During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960’s. A new black party rose up to be the african american version of the “Ku Klux Klan,” only this party was for killing police and having equal rights for african americans through violence. Many did not accept the rules of this party.
The Black Panther Party was founded on October 15, 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The two men both were seeking through equal rights, many African Americans wanted to do it through peace. They wanted this party to kill officers just like officers kill their “brothers.” Martin Luther King Jr was the leader of the Black Civil Rights Movement, he wanted to have equal rights through peace, not violence.
The party started small when first formed, many would join and new leaders would come in power with the leaders who started the violent movement. One special gun fight started the huge rebellion against the police, most did not know what The Black Panther Party was at the time, until the party started getting into more battles with the police. Mark Clark and Fred Hampton both party leaders, were killed in a police raid in 1969 which caused the party to gain more people and start more deadly battles with the police.
Day after month after year, the Black Panther Party was continuous in having many problems with the police. They were shooting for a goal that almost a whole state could be apart of the group, they wanted to make a stand. May 2, 1967, 30 armed African American Black Panther Party members suit up with heavily armed firepower to take a march toward a destination that would make them more popular, the state capital. The party hit the media starting major campaigns to exterminate the party for good.
When the party shows up in the media, more people want to join, when more people join, the stronger the party becomes, when the party gets stronger, it starts to multiply in numbers. The Black Panther Party grew enough popularity to have about 5,000 members at one time. The government would start campaigns directed at the Black Panther Party to stop them. That way, the government won’t be overran and collapse.
Many believed the Party to be a “Black Hate Group”, on top of that, the government would start many continuous campaigns against the Black Panther Party. The government did not like hate groups and would not threaten them. The problem with this group, is that it was expanding exponentially in size. The FBI even expanded the COINTELPRO (COunter INTELligence PROgram), which was originally made to stop the Communists in the U.S., to eradicate the BPP, KKK, and the Socialist Workers Party. Eventually, the members split on whether to become a non-violent organization, or to continue their endeavour into a bloody revolution. This decision is what ultimately split the group in two.
The leader of the NBPP (New Black Panther Party) said that he will kill anything that gets in their way, he claims that it is “Freedom or Death.” The new Party was formed in Dallas, Texas in 1989 by Hashim Nzinga. They have been responsible for forming many Militia’s and in many protests around Dallas. Still considered a hate group, smaller groups of the US want this group to vanish. The group still lives on today involving in many protests on what they believe is right.
Sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xgZ99TunMhvmCmXvInW6G1SaLVp3H8mZqk0DjCjoVVM/edit?usp=sharing