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From Stephen Elliott
The Black Panther Party’s controversial and revolutionary politics have been a topic of intrigue and debate since the party’s inception.
Historians Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin, Jr. attempt to clarify and demystify some of the myths of the Black Panther’s past and illuminate their role as American revolutionaries in their new book Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party.
...more“Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion.”
That’s Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, in a 1970 speech that focused on gay rights.
...moreDavid Hilliard, the original Chief of Staff of the Black Panther Party can walk you through the historically significant sites of Black Panther Party activity in Oakland.
He recounts the former congregation spots and the practical programs they implemented—the free breakfast program and the free healthcare program that screened for sickle-cell anemia, the streetlights they had put in for safety measures, as well as his friendship with Huey Newton.
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