The Black Panther Party For Self-Defense

1282 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: American civil rights movement

When the constitution was written, the rights within it were not extended to blacks, because they were not considered “human”, they were considered commodities that were to be kept, bought, sold, and trained to work. Blacks were in slavery for many years and finally on December 6, 1865, the thirteenth amendment was ratified abolishing slavery. Once slavery was abolished however, many rules, conditions, and laws were to put in place to keep the black people from evolving with society. Imagine a world where everything you once knew was taken away. Imagine you were born into a lifestyle that consisted of cooking, cleaning, picking cotton in the field, and abiding by a man and his family of much fairer skin than yours. Imagine being beaten by whips and chains, never really becoming numb to the pain. Imagine welts and lashes caused by the fire of a “masters” hand to permanently be a symbol of fear engrained into your brain. Imagine the physical and verbal …show more content…

In Oakland California, October of 1966, The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The Panthers approached the civil rights movement with militant self-defense against the government. Their primary goal was to “establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs” (Baggins). The Panthers based many of their theoretical foundations off of the practices of Malcolm X. They believed it was time for the oppressed to forcefully take over production to open the door for true equality across race and gender. The Panthers did not have a problem with killing cops as Huey Newton was arrested for. After his arrest, the Panthers were enraged and worked harder to spread its roots into the political spectrum. The FBI came to the conclusion that the Panthers must be stopped and they began to dismantle it from the inside out, killing many of the leaders, issuing arrest, and using psychological

Show More
Related

  • Pros And Cons Of The 16th Amendment

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first of the Progressive amendments is the 16th Amendment. Approved by the Senate in 1909, it introduced the graduated income tax where a person’s taxes increase relative to his or her income. Specifically, the tax charged 1 percent of incomes over $20,000 and a maximum of 7 percent on incomes over $500,000 (Walter Nugent, p.86). It was brought about after the 2 percent tax on incomes over $4,000 tariff in 1894, and was supported by President Taft, Southern and Western farmers, and the Progressives (Foner, p. 718). They believed respectively that the government should wean off obtaining money from tariffs, and that the income tax should fairly correlate to a person’s income. Moreover, it was believed that the amendment would ameliorate the drastic income disparity, and that it would provide the government with more revenue for its increasing state budgets.

    Read More

  • White Man's Burden Summary

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    Slavery is the idea and practice that one person is inferior to another. What made the institution of slavery in America significantly different from previous institutions was that “slavery developed as an institution based upon race.” Slavery based upon race is what made slavery an issue within the United States, in fact, it was a race issue. In addition, “to know whether certain men possessed natural rights one had only to inquire whether they were human beings.” Slaves were not even viewed as human beings; instead, they were dehumanized and were viewed as property or animals. During this era of slavery in the New World, many African slaves would prefer to die than live a life of forced servitude to the white man. Moreover, the problem of slavery was that an African born in the United States never knew what freedom was. According to Winthrop D. Jordan, “the concept of Negro slavery there was neither borrowed from foreigners, nor extracted from books, nor invented out of whole cloth, nor extrapolated from servitude, nor generated by English reaction to Negroes as such, nor necessitated by the exigencies of the New World. Not any one of these made the Negro a slave, but all.” American colonists fought a long and bloody war for independence that both white men and black men fought together, but it only seemed to serve the white man’s independence to continue their complete dominance over the African slave. The white man must carry a heavy

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The 14th Amendment

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    Abraham Lincoln became the United States ' 16th President in 1861, delivering the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. If there is a part of the United States History that best characterizes it, is the interminable fight for the Civil Rights. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal”.

    Read More

  • Freedom Summer comparisons with Era of Reconstruction

    801 Words  | 2 Pages

    With the end of the Civil war, many blacks felt that they would start reaping the benefits that had been denied from them for years. Being able to vote, own land, have a voice in political affairs were all goals that they felt were reachable. The era of Reconstruction was the “miracle” they had been searching for. But the South wasn’t going down without a fight and blacks would have to wait at least 100 years for Freedom Summer to arrive to receive the “miracle” they wanted. 100 years it took for equality to become more than just a word but a way of life for blacks. But they did enjoy some privileges that weren’t available to them.

    Read More

  • Effectiveness of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States of America

    1073 Words  | 3 Pages

    Also citizens groups such as the KKK created an environment of fear that stopped white people who may have helped black Americans improve their lives. It also prevented many blacks from trying to take advantage of the rights the Amendments had given them.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Blumer's Four Key Factors To Racial Prejudice

    1656 Words  | 4 Pages

    We saw the Thirteenth Amendment occur to abolish slavery. We also saw the Civil Rights Acts which gave full citizenship, as well as the prohibiting the denial of due process, etc. Having the civil rights laws enabled African Americans to new freedoms which they did not used to have. There was positive change occurring in the lives of African Americans. However, there was still a fight to suppress African Americans and maintain the racial hierarchy by poll taxes and lengthy and expensive court proceedings. Sadly, this is when Jim Crow laws appeared. During this time African Americans were losing their stride, there was an increase in prison populations and convict labor, and the convicts were

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of The Eight Amendment

    1066 Words  | 3 Pages

    The eighth amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. New Cutting edge technology carries with it the likelihood of new treatment for criminals. A fictional example of such technology is Ludovico treatment, which alters the consciousness of a criminal and makes them non-violent. The use of the Ludovico treatment on prisoners can be considered a cruel and unusual punishment and thus violate the eighth amendment. Even though this treatment may be technically unconstitutional, it would be allowed in the United States for the betterment of society.

    Read More

  • 13th Amendment Essay

    1609 Words  | 4 Pages

    The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are the amendments adopted to the United States Constitution after the Civil War. In succession, these amendments were adopted to the Constitution.

    Read More

  • How Did Emmett Till Dehumanized

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    Blacks were treated unjustly due to the Jim Crow laws and the racial stigmas embedded into American society. Under these laws, whites and colored people were “separate but equal,” however this could not be further from the truth. Due to the extreme racism in the United States during this time period, especially in the South, many blacks were dehumanized by whites to ensure that they remained inferior to them. As a result of their suffering from the prejudice society of America, there was a national outcry to better the lives of colored people.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Reconstruction

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although many laws were passed that recognized African Americans as equals, the liberties they had been promised were not being upheld. Hoffman, Blum, and Gjerde state that “Union League members in a North Carolina county, upon learning of three or four black men who ‘didn’t mean to vote,’ threatened to ‘whip them’ and ‘made them go.’ In another country, ‘some few colored men who declined voting’ were, in the words of a white conservative, ‘bitterly persecute[ed]” (22). Black codes were also made to control African Americans. Norton et al. states that “the new black codes compelled former slaves to carry passes, observe a curfew, live in housing provided by a landowner, and give up hope of entering many desirable occupations” (476). The discrimination and violence towards African Americans during this era and the laws passed that were not being enforced were very disgraceful. However, Reconstruction was a huge stepping stone for the way our nation is shaped today. It wasn’t pretty but it was the step our nation needed to take. We now live in a country where no matter the race, everyone is considered equal. Reconstruction was a success. Without it, who knows where our nation would be today. African American may have never gained the freedoms they have today without the

    Read More

  • Revolution during Reconstruction

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...change for much of the United States. Slavery was abolished by the thirteenth amendment and blacks were afforded full rights by the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which was a revolutionary change compared to just a few years before. Although blacks were legally equal citizens, they were not treated as such. Racist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan and White League, oppressed blacks through blatant violence and intimidation. Although blacks were politically equal, they were socially inferior. The Freedmen’s Bureau was not as successful as it could have been and was of little us to most blacks. It only perpetuated the place of blacks in society as working for the white man. Although the constitutional changes to black’s rights were very revolutionary, there was very little revolution in American society with blacks remaining as lesser than any white man.

    Read More

  • The Long Struggle for Civil Rights

    2179 Words  | 5 Pages

    African Americans have a history of struggles because of racism and prejudices. Ever since the end of the Civil War, they struggled to benefit from their full rights that the Constitution promised. The fourteenth Amendment, which defined national citizenship, was passed in 1866. Even though African Americans were promised citizenship, they were still treated as if they were unequal. The South had an extremely difficult time accepting African Americans as equals, and did anything they could to prevent the desegregation of all races. During the Reconstruction Era, there were plans to end segregation; however, past prejudices and personal beliefs elongated the process.

    Read More

  • Discrimination In The Workplace Essay

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    Although African Americans were finally able to gain back their freedom; they did not gain equality in the eyes of their former oppressors. Resentful of the newfound freedom of African Americans, laws known as Jim Crow laws were established throughout the United Stated by states and local governments. These discriminatory laws worked to systematically oppress African Americans through segregation and violence. They were segregated from whites; forbidden to attend the same schools, eat in the same restaurants or intermarry. African Americans were treated as second class citizens; lesser beings that had no rights. “Blacks could not vote, sue whites, testify against them, raise their voice to them or even look them in the eye or stay on the sidewalk if they passed.” (BL p.98) The era of Jim Crow was a dangerous time where even a glance was enough for an African American to be murdered. But there was only so much abuse that would be withstood. The winds of change were beginning to stir and African Americans and their supporters were beginning to demand their equality.

    Read More

  • The Struggle for Freedom Among African American Citizens

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    It wasn’t easy being an African American, back then they had to fight in order to achieve where they are today, from slavery and discrimination, there was a very slim chance of hope for freedom or even citizenship. This longing for hope began to shift around the 1950’s. During the Civil Rights Movement, where discrimination still took place, it was the time when African Americans started to defend their rights and honor to become freemen like every other citizen of the United States. African Americans were beginning to gain recognition after the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, which declared all people born natural in the United States and included the slaves that were previously declared free. However, this didn’t prevent the people from disputing against the constitutional law, especially the people in the South who continued to retaliate against African Americans and the idea of integration in white schools....

    Read More

  • African American Racism

    2124 Words  | 5 Pages

    For decades, African Americans have been on a racial discrimination and extremely deadly roller coaster ride for justice and equality. In this new day and age, racial tendencies and prejudice has improved since the 1700-1800s,however, they are slowly going back to certain old ways with voting laws and restaurants having the option to serve blacks or not. It all began with the start of slavery around 1619. The start of the New World, the settlers needed resources England and other countries had, which started the Triangle Trade. The New England settlers manufactured and shipped rum to West Africa; West Africa traded slaves to the West Indies for molasses and money . From the very beginning, they treated African Americans like an object or animals instead of another human being with feelings and emotions. Women that were pregnant gave birth to children already classified as slaves. After the American Revolution, people in the north started to realize the oppression and treatment of blacks to how the British was treating them. In 1787, the Northwest Territory made slavery illegal and the US Constitution states that congress could no longer ban the trade of slaves until 1808 (Brunner). However, since the invention of the cotton gin, the increase for labor on the field increased the demand for slave workers. Soon the South went thru an economic crisis with the soil, tobacco, and cash crops with dropped the prices of slaves and increased slave labor even more. To ensure that the slaves do not start a rebellion, congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act in 1793 that made it a federal crime to assist a slave in escaping (Black History Milestones). This is the first of many Acts that is applied to only African-Americans and the start of many ...

    Read More

More about The Black Panther Party For Self-Defense

Open Document