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<font size=3>40 YEARS AFTER: THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY<br>
_________________________________________________________________________<br>
<br>
By Mumia Abu-Jamal<br>
[Col. Writ. 4/30/06]<br>
Source: Afrikan Frontline Network, nattyreb@comcast.net<br>
- Sunday, 7 May 2006 -<br><br>
Amazingly, it has been 40 years since the Black Panther Party was
founded.<br><br>
Some sticklers to detail will point to the fact that it was in October,
not May, of 1966, that the Black Panther Party was founded by two young
men in Oakland, California, named Huey P. Newton and Bobby
Seale.<br><br>
That's true; but that's not the end of the story.<br><br>
The late African nationalist, Kwame Ture (formerly known as Stokely
Carmichael), when a leader of SNCC (or Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee), published a month before Huey and Bobby joined together, an
article detailing SNCC's efforts to organize both in the South and the
Northeast. In a September, 1966 article published in the "New York
Review of Books", Ture wrote:<br><br>
"SNCC today is working in both North and South on programs of voter
registration and independent political organizing. In some places, such
as Alabama, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, and New Jersey,
independent organizing under the black panther symbol is in progress. The
creation of a national "black panther party" must come about;
it will take time to build, and it is much too early to predict its
success. We have no infallible master plan and we make no claim to
exclusive knowledge of how to end racism; different groups will work in
their own different ways. SNCC cannot spell out the full logistics of
self-determination, but it can address itself to the problem by helping
black communities define their needs, realize their strength, and go into
action along a variety of lines which they must choose for themselves.
Without knowing all the answers, it can address itself to the basic
problem of poverty, to the fact that in Lowndes County 86 white families
own 90 per cent of the land. What are black people in that county going
to do for jobs; where are they going to get money? There must be
reallocation of land, of money. [From: Carmichael, Stokely. Stokely
Speaks: Black Power Back to Pan-Africanism (New York: Vintage,
1965/1971). p. 22.]<br><br>
It was in fact, SNCC's efforts in Lowndes County, Alabama, that inspired
Huey to use the name 'Black Panther Party.'<br><br>
But, it's been 40 years. It's safe to say that much of the history
of Huey's Party remains hidden history. This isn't rhetoric -- it's
fact.<br><br>
One year ago, I received a wealth of letters from college students who
read my book, "WE WANT FREEDOM: A Life in the Black Panther
Party" (South End, 2004). Here, scores of letters, from a wide
variety of students from various racial and ethnic groups, almost all of
whom expressed shock and surprise, not just at the unknown history of the
Party, but of the history of Black history overall. One writer, Shanara
P. noted, "... most of the facts you wrote in your book were never
taught in the schools I went to."<br><br>
Wayne S. wrote: "'The Beginnings of the Black Panther Party and the
History it Sprang From' and 'The Deep Roots of the Struggle for Black
Liberation' should become amendments to the history books which choose to
leave out the violent uprisings against slavery. If I had not read these
chapters, I could have been a graduate-level student about to get a
masters degree but would have absolutely no idea of one of the catalysts
of the Civil War, such as the Christiana rebellion. This is just one
example of the pseudo factual history books which are being implanted
around our schools."<br><br>
Another student, Jon M., wrote: "I feel cheated because this is the
first time I have heard such stories."<br><br>
As a writer and historian, I was, of course, delighted by such letters.
But as a former member of the Party, it was eye-opening at how invisible
the Party has become with the passage of time.<br><br>
But why should we be surprised? What did we expect?<br><br>
The Party played a major role, in its time, to organize our People into
resistance to the State. For many millions of youth, Black History means
reading about (or hearing boring lectures about) Frederick Douglass,
Martin Luther King, Jr., and perhaps Malcolm X. It rarely goes deeper
than that.<br><br>
Before this generation goes on to its ancestors, we should, we must, do
our level best to pass on our lessons, so that they live in our people's
minds and lives.<br><br>
There is, already, a new formation that has arisen, which calls itself
New Afrikan Black Panther Party, which has prison chapters in several
states. Unlike other formations which have used the BPP name, these
youngsters actually read and study the works of Huey P. Newton, George
Jackson, and other leading Party members. The struggle
continues!<br><br>
Copyright 2006 Mumia Abu-Jamal. All rights reserved.<br><br>
Mr. Jamal's new work, WE WANT FREEDOM: A Life in the Black Panther Party,
is now available from South End Press, Cambridge, MA.
(<a href="http://www.southendpress.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.southendpress.org</a>).<br><br>
Check out Mumia's NEW book: "Faith of Our Fathers: An Examination of
the Spiritual Life of African and African-American People":
<a href="http://www.africanworld.com/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.africanworld.com</a>.<br><br>
These are VERY SERIOUS TIMES for political activists in this country and
around the world. Get full details and keep updated by reading ACTION
ALERTS!! at
<a href="http://www.mumia.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.mumia.org</a>
and
<a href="http://www.movenet.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.movenet.org</a>.<br><br>
To download Mp3's of Mumia's commentaries visit
<a href="http://www.prisonradio.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.prisonradio.org</a> or
<a href="http://www.fsrn.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.fsrn.org<br>
<br>
</a>The Power of Truth is Final -- Free Mumia!<br><br>
CHECK
<a href="http://www.mumia.org/" eudora="autourl">http://www.mumia.org</a>
FOR IMPORTANT ACTION ALERTS!<br><br>
PLEASE CONTACT: International Concerned Family & Friends of MAJ; P.O.
Box 19709; Philadelphia, PA 19143; Tel: 215-476-8812; Fax: 215-476-6180:
E-mail: icffmaj@aol.com AND OFFER YOUR SERVICES!<br><br>
Send our brotha some LOVE and LIGHT at:<br>
Mumia Abu-Jamal<br>
AM 8335<br>
SCI-Greene<br>
175 Progress Drive<br>
Waynesburg, PA 15370<br><br>
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