What was black panthers

The June 21, edition of the Black Panther Party newspaper, which circulated news of police brutality and citizen deaths at the hands of the police, as information of use and importance to black communities across the country.

Photo courtesy of Jihad Abdulmumit. Hopkins hopes VCU's panel on the Panthers helps clear up misconceptions about the group, including labeling it a "black nationalist" organization or a hate group. That is totally wrong," Hopkins says emphatically. One of our mottoes was 'love the Party and love the people.

Another common misunderstanding is that the Black Panther Party was nothing more than a violent, terrorist group, full of criminals and sociopolitical outcasts, says former member and Richmond resident Jihad Abdulmumit. Having served during the s in the Panthers in his home state of New Jersey and co-establishing a chapter there, Abdulmumit is one of the panelists speaking at VCU's forum.

One of several incidents that eventually led him to join the Panthers was a terrifying traffic stop; he says police pointed guns at the heads of his father and brother before releasing them with no charges and no explanation. Additionally, he chairs the National Jericho Movement, which support political prisoners. Provided photo. Abdulmumit also became involved with the Black Liberation Army — a faction that formed under Eldridge Cleaver on the East Coast and was ideologically at odds with what founder Newton wanted to pursue after his release from prison in Newton, who had been convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to prison for allegedly killing a police officer, wanted to focus on supportive community programs, "survival programs," he called them.

Several members of the Black Liberation Army would become involved in numerous violent incidents and confrontations with police. One high-profile member, activist Assata Shakur , in was found guilty of killing a New Jersey state trooper during a traffic stop shootout and sent to prison; she escaped and fled to Cuba for political asylum, where she remains to this day. Abdulmumit went underground to continue his work with the Panthers and the BLA, and was convicted of robbing a bank and served 22 years in prison.

His actions, he says, were financially necessary to fund the community-building work of the groups. Context, as they say, is everything, a lesson Abdulmumit urges anyone examining the Panthers through the lens of history to remember.

But I never kept that money; I put it directly back into the work, for our community. At one of the trials, people clapped. People knew what we were trying to do. The ten points are:. However, despite its militant stance, the BPP also provided free breakfast for school children, sickle cell anemia screening, legal aid, and adult education. Most of these records are textual records, but there are also motion pictures, sound recordings, and photographs. She met and married Donald L.

In addition to leading the Oakland chapter, they also worked in the New York and Philadelphia chapters as well. SB50 pic. This is not meant to be a formal definition of Black Panthers like most terms we define on Dictionary. Feedback Tired of Typos? Word of the Day.

Meanings Meanings. Black History Month. Blue Alert. Examples Origin Usage. What's hot. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Texas Proposition 8 Obergefell v. Notable Supreme Court Cases: Brazburg v. Hayes This case invalidated the use of the First Amendment as a defense for reporters summoned to testify before a grand jury after a reporter claimed he had the privilege to protect confidential informants and their information when we photographed the Black Panther Party Headquarters in anticipation of a police raid.