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The Black Panthers espoused the concept that Black people had a right to defend themselves against racist authorities by any necessary means, including violence. Gibbs Community Foundation, http://www.gibbsmagazine.com
In the '60s, …they [the Panthers] also advocated the use of armed resistance to fuel a revolution against what they saw as white oppression and capitalism. Monterey County Herald, April 22, 2000
The Black Panthers were formed in California in 1966. They believed that the non-violent campaign of Martin Luther King had failed and any promised changes to their lifestyle would take too long to be implemented or simply not introduced. Their language was violent as was their public stance…In 1966, a survey carried out in America showed that less than 5% of African-Americans approved of groups such as the BPP. 60% were positively hostile to such groups. www.byteachers.org.uk
Some organizations adhered to strictly peaceful protests while others, such as the Panthers … favored peaceful means of achieving equality unless violence was necessary for defense. The lists of courageous men and women who struggled for equality can be quite long. However, it is obvious that the picture of the Panthers lack the presence of women. This failure to acknowledge women in the Panther picture represents the Civil Rights Movement as a whole. With a few exceptions, African American women generally do not receive the credit they deserve for their impact in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. Representation of Women in the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement by John Winters, Jr.
"The BPP did not fully appreciate the necessity for cultural transformation in the movement. Instead, they promoted a "revolutionary culture" that was amorphous and self-serving. It was rooted in a Machiavellian rationalization of Malcolm's "by any means necessary" dicta whereby members simply legitimized their lumpen activities by asserting that these were somehow "revolutionary." This approach was used especially to sexually exploit women, to character assassinate rivals, to rationalize the misuse of BPP funds by the national leadership, to justify internecine violence, or to excoriate rival organizations (such as with the NOI, SNCC, RNA [Republic of New Afrika], and Us organization) within the Black Power movement. This glorified lumpenism was so expansive that Hilliard (1993, pp. 339-339) reports that Huey even came to require that BPP members watch The Godfather, as he began to argue for a "progressive capitalism" (Newton, 1971). Allegedly, the Panther nightclub, The Lamp Post, even became, among other things, a front for prostitution and funding source for Huey's and the Central Committee's personal indulgences." The Shadow of the Panther: Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America by Hugh Pearson
The general assessment is that the BPP used violence to achieve their ends. Granted, in the 70s they focused their efforts in a more positive, community-oriented direction, but the fact remains that they still used violence to reach their goals. This is the point I was making.
I respect that you may or may not agree with labeling the BPP as a terrorist group – you have that right. However, I would suggest that you do your own research and refrain from making uneducated statements regarding what I do and do not know.
Regards,
Reagan
I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.