I was one of those kids that got fed. They didn't care what color you were or about your income, they just did the right thing and I have never forgotten it. We were too poor to afford breakfast.
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I checked them out long ago. They treated me with more respect than they have been. Never judge a book by it's cover. Some people just wanted to hate them so invented fear inducing tactics. Logic requires me to judge no one that I know nothing about. Don't be afraid to expand your horizons.
That “image” was created by J Edgar Hoover and the FBI. The Black Panther Party (BPP) was committed to no more than creating a better life for their community. The oligarchy did what they always do when someone stands up to them…they murdered the leaders of BPP
We need to look to the black community and learn from them how they have always organized against oppression. I'm sure they are feeling very betrayed by white voters, but they have a wisdom this country needs.
Shit like this is why I’m so pissed at the geriatric generation segment that refuses to acknowledge they’ve been brainwashed & refuse to see what’s happening right now. How can they call themselves good ppl or christians when all they do is hate & harm that which isn’t like them? Disgusting.
We have lots of starving kids, unhoused folks, and lack of medical care right now too. We need the Black Pathers organizational methods in action, right now.
the dark history was their extortion of black business owners and their pressuring of women who joined the organization to have sex with the male hierarchy read the Power of the Panther
My white 70+ yr old SIL went to a Black Panther rally while on a field trip with her high school student govt classmates in 1969. 🙌🏼 to the teacher who took them!
I remember as a white kid being exposed to media telling only one side of this story. Learned more as I grew up how they were building a community to live in an oppressed society. We need to read and learn from Black Americans have had to do this for decades.
Yep, even today, The BPP is painted as a radical, terrorist group. No. They were fighting for ALL Americans to have the rights guaranteed under The Constitution.
We had that chance~ no, right now people need to stand up not call forth a group that was torn asunder because the gov feared the bridges they were building between communities.
Now is the time to support one another and create community~ we will have to fight and fight hard. It's up to each of us!
Well said hound, the problem at hand calls for all (sane US Citizens) people affected to come together, and stand together against the afront that is before them. However, people within these "communities" must take the first step forward!
They were a political movement that is often vilified as terrorists or common criminals by a suppressive government. Yes, they were violent & MLK wasn't, but they were in a struggle for freedom like he was regardless. Good or bad, they were fighting for people of color who still had little rights.
I had a very good friend who was instrumental in the breakfast program in Denver. We were both vets against the war. Denver PD constantly harassed him but he carried on. Being a white male, I could never imagine how much he was made to struggle. He’d lost a leg in Nam and still they rousted him
You stole my thunder. I believe this is when the transgender J Edgar decided the government had to shut them down. When it was just black people he thought it wouldn’t matter but if white people were being helped he knew it was a movement that the government refused the poor of all races.
Correct, more to the point it was anti-war protesters that allied with them. Nixon's Dom Advisor, Ehrlichman, was the brain child. J Edgar was the tool, a very willing tool. I was in jail with a file by age 15.
This is either an insinuation that Hoover being trans is relevant to him being a monster, or an attempt to frame being trans as an insult, and neither is very suited to building a coalition of working and oppressed people. Maybe reconsider your rhetoric unless that was your intent.
Sorry for that mistake. I still think people such as he are just hypocrites that believe do as I say not as I do. His legacy is more of an evil bastard no matter is gender, sexual preference, or how he dressed. My point was that a “man” that is touted to be so great had his own intrinsic-ties.
I get it I was not the person who thought it was a slight against trans ppl and did not take it that way. they are probably just sensitive from a lifetime of hearing it as a put-down
Rev. MLK was doing the same things without guns and they killed him too. It’s almost as if they wanted to kill the messenger, no matter how they got that message out. That being said, Fred Hampton had them wetting themselves.
White people, after slaves were emancipated, were astounded by the Black Man's progress and success.
Poor whites had their freedom all along and could not match it.
The dollar from Black Wall Street changed hands 500 times before it left the street. And we know how that ended up.
People who do the most good by disrupting the preferred thinking are the most dangerous to norms and rules. They are totally necessary to move a society toward a better future. RIP Fred Hampton
Hampton declared that the system was designed to put people at the working class level against one another. That there was more in common than our differences. If we unite and fight against the common oppressor - corporate and monied interests than the people will win.
Fred Hampton had an infiltrator in his group who was an FBI informant. The informant was used to drug him so that he would have been an easy mark when the Chicago PD infiltrated his apartment. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5i3Q-QvlJ2E
Sadly, there are sacrifices. I have a story of three children who are probably still alive today that hate whites because of Black Panthers. Their father was one of the originals. There is a story here if anyone wants it.
As a veteran, I will add that the “Black Panthers” were also the name of the 761st tank battalion in World War II who served under General Patton. They were all black tankers who were sent into places no one else wanted to go
You definitely need organisations this now even if they will be outlawed. And also groups similar to anti-capitalist, anti racist movements on the left in the 1930s, and 1970s. They usually spring into life when the situation becomes violent.nit is unfortunate but most tyrantsnhad to be fought.
Pre-college I only knew that network news told us the Black Panthers were a terrorist organization. Only in college did we hear about the community work they did, the people they fed and protected, the opppressed they educated about their rights. Why? Because those in power controlled the media.
Visited the Oakland Museum and the BPP exhibit was everything! OMCA also gave out BPP Ten Point Platform cards as souvenirs.....so eerie we are still asking for the same things in 2025!
Just like the Satanic temple helps people, defends innocents and fights for the people, and all the radicals and psychos hear is SATANIC, and they immediately start to foam at the mouth
At that time it was legal to have guns around the state capitol and Panthers were using that right..... until Reagan/GOP made a law against it afterwards.
Community clinics, common today throughout the country, were invented by the Black Panthers. You won’t learn that in school, and you don’t hear it in mainstream discussion.
They saw a need and met it.
By the end of 1969 The Panthers were serving free breakfast to 20,000 school aged children in 19 cities and in 23 local affiliates. The labor and service was provided by party members and volunteers and most of the food was donated by stores, churches and groceries
I remember when they were doing those things. Taking care of the Community was what I have always remembered about the Panthers. And I was just your average Middle Class White Boy.
Excuse me if I'm speaking out of turn, being Australian, but my daughter just did a project as part of an international women's day assignment and according to many sources, these initiatives were implemented by the women in the BP movement. Is that your experience?
I was one of those who fed kids in the morning before school and packed a little lunch! Nice to meet you! Just a 15-year-old white girl working with the Black Panthers. I was also a member of the SDS. We didn't commit a single act of violence either. Just social economic justice and anti-monopoly.
When I see / am surrounded by people that doing anything to help civil rights succeed is quietly shunned, damn straight you’re a hero. It’s so important to me to see ppl standing up for what’s right, even if it’s “controversial” or isn’t easy. 💙
I used to take medical supplies to the BP clinic on Capitol Hill in Seattle — waay back in the day. The hospital where my boyfriend worked collected donated supplies & I took them to the clinic in my old ‘64 Chevy Nova station wagon.
It felt good. It felt right.
I can’t find that feeling anymore.
I was 13 or 14 years old working in the cafeteria at my Jr high school
One hour before school
And 1 hour after
The ladies and men that I worked under
Were very nice and kind to me
And they were happy for the extra help
That’s what
public servants
And
Civil Servants do
Or at least most
Lol
I was lucky enough to never see the actual thing -- maybe I was a bit too young, but my mother taught me about the good stuff they did, and told me that I would hear and read bad stuff, but she wanted me to know the whole truth.
Given that everybody was on state assistance and getting federal food stamps I have to ask why wasn't the money used to buy breakfast. No Slight to the Panthers.
This snopes article is pretty informative. The short of it is that the WIC program specifically has no basis with them, but may have been inspired partially by their effort to feed hungry kids. So, not the exact mechanics or idea, but the spirit nonetheless. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/black-panthers-wic-food-program/
A novel written for young readers called One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia offers a great account of the good the Black Panthers did for struggling inner city kids in the 60's.
Curtis Sliwa mocked Mexican culture on NY News and made disparaging comments about minorities. Additionally, in 2024, Sliwa misidentified a Bronx resident as a migrant during a live TV interview, leading to the man being tackled by Guardian Angels members.
The organization has also been criticized for aligning with police during protests and positioning itself at polling stations, actions seen by some as suppressing dissent and intimidating voters
That photo is lookin' like Cleveland. Where they ain't about to let any knit cap covered, black knit cap hidden nazis come thru their areas to mess up their neighborhoods. Cleveland AIN'T havin' it!! Plus, all those nazis got outted, their pix are on the web for ALL to see. 🥫Columbus got opinions 2
This is what we do, we come together and help each other out. Times are going to be tough in the days ahead, but we know the drill, and we’ll get through it together like we always do. ❣️❤️🩹💕
This makes sense to me now why old crochety racist Republican "Christians" fought SO hard to remove WIC entirely. As far as I remember, they succeeded doing so in Wichita when I lived there 10YRS ago!They also declined federal Obamacare funds so they could blame Dems for poverty THEY made!
Maybe we should. They started as a self-defense force against police brutality and racial violence. No one else was doing it. People were being killed for being black. Police didn’t care. People are allowed to defend themselves.
Where did you get this idea from? The FBI? The FBI used dirty tricks and misinformation to destabilize and discredit the Black Panther Party. Their tactics were so vile they had to make a public apology.
A “militant” organization did more for the people they vowed to protect than the government did, kind of like those of us who plan to rise up now. If standing up for the people who did not vote for oppression makes one militant, I guess I am militant. They didn’t wait in congress to act, nor can we.
In my St Louis neighborhood, the Black Panther men ran a day care. Since many had difficulty finding work, they created work to help their wives and the neighborhood. I always had respect for their organization.
They are installing loyalists to the national archives and I believe they will attempt to rewrite history. This is the kind of history that will disappear.
I was born in '63 and was taught (by my parents) that the Black Panthers and Malcolm X were only about violence-- the typical lie told by white people. It wasn't until I was in my 30's that I began to study the era on my own and learned the truth. I'm so glad they helped you. They did so much good ❤️
Yep. This used to be an open carry state until the "wrong people" were carrying them. Just wait until tRump does the same thing to MAGAs when they eventually turn on him.
They only armed themselves to protect themselves. It's the only time republicans all agreed on local gun laws ....imagine ,non whites arming themselves against a racist threat .sounds like something needed today .
They also supported the 504 protesters in California by delivering food to them in the 70's. During the American with Disabilities civil rights movement.
Gee , just like the Hells Angels ! They help bullied children with appearing with them in court ! I would trust a Hells Angel's before I would trust dumpster or his cronies !
Whether we ran, walked, crawled, or tip-toed away from the church, each of us has a different story, but I’m betting not a single one of those stories include a rejection of the teachings of Jesus.
Everyone was so shocked at seeing black men armed. But is okay for all those white dudes to have guns and flash them around. Systemic racism is real.
I did know some things they did but not all. Good to have more info. always.
They didn't care about skin color because we're all humans. The thing we (avg sane US Citizens) have in common is that we are the have nots...who just what a decent way to live. Fred Hampton saw that, and made strides towards unity. He was then deemed a threat by GOV, and killed. RIP Fred Hampton!!
They also fed individuals with disabilities during the 504 sit-in, a series of demonstrations where people with disabilities occupied federal buildings to demand accessibility and accommodations!!
We can do this again, we just have to want to remove ourselves from this hamster wheel of capitalistic nonsense. We’ve had blinders slipped on us in the dead of night…..We Gotta Wake Up, put boots on the ground, get busy caring for one another, as we have always done. This moment we make our mark. ✊🏽
This is true, but people have to genuinely care about one another. There is a great amount of hate in the US right now. There's also the "every man/woman for himself/herself" mentality. What Fred showed was everybody looking out for everybody. That's the only way a new movement would work.
And they supported people with disabilities at the capitol when they had a sit in and capital crawl. Brought them food, washed their hair etc. they showed up.
The Black Panthers in Detroit fed children, had a free food pantry, offered day care, had free clothes for anyone in need, helped the elderly and disabled. I always felt safe around them.
Former free lunch kid, and when we lived in places that didn’t let you have debt, I just got hungry. I would just not go to the lunch room then, the smell of the food was too much. I’d lie and say I wasn’t hungry.
God bless those lunch ladies who looked the other way and let me eat!❤️
Yeah in one school the free lunch cards were a different color so you stood out. Yayyyyy classism!
It wasn’t our fault, we were kids and couldn’t legally earn an income. It’s shameful how we scar children who have zero control over their circumstances, make them feel less than.
I see you❤️
As someone stated .. they were so misunderstood, and portrayed as protesters and radical. However, this is what empathy looks like .. then and today ❤️
The “funny” thing is that no one (white) worried about gun control laws when they made them to keep the Panthers from having certain guns. Funny, because they didn’t use them on school children, they fed them and helped get them educated.
Many were grad students. They were a huge threat. Any inter-ethnic discrimination is against the BPP platform, it's called "cultural nationalism." I have a classmate whose parents were BPP members. Very kind and enlightened person. BPP was very intentional.
I thought the guns made sense, considering how many of their people were being killed. I don't know the whole story, though, so it's time I did. Any book recommendations?
While in 1969 the police broke into a black church that had the free breakfast for kids and proceeded to urinate all over it. They've never served the people, just the rich. #ACAB.
I do not know the history
But I am not surprised to see them armed
Being black in the states is dangerous
People are targeted for being not white
Numerous cases have been in the news
All that is true. The image shown also changed California’s open carry law in two seconds when they realized “oh shit. We meant white guys can carry guns!”
Ronnie Reagan changed that instantly to a felony to carry a loaded weapon.
They were so misunderstood. All people saw were black people with natural hair and guns, and they lost their fucking minds. What they didn't publicize was all the good they did, much respect.
They were afraid of them because they thought they MIGHT retaliate for all the shit this country has done to black people, so they had to make sure they were disbanded. White discomfort.
...oh God! This is gonna take some SERIOUS book banning and history re-writing to hide this kind of beneficent altruism. Why you should all be ...SAINTED👍
They understand nothing. History is being displaced. We were integrated and didn't know color was anything different in my school. We were one. And still are almost 50 years later.
My adult very liberal son bought a gun. Not because he thinks he can take on the U.S. military but because we may need to take on Donald’s brown shirts. We are taking a Black Panther approach. We’re not coming at you with violence but if you come at us we’re ready.
If that is what you are doing, engage law enforcement who is sympathetic, organize gun clubs and associations which advocate for use and self-defense. Get training with those law enforcement officers and or trainers who can instruct you in the proper legal way to exercise force
But what happens if they get to the point where they start to take away firearms from civilians? I imagine it’d be under the guise of “NO MORE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS!! Give us yer guns now!” (In a nutshell). This is just my imagination, but I think it fits in with their hypocrisy
Gimme a break. They’ll never do that bc the maga would desert them.
They will never expect the left to actually defend ourselves.
So if we do, we should not shout it to the rooftops in our real lives.
They don’t care about maga anymore. trump’s executive orders, congress with republican majorities, musk, the gop in general haven’t done much, if any, to stop the harm to their voter base.I’m not coming from a paranoia standpoint, just musing about all their hypocrisy so far & where else it could go
I’m all for weapons of war being out of civilian hands. Not sure if now is the right time for it. Depends on who is wielding it, for what purpose, & how much training they have for military combat situations. But even then, it’s nothing compared to what the military itself has. 🤷♀️ just spitballing
I hate guns and I’m a socialist so far left. Think Bernie/aoc and green new deal.
But I’m starting to question whether I need to go this route. If he declares martial law I think all the left need to organize and yes, arm.
I hate that I’m even thinking it
Comments
is from the POV of kids attending a Black Panthers summer camp. It’s been removed from my local school
district.
Unfortunately, racist lawmakers saw the BPP getting "uppity" and exercising their right to bear arms and decided to paint them as "Terrorists"
Now is the time to support one another and create community~ we will have to fight and fight hard. It's up to each of us!
It comes down to each of us: "if not me than who? If not now when?"
Our government has always feared positive growth and change~why? I think we know /end
And they killed him for it.
Poor whites had their freedom all along and could not match it.
The dollar from Black Wall Street changed hands 500 times before it left the street. And we know how that ended up.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5i3Q-QvlJ2E
Black militia is protecting her home town in ohio.
switch on the english subtitles please.
fight for your rights brothers,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYbbov5Oajg&lc=UgysWH5d0sajT5DgVQt4AaABAg
By the end of 1969 The Panthers were serving free breakfast to 20,000 school aged children in 19 cities and in 23 local affiliates. The labor and service was provided by party members and volunteers and most of the food was donated by stores, churches and groceries
That's an important history fact.
Ericka Huggins created the Oakland Community School and there were both men & women leaders everywhere.
In all sincerity thank YOU. Heroes are heroes, full stop.
It felt good. It felt right.
I can’t find that feeling anymore.
One hour before school
And 1 hour after
The ladies and men that I worked under
Were very nice and kind to me
And they were happy for the extra help
That’s what
public servants
And
Civil Servants do
Or at least most
Lol
Everything possible to divide, disarm, and lock them up.
The Black Panther movement was demonized by the media
If you went into the city in the 70s, you felt safe if they were around
Curtis Sliwa mocked Mexican culture on NY News and made disparaging comments about minorities. Additionally, in 2024, Sliwa misidentified a Bronx resident as a migrant during a live TV interview, leading to the man being tackled by Guardian Angels members.
Thanks mainstream media. Nothing new…those in power get to direct the narrative. 😩 It’s so f’n tiresome.
Republicans used to love Gun Control til Clinton
The rights don’t excuse the wrongs
It’s the exact same thing.
When you’re stealing and oppressing, you have to demonize your enemy.
These are identical things. ❤️
But like black panthers, Middle East has a right to defend itself from western imperialism
THIS IS BY DESIGN!
Bc if they admit they’re bombing a nation, it hits different.
Never doubt that the word choice is deliberate.
Thank you for sharing this. 🥺
I did know some things they did but not all. Good to have more info. always.
#blackpanthers #history #ushistory
Grew up around them ✊🏿
I'm expanding my garden this year.
God bless those lunch ladies who looked the other way and let me eat!❤️
Embarrassed for not having lunch money and Embarrassed when it was free.
I'm 67 and I still mentally carry that.
It wasn’t our fault, we were kids and couldn’t legally earn an income. It’s shameful how we scar children who have zero control over their circumstances, make them feel less than.
I see you❤️
But I am not surprised to see them armed
Being black in the states is dangerous
People are targeted for being not white
Numerous cases have been in the news
Ronnie Reagan changed that instantly to a felony to carry a loaded weapon.
Then all the racists decided hey all those people who feed us & work with us & love us are the real problem.
NEVER the inbred, generationally wealthy elites. They're just like us drinking beer.
Black History IS American History!💖
They will never expect the left to actually defend ourselves.
So if we do, we should not shout it to the rooftops in our real lives.
But I’m starting to question whether I need to go this route. If he declares martial law I think all the left need to organize and yes, arm.
I hate that I’m even thinking it