By Sunnie
I have always had a fascination with Black Panther Party. Since I was a little girl the image of a black panther with its teeth bared, afros, afro puffs, black berets, and Black fists has left me with an understanding of the needs of Black people from a perspective that makes sense to me, socialism.
Recently, I stumbled across the criteria for their ten-point program. When I speak of Black Panthers I’m not referring to the blockbuster “Black Panther” set in Wakanda which is Marvel film. Though I respect the cultural significance of the Black Panther movie in Black culture worldwide, it is of utmost importance to remember the Black Panther Party that fought for the freedom and liberation of Black Americans from the Civil Rights movement until now.
The Black Panthers were founded in the mid 1960’s. In the heart of the Civil Rights movement, two men named Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale from Oakland, California who met in college created a party meant to bolster ideas of “Black nationalism, socialism, and armed self-defense. particularly against police brutality.
In the current political climate, it is not difficult to draw parallels from the struggles Black Americans faced in 1966 to the issues we face now. It does not seem like much is changing.
The first point the Black Panthers emphasized that stood out to me was the thirst point. “We believe that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every man employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the white American businessmen will not give full employment, then the means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living.”
As we navigate a world after the COVID-19 pandemic, I find the goal of sufficient employment or guaranteed income a distant wish for American society. We are in the process of systematically starving poor people with red lines and rising price tags in grocery stores. The injustice does not only end there; we continue to watch housing emerge from the ground up and it is obvious those are being built for the members of our lower income communities. Gentrification runs rampant as I watch home after home in my neighborhood emptied of the neighbors that I grew up seeing, to be bought out by landlords or purchased by wealthier patrons in search of a deal.
The statement “We want an end to the robbery by the capitalists of our Black community” stands as the third tennant of the Black Panther’s ten-point program. I wish one day to see a world where we begin to take steps toward this sentiment. Capitalism preys on marginalized communities around the world, and in America we consciously turn a blind eye to the treatment of our citizens while taking no accountability.
Though there is not much we can do as individuals to change the treatment of Black Americans in our country today, it is imperative that we do our part to feed our communities. Provide your time, money, and resources to Black communities in need, if you are in need of ideas feel free to contact me.
Sunnie is a digital nomad who has been traveling Central and South America for eight months. With a background in African American and African Studies coupled with environmental science and sustainability studies, she is passionate about mental health, social justice and the world that contains it. You can contact her at thenewcitizenspress@gmail.com.
