By Vincent L. Hall
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (as it was initially called) was founded in Oakland by Chairman Bobby Seale and Defense Minister Huey P. Newton; and included four other charter members. The other brothers were Elbert “Big Man” Howard, Sherman Forte, Reggie Forte, and Little Bobby Hutton, who served as treasurer.
As we near the 40th year of their noted “dissolution,” it would be helpful to refresh many of the concepts, programs, and rituals that made them great. There could be no modern-day revolutionary movement among Black people that do not adequately understand their place in history.
In April 1967, the Black Panther newsletter was created to explain their position and refute so many lies about them. In 1967, a communist was the worst thing you could be.
Because the Panthers studied Communist leaders like Karl Marx and Chairman Mao, the Panthers were labeled anti-American. But if learning the process of your oppression is anti-American, so be it!
The Panthers also leaned heavily on Malcolm X, whose assassination was as fresh as his speeches. The MIA Archives page tethered the Panthers to Brother Malcolm’s teachings.
“The practices of the late Malcolm X were deeply rooted in the theoretical foundations of the Black Panther Party. Malcolm had represented both a militant revolutionary with the dignity and self-respect to stand up and fight to win equality for all oppressed minorities.
The Panthers followed Malcolm’s belief of international working-class unity across the spectrum of color and gender, and thus united with various minority and white revolutionary groups.
From the tenets of Maoism, they set the role of their Party as the vanguard of the revolution and worked to establish a united front, while from Marxism, they addressed the capitalist economic system.
The Panthers studied the three primary classes of people: the Proletariat, the Bourgeoisie, and the Ruling Class. Their center of gravity was not leveled on Karl Marx’s theory as much as they identified who their enemy was.
To proclaim that the “white man” or “capitalism is our nemesis is too broad and wildly inadequate in the pursuit of individual and racial freedom.
The Panthers wanted the Black community to understand that the working class (proletariat) and the middle class (bourgeoise) were being controlled and manipulated by the ruling class.
The American ruling class points to minorities, liberal whites, and “illegal aliens” smokescreen. Meanwhile, they convert the votes and volition of their short-sighted political base to maintain wealth and control at the highest levels.
What Malcolm shouted to a raving crowd in Harlem is fit for 90% of us today. “Oh, I say, and I say it again, you been had! You been took! You been hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok!”
Shirley Williams’ poem appears simple but is a profound pronouncement of what each of us needs to hear. Her emphasis was on “growing” our children, but the tenets she set forth will grow you as an adult. The ultimate preparation for battle, self-defense, or negotiation is to ready oneself; mind, body, and spirit.
“I pledge allegiance to my Black people. I pledge to develop my mind and body to the greatest extent possible. I will learn all that I can in order to give my best to my people in their struggle for liberation.
I will keep myself physically fit, building a strong body free from drugs and other substances that weaken me and make me less capable of protecting myself, my family, and my Black brothers and sisters.
I will unselfishly share my knowledge and understanding with them in order to bring about change more quickly.
I will discipline myself to direct my energies thoughtfully and constructively rather than wasting them in idle hatred.
I will train myself never to hurt or allow others to harm my Black brothers and sisters, for I recognize that we need every Black man, woman, and child to be physically, mentally, and psychologically strong. These principles I pledge to practice daily and to teach them to others to unite my people.
Your kids need not salute a flag or stand at attention, but they need to learn Ms. Williams’ poem. Their strength and our future well-being depend on it.
(Thanks Ed Gray)
Vincent L. Hall is an author, activist, and an award-winning columnist.
