The 5 takeaways from The Black Panthers documentary
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, more than a million people tuned in to PBS on Tuesday to watch the documentary “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution,” produced by Independent Lens. The conversation continued online, with #BlackPanthersPBStrending worldwide long after the documentary’s end.
The Black Panthers weren’t anti-white:
Although the Black Panthers developed a reputation for being “a violent organization” that was anti-white and “wanted to kill cops” (as described by Los Angeles police officer Ron McCarthy in the film), the Black Panthers believed in violence only as a means of self defense. Founding members chose the panther for a reason: the animal typically only attacks when provoked.
Gender roles and gender equality didn’t always match:
Black women were vital to the success of the Black Panther Party. By the 1970s, women made up the majority of the organization. But even as the movement sought to contradict traditional gender roles and empower women to arm themselves, misogyny was still rampant.
The Panthers had global support:
With an unpopular war going on in Vietnam, many places around the world were outright anti-American or strongly against U.S. involvement in foreign affairs. So, tactically, the Panthers garnered support for their cause by meeting with some the U.S.’s biggest critics: North Korea, China and Vietnam. Members also spread the word of black suffrage in the states by meeting with leaders of African nations including Algeria and Ghana. Supporters joined the movement worldwide, some even created their own.
The Black Panthers were brought down from the inside out:
A combination of in-fighting and government infiltration signaled the end of the Black Panther Party by the early 1980s. The FBI, under the illegal counter-intelligence program known as COINTELPRO, successfully planted informants within the organization to both stifle its plans and create internal conflict. And it worked. Former agents allege the FBI secretly arranged for panthers to get guns, only to be arrested and sentenced for possessing them during orchestrated raids. Over time, most of the panther’s most vocal members were either in jail or dead. Former informant William O’Neal admitted to providing details vital for agents to execute an offensive that killed emerging leader Fred Hampton and injured several others. While O’Neal was paid a mere $300 for providing information, Hampton’s family received a $1.85 million settlement from the the City of Chicago, Cook County and the federal government.
The Black Panther legacy remains:
Many social programs today can trace their beginnings to reforms instituted under the Black Panther Party’s 10-point plan, including a free breakfast program that primarily serves low-income, minority students. The Panthers also opened more than a dozen free health clinics (called the People’s Free Medical Centers) nationwide, offering services like diabetes monitoring and sickle-cell screenings to the poor. More than 40 years later, thousands of health clinics around the country model this community-based initiative.Â
The last point is especially important!
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