No, the Black Panther Party was not evil. No, they did not just go kill random white people. No, they were not the black equivalent of the KKK. The Black Panther Party was a Black Nationalist Movement for self-defense. It was started by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1968, and later the party had chapters nationwide. The Black Panthers needed to defend themselves against cops who would relentlessly harass black communities and suffer no consequences. The party’s movement was a fight against police brutality and oppressors, not against white people.

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale were classmates at Merritt College, Oakland, California. They protested their college’s “Pioneer Day” celebration, which honored the pioneers who came to California in the 1800s, but left out the role that African Americans had in settling in the American West. Seale and Newton formed the Negro History Fact Group, which called on the school to offer classes on Black history.

After the assassination of Malcolm X and the assassination of a local Black teen, Mathew Johnson, Newton and Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in October 1966. Most of their early activities involved monitoring police activities in Black communities in Oakland and other cities. They created many social programs and engaged in political activities as their popularity grew. Most of their support came from cities with large minority populations, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Philly. 2 years later, they had another 2,000 members across the country.

Huey Newton and Bobby Seale used Marxist ideology for the party platform. The Ten-Point Program outlined the BPP philosophical views and political aspirations. The Program called for an immediate end to police brutality, employment for African Americans, as well as land, housing and justice for all. The Black Panther Party was part of the larger Black Power movement, which emphasized Black pride, community control and unification for civil rights during the 1960s.

Due to misconceptions spread by the FBI, white supremacists, or otherwise ignorant people, the Black Panther Party has been portrayed as one big gang for Black Supremacy. However, their leaders’ goals actually included getting more African Americans into political offices so as to create radical change from the inside. The Party created the Free Breakfast for Children Program, and opened health clinics in 13 African American communities.

In 1967, Huey Newton (co-founder) was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the death of police officer John Frey and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was innocent and the verdict was overturned. In 1969, the FBI declared the Black Panthers a communist organization and an enemy of the United States government. In 1968, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover called the Black Panthers, “One of the greatest threats to the nation’s internal security.” This led to the Black Panthers being constantly harassed by the FBI as they exploited ties between the Black Panther members and other black nationalist groups. There was both external and internal conflict within the party and it dissolved during the 1970s, and officially ended in 1982.

NOTE: This article is part of a series celebrating unsung African American heroes. Click here to read about the series and to check out the other articles.