Via: Jamie Green

Over the course of a few days, I’ve been learning about cults in my forensic psychology class. During this class, my professor made a slide in power point about extremist groups. In this slide, the KKK and the Black Panther Party were lumped together. My professor stated that “the KKK started with a bunch of guys in Tennessee that liked to play baseball but then things got weird.”

As I sat in class trying my best to understand my professor’s point, I became increasingly upset as he showed a youtube clip of a local news channel where a reporter was heckling a member of the New Black Panther Party about a member who was intimidating voters during the 2008 election (because we all know how educational local news segments from youtube are). I watched with disappointment as my professor began to cackle at this news clip. I adverted eye contact and did my best to look away; feeling more mortified for my professor than angry as he chuckled at the youtube video.

As the day progressed I went to conduct more research on the subject out of curiosity. I will first state that the only group that the KKK should ever be compared is other terrorist organizations. When researching the topic of the origins of the Klan, I learned that they did originate in Tennessee. My professor was correct on that one but, they were quite a bit more than a baseball league of white men. The original intent of the first KKK group was to intimidate black politicians and white northern politicians to steer government in their favor. When the Klan killed a black politician, they shot him in the middle of the night and then beheaded the rest of his family. More clans spread like an infectious disease throughout the southern states and by 1867 there were 197 deaths within 18 months in North and South Carolina along with 548 cases of aggravated assault. As the KKK expanded, the lynchings increased leaving a legacy of violence.

The Black Panther Party originated in Oakland, California in 1966 with the intent to protect citizens from police brutality that was happening at the time. The Black Panther Party adopted a 10 point program that called for freedom, full employment for the people, decent housing, education, exemption from military service (they already “served” as slaves), end to police brutality, and justice in the court and prison systems. The actions of the Black Panthers were service and survival programs. Even implementing a free breakfast for children service and a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program. The Black Panther Party had non-black members and left a legacy that encouraged people to demand rights and equality. Many other Panther organizations have popped up on a global level. Ever heard of the Polynesian Panthers? They advocate for the right of the native Maori people in New Zealand.

The Black Panther Party ended in 1982. The New Black Panther Party has been denounced by the original party’s founders Huey Newton and Bobby Seale who have criticized the group for exploiting the name Black Panther. In summary, Newton stated that the Party operated on love and not hate. The most important nugget of information I learned from all of this is that the Black Panthers today are not Black Panthers at all. Rather a group of people operating out of hatred.

In conclusion, the Black Panther Party was powerful but was eventually infiltrated by the government. If black, white, yellow, red, and brown could all come together as one and use the Black Panther Party as a model, then government would truly respect us.