Largely due to its “Survival Programs,” the party was embraced in nearly 70 communities across the U.S. But those words also meant nutrition, health care and political education for the Black community, said Erika Huggins, who was the first woman to lead a chapter of the Panther Party. The party eventually dropped “for Self Defense” from its name. In interviews, former Panther members acknowledged that the party’s very name drove perceptions that it only operated by force and intimidation. And there were the Panther formations, marches and patrols, meant as a show of discipline and strength. The party became famous in its early years for its men and women in matching black berets and black leather jackets, sometimes accessorized by long-barrel shotguns. Among their demands: Freedom to determine the destiny of the Black community, economic empowerment through full employment and wealth redistribution, an educational system inclusive of the Black experience, and an end to brutality and fatal encounters between Black people and police. Together, they wrote the party’s Ten Point Program, laying out the party’s beliefs. Newton was the party’s minister for defense and Seale was the party chairman. _Īfter meeting at a community college in Oakland, Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in October 1966. “You’re hearing more about the Black Panther Party, and Huey’s contributions to (Black) liberation as a thought leader, than you’ve ever heard before,” she said. Among her goals: recognition of Panther sites by the U.S. She said the bronze bust is just a start of a larger effort to see the Black Power movement take its place in history with other, less confrontational actors of the civil rights movement. Newton Foundation in Oakland, is among those who want to retell the Panthers story for a new generation. Some of the party’s biggest accomplishments, like its community service programs, helped transform public education and health care.įredrika Newton, who co-founded the Dr. All are welcome.Yet over its 15 years of operation, the party and its politics were a training ground and an inspiration for a generation of Black, Latino, Asian, Native American and white people who hold public office or public platforms today. The ceremony honoring the 55th anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party will feature live music, vendors, and free health screenings. at the intersection of Mandela Parkway and Dr. The public is invited to the public unveiling of the bust Sunday, October 24 from 11 a.m. So every generation that sees that piece tells the story and the story lives on." Bronze can last forever, hundreds of years. Newton: "That people will know this true history, that there were men and women who were unlike themselves that just had the courage of their convictions that saw something that needed to be done in their community and they did it with very little resources and that people can do the same thing." Glover: "This will be a place for generations to come to learn about the history of the Black Panther party, what does this mean to you?" This sanctuary of art and activism extends from the granite slab where the bust will be installed to the home of activist Jilchristina Vest featuring a mural honoring the women of the Black Panther party who made the movement possible. ![]() So out of that darkness is grown this beautiful place of sanctuary for people," said Newton. Now the community is starting to embrace it, they've claimed it to be a sacred holy ground. ![]() ![]() "It was just a super traumatically painful place for me to revisit. ![]() The Black Panther Party leader was shot and killed at the intersection in the Lower Bottom neighborhood in 1989, years after the party dissolved. That was the last day that I saw him until that night on the news," Newton recalled. "That's the street that I've never frequented, because it was so dark for me. "Huey really loved Oakland," said Newton.īut this intersection is both a source of light and darkness for Fredrika. Sunday, the bust of Oakland's native son will be unveiled at the intersection now bearing his name Dr. RELATED: SF Black Wall Street preserving Black culture "I was up for about four nights straight thinking, 'This is not going to work, there was something missing in his eyes.' Seeing it cast in bronze for the first time, she got all of the dimensions of this man is blowing my mind right now," said Newton. He wouldn't be this with you," King said to Newton at the foundry where the clay bust was cast in bronze.ĪBC7 News cameras were invited along to watch the process. Newton has been there every step of the way as she watched King transform memories into clay and eventually into bronze. Acori Honzo handcrafts sculptures of Black heroes like Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X and Tupac Shakur.
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