“Power to the People!”

Feb. 24, 1999. Page 9.

From Opinions

By Anthony Rainone

Commentary Editor

They wanted a country whose government claimed to be founded on the principle, power to the people, to start living up to its original words.

The Black Panther Party for self defense is probably one of the most racist, corrupt, anti-societal groups that our country has ever been faced with. As a country, we should all unite against these African Americans who dare to disturb the way we live. 

This is the image of the Black Panthers that the media, the FBI, and the rest of the government was trying to make people believe during their time in the late 1960’s and 70’s.

Even now, with all the proof and personal accounts of how the party was completely abused by the media and the government, we still see representations of the party as an anti-white organization with the sole purpose of giving the white man a hard time.

In part because it is Black History month and in part because I am tired of explaining to people about the real purpose of the party, I write this today so as to hopefully educate on one of the few things I have had the time to read up on in my life.

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense, as it was officially named, had many goals when it started. The founders of the party are Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. These two men have made some of the greatest impacts on our country and it was all done through the knowledge of their constitutional rights in the face of injustice. They had much help along the way, from people of all racial and religious backgrounds.

Now the Panthers had many goals and rules but there was one that they had that the others would seem to just follow naturally, POWER TO THE PEOPLE. This was the one thing that they wanted to establish. They wanted a country whose government claimed to be founded on the principle, power to the people, to start living up to its original words. 

The party grew out of the same spirit that compelled Malcolm X forward. No longer did they want to be pushovers in their own communities when it came to the authorities who knew nothing about them or their families. They wanted the right to govern their communities, the right to set up schools, the right to make a decent living, and a whole host of other things that many of us take today for granted.

Now some people may say that the party went too far by training its members to use guns and to carry weapons with them. However, I am talking about communities where it was common for police to come to a peaceful demonstration, remove their badges, and start brutalizing men, women, and children. How can anyone dare to question tactics of the party for self defense? I don’t think that many can relate to what was going on at the time unless we were there. I don’t just mean alive, but actually lived in the many black communities that put up with police and other social brutalities on a daily basis. 

The party’s platform was summed up in its ten point program which included freedom to run the black community, end to police brutality, decent housing, and many other basic rights. I think that the thing that caused the government to get into such an uproar, outside of black people thinking for themselves and calling the government on their many wrongs, was that basically this document was saying that they wanted to run their own lives. They didn’t want or need any government help. They just wanted the ability to govern themselves. The Party had already proven they could do this with the establishment of their school lunch programs and liberation schools.

Think about it, if the people realized that they didn’t need the government that they have, what would all of the politicians do for a living? Now you can start to see why people like J. Edgar Hoover declared the party public enemy number one.

The party worked so well because its two founders were extremely bright, intelligent, approachable people. Huey Newton would talk for hours with people about how messed up the system is. As Bobby Seale recalls it, Huey would just take people to the point where they couldn’t possibly disagree with what he was saying because he knew his subject matter so well. When it came to the power structure in America, Huey had the whole sick system pretty much figured out. 

His thinking and speaking parallels Malcolm X in an uncanny way. Huey was described as a man who could speak to anyone because he spoke at a level that anyone could understand. Malcolm did the same. There is no sense in speaking to people in a way that they can’t relate to. This is why the party had the impact it did. In the way that the Nation of Islam is limited because of its anti-white dogma, the Panthers were a party that preached unity of all oppressed people. POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

It is just a shame that the party has, for the most part, no signs of life. The country could really use a party like this at present. The country is in a sad state of affairs. Look at the news a few weeks ago, an unarmed man in the Bronx suspected of a crime has 41 shots fired at him, of which 19 hit him, one right through the heart which killed him. 

Could things like this result from the so called “tough on crime” objectives which give the police the benefit of the doubt in these situations? Groups like the Black Panther Party for Self Defense were set up to combat such incidents as these police attacks. The country needs civilians who are conscious of their rights. Knowledge of the inner workings of the law shouldn’t be restricted to lawyers. This is how Huey Newton started. He learned his rights but didn’t stop there. He shared his knowledge of the law with those who needed it most, the people he lived with. 

Learning your rights is an easy thing to do. You don’t have to go to Tibet to fight injustice, you can do it right here in NYC. If everyone just fought to clean up their own backyard, the country would be 100% more functional. The Black Panther Party for Self Defense proved this hypothesis, we should truly fight for power to the people.