Black Panther History
Initially called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense to seperate its party members from the non-violence of the Civil Rights movement, the Black Panther Party (BPP) was founded in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in Oakland, California to oppose police brutality in black communities. In contrast to other, non-violent 'Black Power' organisations, Black Panther members were armed. Under Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Black Panthers grew from there, taking on a uniform of blue shirts, leather jackets and black berets, and adopting the central ideology that formed the basis of the Black Panther Party (BPP): their Ten Point Program that was put together as a political and social ground for the protection of black people in America against brutality. At the same time, the Black Panther Party set up community support schemes, that gave access to free health clinics, education, and free breakfast for children to working-class black men and women. The Black Panther History collections enable researchers to explore Black Panther Party history from multiple angles through a variety of Black Panther primary sources.
Explore the Black Panther History collections to examine the other side of radical politics, as the Black Panther Party had significant support from African Americans on the broad political left. Through pamphlets, posters, photos and articles this collection allows researchers to explore key events in Black Panther Party history through multiple Black Panther primary sources - from press coverage of the imprisonment of Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, and the subsequent Free Huey campaign,to the murder of Bobby Hutton and the campaign to free Eldridge Cleaver from jail.