The Birth of the Black Panthers

Image from Black History Online

It is week 3 of Black History Month and there is no time better than now to look at the Black Panther Party (BPP). They gave wings to the Black Power movement and left lasting positive impacts on our communities –  including the Free Breakfast Program, which led to many free meal programs at schools, such as the ones provided by the School District of Lancaster. 

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, soon after the news broke of the police shooting and killing a teenager named Matthew Johnson. The Party organized “copwatching” groups – Black Americans who were legally armed and legally observed police carrying out their duties – out of the need for mutual self-defense against a police force that had always been hostile to their existence. In the words of Black Panther Fred Hampton, “The Black Panther Party was created to bring power to the Black community and support all people that have been oppressed by a racist and socially-biased system.”

The BPP’s famous 10-point program included many reasonable demands, such as:

  • “We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our black and oppressed communities.”
  • “We want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings.”
  • “We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people’s community control of modern technology.”

Internal and External Strife

The BPP faced violent repression by the United States government, including (but not limited to) aggression from local police departments, the assassination of Chicago chapter leader Fred Hampton, and the COINTELPRO and MKUltra programs. In the words of scholar Penial E. Joseph, the FBI had a “clandestine role in the dismantling of the Black Power, New Left, and antiwar movements” which revealed “further evidence of the pitfalls of unchecked government power.” 

The BPP also faced fierce internal ideological disagreements and rifts, but the fact that they persisted for 24 years in spite of those pressures is a testament to their resolve and the effectiveness of their many programs. 

One recurring issue for the party was an internal struggle between sexism and feminism. For example, although Elaine Brown was the leader of the BPP from 1974-1977, she said that “If a black woman assumed a role of leadership [in the Black Power movement], she was said to be eroding Black manhood, to be hindering the progress of the Black race… I knew I would have to muster something mighty to manage the Black Panther Party.” (Elaine Brown, A Taste of Power)

In spite of this, women made up roughly half of BPP membership, and championed some of their most successful and enduring programs. Elaine Brown herself helped start the BPP’s first Free Breakfast Program in Los Angeles, which would go on to provide meals for thousands of children across the US. Brown and the Panthers created a mutual aid network that met a community need right away, rather than begging the government to do its job. This program was so effective that local communities kept the work going even after the BPP formally dissolved. It even embarrassed the government into doing better, leading to many free school meal programs that we have today – including those provided by the School District of Lancaster. It is no mistake that Price Elementary in Lancaster chose the black panther as its school mascot.

The Black Panthers Today

Although internal and external pressures led to the BPP formally dissolving in 1982, the spirit of the Black Panthers is still very much alive today. In addition to community survival programs (like the Free Breakfast program), several former BPP members have held elected office, including Charles Barron (New York City Council), Nelson Malloy (Winston-Salem City Council), and Bobby Rush (US House of Representatives). 

As political tensions, economic instability, and state oppression get worse in 2026 – including, but not limited to, masked ICE agents kidnapping and murdering people in the streets – the Party itself is making a comeback. Led by old and new revolutionaries, the BPP has released a guide called The 4 Winds Approach to Revolution. This document outlines a plan for building intercommunal power through neighborhood networks of mutual aid. While this plan would take a lot of work, it is needed now more than ever. As our local and federal governments are becoming less and less able to meet all of their citizens’ needs,  it is time for us to start talking to each other and figuring out how we can meet each others’ needs together.

Some resources for learning more about the Black Panthers, past and present: