Black Panther Party [1]
Black Panther Party
See also: Wilmington Ten [2]; Wilmington Ten (from UNC-CH) [3]
[4]The Black Panther Party [5] was founded in Oakland, Calif., in October 1966. The controversial organization espoused black pride and black control of neighborhood institutions, preached self-defense against alleged police brutality in African American [6] communities, and developed educational and food programs for the local black poor. The Black Panther Party quickly drew national media attention, and chapters formed in such cities as Chicago, [7]New York City, Des Moines, and Denver.
In North Carolina, Greensboro [8] had some Black Panther adherents, and Charlotte supporters formed the Afro-American Unity Organization, which failed to receive official recognition by the Oakland party headquarters. Benjamin Chavis, a future defendant in the Wilmington Ten [2] case, served as an officer in the short-lived Charlotte organization. It was Winston-Salem [9], however, that became home to the state's most organized Panther chapter [10], which operated a Free Breakfast for Children program; provided free clothing, free ambulance service, and classes in black consciousness; and held small rallies to promote its causes. The Winston-Salem office also established a satellite Community Information Center in nearby High Point, where a local police officer was wounded during a gun battle in February 1971.
Wherever it settled, including in Charlotte [11] and Winston-Salem [9], the Black Panther Party attracted the heavy scrutiny of the Federal Bureau of Investigation [12]. The bureau did not close its counterintelligence program files on the Black Panthers in North Carolina until the mid-1970s. By then, the Winston-Salem chapter, like many other Black Panther affiliates nationwide, was badly hampered by lack of funds, internal dissension, and the incarceration of its members.
Reference:
Philip S. Foner, ed., The Black Panthers Speak (2002).
Image Credit:
Black Panther Convention, Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C., June 19, 1970. Image courtesy of Library of Congress. Available from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003688170/ [4] (accessed September 19, 2012).
Black Panther Convention, Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C., June 19, 1970. Image courtesy of Library of Congress.Available from http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.04304/ [7] (accessed September 19, 2012).
1 January 2006 | Schutz, J. Christopher