In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement

by Jama Lazerow, Yohuru Williams

Controversy swirled around the Black Panthers from the moment the revolutionary black nationalist Party was founded in Oakland, California, in 1966. Since that time, the group that J. Edgar Hoover called “the single greatest threat to the nation’s internal security” has been celebrated and denigrated, deified and vilified. Rarely, though, has it received the sort of nuanced analysis offered in this rich interdisciplinary collection. Historians, along with scholars in the fields of political science, English, sociology, and criminal justice, examine the Panthers and their present-day legacy with regard to revolutionary violence, radical ideology, urban politics, popular culture, and the media. The essays consider the Panthers as distinctly American revolutionaries, as the products of specific local conditions, and as parts of other movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

One contributor evaluates the legal basis of the Panthers’ revolutionary struggle, explaining how they utilized and critiqued the language of the Constitution. Others explore the roles of individuals, looking at a one-time Panther imprisoned for a murder he did not commit and an FBI agent who monitored the activities of the Panthers’ Oakland branch. Contributors assess the Panthers’ relations with Students for a Democratic Society, the Young Lords, the Brown Berets, and the Peace and Freedom Party. They discuss the Party’s use of revolutionary aesthetics, and they show how the Panthers manipulated and were manipulated by the media. Illuminating some of the complexities involved in placing the Panthers in historical context, this collection demonstrates that the scholarly search for the Black Panthers has only just begun.

Contributors. Bridgette Baldwin, Davarian L. Baldwin, David Barber, Rod Bush, James T. Campbell, Tim Lake, Jama Lazerow, Edward P. Morgan, Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar, Roz Payne, Robert O. Self, Yohuru Williams, Joel Wilson

Genres: History, African American

408 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good and looking at the history from many angles. The first one I've encountered on the BPP that actually does have more of an "objective" historical view on the BPP, just as they claim

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an outstanding critique of the Black Panther Party and the effects of their movement on the American landscape during the 60s and 70s. While most assesments of the Panthers dismissed them as ineffecutal Marxist idealist or thuggish revolutionary wannabes, they had an undeniable impact on the New Right and the intellectual elite of the time. This book gives a clear and solid analysis of the Black Panther Party and a balanced historical perspective of the birth, rise and demise of this iconic political movement.

This is an important piece of academic scholarship on the history of one of the most significant Marxist movements created in the United States. Whether you are a detractor or an admirer of the Black Panthers, this book will have something to offer.