The Youth Rises Together THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY
The Youth Rises Together: THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY FOR SELF DEFENSE, RED POWER, CHICANO STUDENTS MOVEMENTS, POST-COLONIALISM, LAW AND ORDER, THE EPA, ALEC, AND THE POWELL MEMORANDUM
The misunderstood legacy of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense • Roots of the name—founded by Huey P. Newton & Bobby Seale 1966 • Neighborhood patrols—invoking the 2 nd amendment to open carry • Govern Ronald Reagan signs restrictive gun laws—FBI director Hoover states “"the Black Panther Party, without question, represents the greatest threat to internal security of the country“ • COINTELPRO—Infiltration, Psychological, Legal Harassment, & illegal force • Newton’s shootout with the Oakland Police—charges ultimately dropped/ Following an ambush Bobby Hutton killed by police • Free Breakfast for Children program—feeds up to 20, 000 kids daily/ opening of public schools/ Black Community Survival Conference feeds 10, 000 families • Party Fragmentation and COINTELPRO’s success • Suspicious death of Fred Hampton • Newton succumbs to drugs, and the movement dies 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.
Red Power • National Indian Youth Council founded to protect indigenous rights • American Indian Movement—much more aggressively fighting for rights. FBI uses COINTELPRO • Occupation of Alcatraz/ Fish-ins • Trail of Broken Treaties Caravan • Wounded Knee incident • The Longest Walk and the loss of momentum
Chicano Rights Movement • Young Chicanos for Community Action • La Causa newspaper unites • The East Los Angeles Walkouts/Chicano moratorium • Brown Berets—social programs • COINTELPRO
The Second Wave • Head and Master Law/ “at fault” divorce • ALL of the race-based organizations placed women’s rights as less of a priority • The Feminine Mystique galvanizes women • Haven House and domestic violence • National Organization of Women (NOW) • Courts and laws can no longer legal deny women’s arguments—Roe v. Wade and the Equal Rights Amendment • COINTELPRO infiltrates
The Conservative Strategy • William Buckley/ Milton Friedman/ Barry Goldwater—the foundations of a new Conservatism began to get laid • Elimination of School Prayer and Roe vs. Wade brings rise to the Religious Right • Powell Memorandum • Information and Media become a focal point—American Enterprise Institute, Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institution, Cato Institute, Koch Family Foundations, Bradley Foundation • American Legislative Exchange Council • The Silent Majority/ Law and Order • The EPA/Watergate—Nixon’s Presidency
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