Survival Pending Revolution: The History of the Black Panther Party

by Paul Alkebulan

The Black Panther Party (BPP) seized the attention of America in the frenetic days of the late 1960s when a series of assassinations, discontent with the Vietnam War, and impatience with lingering racial discrimination roiled the United States, particularly its cities. The BPP inspired dread among the American body politic while receiving support from many urban black youths. The images of angry and armed young black radicals in the streets of U.S. cities seemed a stunning reversal and repudiation of the accommodationist and assimilationist black goals associated with Martin Luther King’s movement, as well as an unprecedented defiance of the civil power.

 

Although many have written about the BPP in memoirs and polemics, Survival Pending Revolution contributes to a new generation of objective, analytical BPP studies that are sorely needed. Alkebulan displays the entire movement’s history: its lofty and even idealistic goals and its in-your-face rhetoric, its strategies, tactics, and the internal divisions and ego clashes, drawing upon public records as well as the memories of both leaders and foot soldiers, to attempt a description that both understands the inner workings of the BPP and its role in the greater society.

Genres: History

200 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2007

Reviews

[Matthew Wilder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleanly written but extremely Wikipedia-like account of the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party. An academic paper—so language is austere and direct quotes are chary. Just the facts, ma’m.

[Michael Boyte · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not entirely sure who this book is for. It is, as previous reviewers noted, a short introduction to the history of the Panthers, written in 2007. While it may be a useful introduction for someone unfamiliar with the history being discussed (particularly the opening chapter about the legacies of Malcolm X) there are several problems, namely a failure to articulate how brutal and horrific the government repression of the Panthers was, and how explosively radical they were when they came on to the scene. While it's clear there were problems with the dramatic growth of the BPP, it needs to be clear that the clarity of their purpose of boldness of their revolutionary stand is exactly why thousands of young people were willing to join so readily. While discussing the international work of the party, Alkebulan leaves out critical context, that the Panthers emerged in the swirl of an international revolutionary moment, that they were engaged in dialogue and relationships, not just with some governments, but with living revolutionary movements engaged in similar national liberation struggles.

The book is strengthened by personal stories from party members in different localities and positions in the party, and notable for raising the question of women in the party. That said, a more comprehensive view of the Party is presented in the PBS documentary 'Vanguard of the Revolution', and 'Black Against Empire' is the single best book about the Panthers.

[Kaitlyn Schiess · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important antidote to the skewed version many of us were taught in school, written by a historian and former BPP member.

[Dominic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for a research project

[Alan Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, short summary of the growth and decline of the Black Panther Party. The author was a member, although only for a couple of years. He does not soft-peddle the many contradictions within the party, but does understate the destructive role of the government's COINTELPRO campaign to destroy the party. I do note the title is a little misleading, as the discussion of the survival programs is superficial, rather than the focus of the book.

It's a good introduction, for those who know little about the history of the Black Panther Party. But it won't significantly deepen your understanding if you already know the basic background.

[Judith Smulders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Relatively non-political work on the history of the Black Panther Party with praises where due and criticism where appropriate and required. A lot of information on the ideological influences, the role of women, strategies, undermining operations by the FBI and its community programs of the BPP and the major reasons for its ultimate downfall. Very honest and doesn't gloss over certain incidents within the party like the schism and the related violence.