AP® African American Studies review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/african-american-studies/units/4/4-11)
Unit 4 · Topic 4.11
4.11 The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, founded in Oakland in 1966, was a revolutionary Black Power group that drew on Malcolm X's ideas. Its Ten-Point Program demanded freedom, housing, education, jobs and an end to police brutality; it armed members for self-defense, ran community 'survival programs' like free breakfasts, and was targeted by the FBI.
Key terms
- Black Panther Party
- Ten-Point Program
- survival programs
- Free Breakfast for School Children Program
- COINTELPRO
Founding and goals
College students Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland, California, in October 1966. They were responding to the assassination of Malcolm X, the violence used against nonviolent protesters and police killings of unarmed Black people. The party was inspired by Malcolm X's call for self-defense and self-determination (4.9), and it operated from 1966 into the 1980s.
The party's Ten-Point Program, a required source, laid out what it wanted and believed. It called for freedom and the power of Black communities to determine their own future; full employment; decent housing; education that taught true history; an end to police brutality; freedom for Black people it considered unjustly imprisoned; and basic needs like land, bread, housing, clothing, justice and peace. A later version added free health care.
Self-defense and conflict
The Panthers cited the Second Amendment to justify carrying guns for self-defense. Early on, armed members followed police patrols in Oakland, legally carrying weapons, to watch for abuse. The party's calls for armed resistance to oppression led to violent confrontations with police, and members and officers were killed in several clashes.
The FBI treated the Panthers as a threat to national security. Through a secret program called COINTELPRO, it spied on the party, planted informants, spread false information to turn members against each other and worked with local police. In 1969 Chicago Panther leader Fred Hampton was killed in a police raid organized with FBI help. These attacks, along with internal divisions, weakened the party.
Survival programs
The Panthers grew quickly, with chapters in dozens of cities, and took on many social causes. They ran what they called survival programs to serve low-income communities while pushing for larger change:
- The Free Breakfast for School Children Program, which fed thousands of children before school.
- Free health clinics, including testing for sickle cell anemia, a disease that affects many people of African descent.
- Legal aid offices and programs giving away clothing and other necessities.
Women in the party
Women made up about half of the party's members by the early 1970s and often led local offices and programs. Kathleen Cleaver served as communications secretary, and Elaine Brown led the whole party from 1974 to 1977. The required 1968 photo of Black Panther women in Oakland and the 1972 photo of a free food program reflect these roles.
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Explaining methods
Describe two methods the Black Panther Party used to pursue its goals.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Method 1: armed self-defense, justified with the Second Amendment, including patrols watching police.
- Step 2: Method 2: community survival programs, like free breakfast and health clinics.
- Step 3: Connect each method to a goal in the Ten-Point Program.
Answer: Model answer: The Black Panther Party practiced armed self-defense, citing the Second Amendment and following police patrols in Oakland to deter police brutality, one of the Ten-Point Program's main demands. It also ran survival programs, like the Free Breakfast for School Children Program and free health clinics, to meet the needs for food and health care that the program called for.
Common mistakes
- Remembering only the guns. The Panthers' community programs were a major part of their work.
- Forgetting the role of women, who were about half the membership.
- Leaving out the FBI's COINTELPRO campaign, which helped destroy the party.
On the exam
- The Ten-Point Program is a required source. Be ready to connect a point to a Panther action or to the wider Black Power movement.
- Present the party fairly: its community service, its armed confrontations and government repression.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 4.11 The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Photographs from the late 1960s and early 1970s show Black Panther Party members serving free breakfasts to schoolchildren and handing out free food in their neighborhoods. A 1968 photograph shows a group of women members of the party standing together in Oakland, California.
Description written for this practice set of photographs of the Black Panther Party, 1968 and 1972
The breakfast and food photographs best illustrate the Panthers'
The 1968 photograph of women members connects to which fact about the party?
The FBI targeted the Black Panther Party mainly because
Which of the following was among the demands of the Black Panther Party's Ten-Point Program of 1966?
0 of 4 answered