June 19 1971

## Overview

In June of 1971 a lot of impactful events took place. The sputnik program was in full gear as the space race continued on between the Soviets and the United States. President Nixon starting the "War on the Drugs" and the "Pentagon Papers" were just released to the public. The number one songs on the Billboard top 100 were, "It's too late/I Feel the Earth Move" by Carole King.

## Sickle Cell Anemia

In an interview with Mrs. Ozella Keys and Mrs. Brenda Pennington they both describe their experience with discovering they have Sickle Cell Anemia and what their treatment is like. Sickle Cell Anemia according to the Mayo Clinic is "an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout your body". Mrs. Key found out she had Sickle Cell when she had a complete blood count test taken during a tonsil removal visit. Mrs. Pennington discovered she suffered from Sickle Cell when she was admitted to the hospital after collapsing from abdominal pain. After a multitude of tests and proposed diagnoses they figured out it was the Sickle Cell trait. The pressing issue is how little this detrimental disease is covered in medical books and basic treatments. Mrs. Pennington, who was in medical school, admitted she believes that there was maybe only a paragraph at the end of her hematology book about Sickle Cell. Mrs. Key receives oxygen and very strong medication to help with her Sickle Cell, but as Mrs. Pennington points out there are many bad side effects to the medication. Mrs. Key elaborates and explains that there is no proper dosage, so many people are given too little or too much because little to no research had gone into the treatment of Sickle Cell. Both women encouraged all black people to get tested for Sickle Cell and also advocate for more research.

## Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song

Sweet Sweetback's Badasssss Song was written and directed by Melvin Van Peebles and was released on April, 23rd 1971. It follows Sweet Sweetback (played by Melvin Van Peebles) who becomes a fugitive on the run after killing two white police officers. Huey Newton, Minister of defense and co-founder of the Black Panther Party decided to review the movie for its symbolism. In this review he claims it is the first truly revolutionary black film. He describes how Sweet Sweetback depicts the struggle and hardships of the black community. He explains that Melvin wanted the movie to be seen by kids as they are the future of not only the black community but also the world. He believes the essence of the film is in how the oppressed and oppressors see things from a different point of view. He believes that this film is a direct representation of the black and its usage of symbolism and deeper meaning extrapolate that thought.

## David Hilliard's Conviction

On June 12th David Hilliard was convicted of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. David Hilliard was the chief of staff for the Black Panther Party. The incident happened on April 6th, 1968 and it stemmed from a police attack on the black community in which 17 year old, and fellow Black Panther member, Bobby Hutton was shot and killed. The issue that the Party addressed was that the jury was all-white and resembled nothing of his peer group. Another frustrating aspect of the case was that the D.A., Frank Vakota, couldn't present the jury and court a gun. There was also no one in the court except David, his wife, and his attorney. The case doesn't allow a bail, and David sat in jail while the jury was deliberating. The case was frustrating for the black community, and highlighted all of the negative aspects of the American court system.

## Jo Etha Collier

Jo Etha Collier was an 18 year black woman and member of the Black Panther Party. She was brutally murdered by three white vigilantes in Drew, Mississippi on the night of May 25th, 1971. Sadly, this widely publicized event and story came as a surprise to no-one in the black community because for years this has been happening. A few miles away from Drew, Mississippi is where the infamous Emmitt Till murder happened. The black community knew and understood that even though the three culprits were in custody they shouldn't have any belief that justice will be served in the corrupt, racist American court system.

## The Virginia Five

The Virginia Five consisted of Charles Brunson and Jacob Bethea who were apart of the Black Panther Party out of Washington D.C. and Junius Underwood, Howard Moore, and his brother Albert Moore who were apart of the black community in Richmond, Virginia. All five were caught up in what is described as a "trumped-up gun conspiracy case". The claim is that a drug abuser is a police informer and he is a main contributor to getting the five of them locked up. The Virginia government also got the Virginia state bar involved and also tried to charge their lawyer, LeRoy Green, and get his license revoked. This along with the many other cases of racial injustice within the American court system is just the reason the Black Panther Party fights.

## Resources

Sickle Cell info

Movie reviews and info on Sweet Sweetback's

Jo Etha Collier info and article

Bobby Seale and Huey Newton info

Billboard top 100 in 1971