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Joshua Park
Professor Osborne
Writing 140
12 November 2013
Assignment 4
Resistance of the Black Panther Party
The failings of a governing society can ultimately lead to revolt and corruption
within a nation. In order to overcome the weaknesses of the government, different groups
and organizations are created to write the wrongs and to address democratic flaws. The
Black Panther Party, established in 1966, is a black socialist group that gained popularity in
its involvement in the Black Power movement. The organization is primarily recognized for
self-defense, but supported many different programs to help the community alleviate
poverty and health problems. Although it is portrayed only as a violent group, the Black
Panther Party demonstrates legitimate responses to the deficiencies of a democratic
society. The groups self-defense and oppression tactics are legitimate if they pertain to the
lack of equality, justice, and freedom.
Legitimate responses are defined as actions that are justified and reasonable.
Although the law was created for citizens to follow, if the policies are inhumane and
detrimental towards the people, breaking these certain laws could be a legitimate
response. The failings of a democracy influence and lead people to respond against
governing societies. If the democracy loses the ability to bring flourishing growth towards
for people, then the governing society has failed its basic and most crucial function. As
stated by Zena Hitz on the failings of democracies, the standards of majority rule and
standard by lot are not the right standards for political decisions; democracies pursue the
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dominant end of liberty at the expense of the true end of politics, human flourishing (Hitz).
The government was unable to meet the needs of the people. Because of flawed
democracies, groups and organizations were brought up to create resistance. Different
groups of people fought for different reasons, but the true purpose was to fight against the
corrupted democracy. Even in groups, legitimacy within actions was determined if the
responses were concerned with the lack of equality, justice, and freedom. Eventually, the
rise of the Black Panther Party was in existence.
Parties and organizations were established with the aspiration to fight against
wrongful democratic rulings. After a ruthless and wrongful police beating in Oakland,
California, Bobby Seale and Huey Newton founded the Black Panther Party, originally
named the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The Black Panther Partys main objectives
are to fight oppression and inequality presented in the countryprimarily pursued to
neglect the use of violence unless deemed absolutely necessary. According to Khalid
Raheem, the Black Panther Party initiated and maintained a number of programs aimed at
serving the people (Raheem). As an act of service, these actions were in response to the
failings of the government. Because the government was unable to provide fundamental
rights for the people, the Black Panther Party formed many contrasting methods and
servicesall with the same vision to fight the governing society.
The Black Panther Party formed numerous amounts of community programs that
were produced and acted upon for legitimate reasons. Established in January 1969, the
Free Breakfast for School Children Program initiative was in place for poor communities.
The programs purpose was to provide and serve free breakfast for children in need.As
Andrew Witt asserted in his dissertation, the Panthers knew they had to provide this
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service [free breakfast to children] to their communities, because the government was not
adequately addressing the problem (Witt 63).This act of service was justified and labeled
as legitimate; the democracy in the United States was unable to provide a basic necessity
for communities. Starving children in the country were not given the ability to eat food and
sustain their bodies. The lack of concern, drawn in by the leaders of the government,
garners injustice towards students that are not economically blessed. In response to the
lacking government, the Black Panther Party acted legitimately in aiding the people
through the construction of the Free Breakfast for School Children Program.
In addition to the Free Breakfast for School Children Program, the Black Panther
Party created free health clinics in response to the governmentsshortcomings. Before
1965 in Watts, California, not a single hospital was available for the black community (Witt
66). Black communities were isolated and not given opportunities towards basic medical
needs. Many crowded black communities solely served for the white communities, leaving
others isolated and abandoned. Reported by Ronald Satchel, analyst from the Chicago
Chapter, the medical profession is not responsive to the medical needs of the people and the
medical profession within this capitalist society is composed generally of people working for
their own benefit and advancement rather than the humane aspects of medical care (Witt 66).
Citizens serving their time as medical professionals are responding to the capitalist society,
causing them to work for themselves. The democratic society in the United States led to the
creation of a capitalist economy. The establishment of free health clinics within black
communities is reasonable because of the governing society; their absence in medical needs for
all members of society lead to inhumane outcomes for citizens.
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Additionally and most emphasized, the unlawful brutality from policemen triggered
the Black Panther Party to implement self-defense as one of their core values; although
violence against others were deemed to be unjust, the legitimacy of attacks were qualified
if based on the equality, justice, and freedom. In account of Malcolm X he stated, the time
has come to fight back in self-defense whenever and wherever the black man is being
unjustly and unlawfully attacked (Steven).Although the Black Panther Party did not want
to bring violence upon the police department and government, the rise and increase of
unjust beatings from the police, against black citizens, forced the party to use self-defense
to create a safe environment for the community. Racial segregation was present as cops
would base and assume crimes upon someone because of their skin color. Because the
Black Panther Party and the black community were being abused and ridiculed for so long,
the words of Malcolm X brought fourth confidence and strength to unlawfully fight the
governing society with violence. These actions were legitimate, as the party sought for
equality with the whites within the democracy.
To be aware of the responses and treatment from the police, the Black Panther Party
placed patrol officers on the streets to monitor cop activity. According to Steven from
Libcom, whenever black people were stripped by the police, armed Panthers would be on
the scene, making sure their constitutional rights were not violated (Steven).The
continual outburst of unfair treatment from the police caused the party to enforce their
communities, making sure that safe and fair discipline would be distributed to the people.
The legitimacy of members patrolling the streets can be found in the pursuit of equality,
similar to basic self-defense. Despite the fact that violence against the government is illegal,
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committing acts of attacks can be made reasonable if the democracy fails to give civil rights
to all people.
The armed violence of the Black Panther Party is justified to a certain extent;
conflicts and outbursts that occurred because of the failings of the government, which led
to a lack of civil rights, are considered legitimate actions. On December 4, 1969, the Black
Panther Party, apartment of the Illinois party, was unjustly raided by a large group of police
officers in Chicago. As asserted by Ted Gregory of the Chicago Tribune, Sgt. Daniel Groth
knocked on the front door. When there was no answer, he knocked with his gun. The next
seven minutes of gunfire became one of the most hotly disputed incidents of the turbulent
1960s (Gregory). After the shooting, Fred Hampton, the leader of the Illinois party, and
Mark Clark, the leader of the Peoria party, were shot dead. The violent response from the
Black Panther Party, although lawfully unjust, was backed up because of the wrongful
attack and raid by the police department. The governing society failed to provide justice
and freedom for both of the party leaders. An illegitimate response from the government
allowed for a legitimate violent response from the Black Panther Party.
Although the Black Panther Party performed actions against unjust crimes and
errors from the failing democracy of the United States, frequent illegitimate responses
were displayed by the party. On the night of November 14, 1969, members of the Black
Panther Party incorrectly attacked two police officers on duty. Recorded on a officer
memorial page, it states as the officers entered a gangwaythe man [a member from the
party] opened fire with a shotgun from a porch below, striking Officer Rappaport in the
chest and Officer Gilhooly in the face and neck. The suspect then shot Officer Rappaport
again as he lay on the ground, killing him (Patrolman). The members of the party unjustly
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fired at the officers, causing one to die. If violence is abused wrongfully because of bad
intentions, the legitimacy of that action fails to hold righteousness. The Black Panther Party
responded illegitimately in situations that did not involve the governmentsfailings to
uphold civil rights for the people.
Albeit the portrayal of the group as violent, the Black Panther Party exhibits
legitimate responses to the shortcomings of a democratic society. The groups programs
and methods of approach are legitimate if they are in response to the lack of equality,
justice, and freedom from the government. The Free Breakfast for School Children Program
delivered a response to the lack of concern from the democratic society; this program
allowed students of all racial backgrounds to eat breakfast if they were unable to
elsewhere. Also while implementing free clinics, the inadequacy of the government to reach
the equality in hospitals forced the party to establish basic health needs for the
communities. The Black Panther Partys approach to self-defense and governmental attacks
were acceptable; the intentions pertained to the absence of humane rights from the
democracy. The failings of a democracy can influence illegal actions to be perceived as a
just act towards society.
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Works Cited
Gregory, Ted. "The Black Panther Raid and the death of Fred Hampton." Chicago
Tribune. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
.
Hitz, Zena. "Plato and Aristotle on the Failings of Democracy." Order No. 3154539
Princeton University, 2005. Ann Arbor:ProQuest. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"Patrolman John J. Gilhooly." Officer Down Memorial Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2013. .
Raheem, Khalid. "Remembering the Black Panther Party."New Pittsburgh Courier: 1.
Oct 2011.ProQuest. Web. 18 Nov. 2013 .
Steven. "The Black Panther Party for Self Defense."Libcom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov.
2013. .
Witt, Andrew. "'Picking Up the Hammer': The Community Programs and Services of the
Black Panther Party with Emphasis on the Milwaukee Branch, 1966--1977."
Order No. 3180965 Loyola University Chicago, 2005. Ann Arbor:ProQuest. Web. 18
Nov. 2013.
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