The Panthers: The Uplifting Of Revolutionary Culture

The methods that the Panthers employed to secure Black liberation was quite feasible. This group of activists created a collective subjectivity. Thus in order to obtain all that they sought to achieve, the creation of a “revolutionary culture” was crucial to the panthers’ efforts to influence Black Americans’ consciousness, which aimed to defy the political and social powers of the United States (Rhodes, 2007, p. 92). Through the process of communication, and the use of guns as a means of intimidation, the Panthers were able to disseminate their beliefs and rituals towards a global audience. These messages relied heavily on the proliferation and buttressing of Black culture.
So it seems that one can claim that the uplifting of Black culture

was one of the foundation of this progressive revolution. A clarification - that it was the structural underpinning of the movement’s more widely trumpeted political and economic tendencies. Culture was from this perspective, synonymous with artistic production (Rhodes, 2007, p. 92). Thus, the Panthers spread the ideology of cultural nationalism, or the acceptance of African identities by African Americans. The Panthers methods were mostly geared towards the returning to the old African culture, thus, regaining self identification, and freedom.This meant that Black Americans had to make lifestyle changes (the use of African names, the celebration of African - based holidays, and the wearing of African - inspired attire), that meshed with the revolutionary cause of the Panthers.
Henceforth, the Black Panthers cultivated their revolutionary culture through the use of social-cultural practices that bordered what was considered forms acceptable behaviors. This is not to say that these practices were devoid of any logic, and or, intrinsic meaning (Rhodes, 2007, p. 94). Thus, under the guise of American laws, and the use of the 2nd amendment, the Panther party were able to not only “stick it to the man,” but also revitalize the culture that was stolen from them in a manner that was not only strategic, but highly feasible. The gun gave them power, and it was though this power, that helped to bring about uplift, and an attempt on the end of the Panthers, to free Blacks from cultural dislocation, and into cultural empowerment, and inclusion. For you see, the Panthers were tired of living in a systemic, racist polity, where they were seen as “three-fifths” of an actual person, and as foreigners in their own land.