News, many concerns were discussed such as the Kent State shooting, new breakfast programs, tutorials on how to organize self-defense groups, and the uncovering of police interrogation tactics. During this time, the number one song was “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel and the number one movie was *Love Story*, but devastating things were also occurring.

#### **Kent State University**

On May 4, 1970 a crowd gathered to protest the employment of United States troops in the Vietnam War, however, it turned violent when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on the crowd at Kent State University. The shooting injured nine people and killed four students. In the aftermath, the Black Panther Party began to push even harder for the end to police brutality and equality for everyone. Throughout this issue, the Black Panther Party also reiterated their main ideologies, such as their Ten Points and the teachings of Malcolm X.

## **"Pig Nixon"**

With the presidential election transpiring in two years, the Black Panther Party used this issue to define the party’s political opinions and how they felt about Richard Nixon. The Party consistently refers to Nixon as “Pig-Hearted Nixon”, for they claimed he was using his power to suppress the protesters and add fire to the Vietnam War. Nixon’s negligence in aiding the Panthers in their cause has conveyed the message that the cause is not worth fighting for. The president is supposed to lead a democratic country, however, he is stripping the people of their power and transferring it to himself. So, the Panthers strongly believe that candidates similar to Nixon should not be elected in the next election because they will do nothing to further the fight for equality. However, their efforts failed and Nixon would be re-elected during the 1972 election.

## **Organizing Self-Defense Groups**

One big belief of the Black Panther Party was arming themselves and always being ready to defend themselves against attacks. This is seen throughout the newsletter when the Party explains how to form a successful defense group, control a gun, and make homemade antidote for tear gas. In this section, guns are explained in detail, including how to arm a gun and what each part of the gun does. As seen on the side, charts such as these were often included to help inform the public. Also, teargas was often used by police to subdue protests, so the Party included a recipe to help protesters overcome the force of the police.

## **Breakfast Programs**

While the Black Panther Party was focused on defending themselves from the police, they were also concerned with providing necessities to their communities. One common program they provided was the breakfast programs, which were concentrated on making sure everyone ate a healthy breakfast. However, the police would sometimes use this program to harm the communities, like poisoning the breakfast, which would make the Panther Party look bad if its community got sick. This did not stop the Panther Party from acting on its fundamental belief and feeding over 10,000 children breakfast everyday.

## **Police Brutality and Inequality**

#### **Investigations**

When the police would arrest members of the Black Panther Party, they would often use investigation tactics that violated constitutional rights. During interviews, police do not allow ‘suspects’ to receive legal aid or have a fair jury during trial. Quite often, the police would arrest and interrogate people with no probable cause. Other times, the police would use younger people as informants. As stated in the newsletter, “Attempts to secretly use children as informants can cause serious embarrassment through the complaints of parents.” The police would use any means possible, even if they were unjust, to attempt to gain information and take down the Black Panther Party.

#### **Medical Care**

During this time, hospitals in predominantly black communities either turned away patients or were not equipped to handle injuries. The newsletter expresses that, “The hospitals in the slums of large cities are filthy, degrading, inadequate, and just plain disgusting, and the people are tired of the constant disregard of their health.” With this outcry, the Panthers decided to allocate money and create new hospitals that would function efficiently. The people were fed up with not receiving suitable healthcare, so the Party decided to take this issue into their own hands since the government would not provide funding to reform the medical systems.

## **Senseless Killings and Imprisonments**

A big function of the Black Panther Party Newsletter is to highlight recent murders by police and unjustified imprisonments.

#### **Bruce Richards**

The most recent arrest was Bruce Richards after Los Angeles Police Department killed another member, Walter Pope. The newsletter refers to him as a “political prisoner” because the police had constantly been harassing him until they ended up arresting him with no just cause. The Panthers plan to continue this arrest and the arrest of other members, as these imprisonments reflect a prejudice towards the Black Panther Party.

#### **Murders**

As stated before, the newsletter also serves to highlight the murders of Black Panther members by police. In these stories, the Party emphasizes how its members are being killed solely because they are black. In most cases, the people were doing everyday things when police showed up and either killed or detained them. By including these stories, the Party is spreading awareness and making sure the names of the victims are never forgotten.

## **Ideologies**

#### **Ten Points**

These Ten Points were the fundamental beliefs of the Black Panther Party, which called for equality, equal access to healthcare, education, and the withdrawal of troops from Vietnam.

#### **Malcolm X**

Malcolm X was an integral figure in the Civil Right Movement, a movement that pushed to gain equal rights for African Americans in the United States. The Black Panther Party often modeled their ideas after the teachings, which taught that all people deserve equal rights and access to necessities.

#### **Mao Zedong**

Mao Zedong was a Chinese member of the Communist Party who led China through the successful Communist Revolution. He taught Maoism, which teaches that State power should be captured through revolution and then distributed equally among all people.

## **Links and Resources**

Malcolm X Biography

Ten Point Program

Mao Zedong

Kent State University Information

Breakfast Programs