In case you didn’t know, yesterday (October 15th) was the founding anniversary of the Black Panther Party. This is a black political organization that could have changed the face of black American and the world had it not been sabotaged and destroyed by the US Government. They were a bit radical for many in the modern day black community, but this may have never been the case if they wouldn’t have been disbanded. 

Founded in Oakland, California, October 15th, 1966, by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, the organization was originally called the Black Panther Pary for Self-Defense. It operated in the United States from 1966 to 1982 with the aim to protect the black community from police brutality, which we still seem to suffer from today.

As the organization grew into political power in the black community and started to gain leadership and influence, the Black Panther Party drew the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover. It was deemed “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.”

However, Hoover didn’t stop there. He supervised and lead the now infamous COINTELPRO program of surveillance, infiltration, perjury, police harassment, intimidation, and many say murder throughout the organization. The aim was to undermine, disrupt and drain the resources of the organization and manpower to make them non-effective.

Obviously, they were successful because the original Black Panther Party is no longer in existence.

THE TEN POINT PROGRAM OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY

Regardless of what you think of the BPP, there is no doubt the face, unity and trajectory of the black community would be different had the plot to disrupt the organizations aim. Got us to thinking, what would be different in the black community?

Here is a quick overview of the ten point program of the black panther party.

1. We Want Freedom. We Want Power To Determine the Destiny Of Our Black Community. 

2. We Want Full Employment For Our People. 

3. We Want An End To The Robbery by The Capitalists Of Our Black Community. 

4. We Want Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter Of Human Beings. 

5. We Want Education For Our People That Exposes the True Nature Of This decadent American Society. We Want Education That Teaches Us Our true History and Our Role In The Present-Day Society. 

6. We Want All Black Men To Be Exempt From Military Service. 

7. We Want An Immediate End To police Brutality And Murder Of Black People. 

8. We Want Freedom For All Black Men held In Federal, State, County And City Prisons And Jails. 

9. We Want All Black People When Brought To Trial To Be Tried In Court By a Jury Of Their Peer Group Or People From Their Black Communities, as Defined By The Constitution Of The United States. 

10. We Want Land, Bread, Housing, Education, Clothing, Justice And Peace.

What do you think would be different?

Instead of trying to tell you how the black community might be different, we want to pose the question to you to get your input. If the original Black Panther Party were still influencing the black community, what do you think would be the difference in our community now and then?