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Black Panthers
Editors, History. com. (2023, March 29). Black Panthers , definition timeline. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-panthers#black-panthers-origins-and-history -
Pioneer Day at Merrit College
Huey Newton and Bobby Seale both attended Merrit College in Oakland, California. During this time, these two men started a protest against the school's celebration of Pioneer Day. Pioneer Day is the celebration of pioneers settling in California, but the school failed to mention the African Americans who were also settling in the West. These two then moved to create a group called Negro History Fact group and advocated or there to be black history classes. -
The assassination of Malcolm X
Malcolm X a civil rights leader was shot during one of his speeches in Manhattan, New York. -
Black Panther Party for Self Defense
The first thing the Black Panthers did was monitor police activities in black communities all over California. -
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Violence outside and within the party
Huey Newton one of the founders of the Black Panthers allegedly killed a police officer, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Many members of the party were involved in shootouts with the police. Eventually, party members did not trust one another because of the fear of someone being an informant for the police. -
Support for Communities
After the Black Panthers began to create social programs and engage in political activities. A large number of communities specifically one with a high minority population began to show their support. Eventually, they had members all across the state. -
The Free breakfast program
One of the more popular programs was the Free breakfast program which provided free breakfast in schools for children. It also offered 13 health clinics in African American communities across the U.S. -
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The FBI
The FBI declared the Black Panther Organization to be a communist group and an enemy of the U.S. government. The FBI would exploit the groups' rivalry to convince them to break up. The FBI also worked to dismantle the programs the Black Panthers organized. -
The Murder of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark
Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were Black Panther members who had their home raided by the Chicago police while they were asleep. After shots broke out the police described this moment as a battle between the members of the party and the police. Experts say that out of all the bullets that were fired only one of them came from a member of the party. Even though the FBI did not lead the raid court declared that the actions of the FBI did lead to that movement. -
The Black Panther's Disband
After all the FBI interference, criminal activities, and a rift between the members they decided to disband