Essay Example on The Black Panther Party was an influential socialist Group

Not only were both Malcolm X and MLK powerful in their own rights but they also shaped the need for a group such as the Black Panther Party to inspire Black Americans all over the nation and eventually would reach international outgroups such as the civil rights groups in Australia With the expansion of the BPP s followers and influence came a huge change for the regards of minority communities The Panthers were hugely involved in local governments and political movements in their communities Because the Panthers were spread out in the nation each branch in certain areas would have the responsibility to look after the minorities groups specifically the Black communities They took police seriously in order to improve the life of minorities There were many things that the Black Panther Party helped to identify the group as more than a radical union In January of 1969 The first BPP s Free Breakfast for School Children Program is announced and started at St Augustine's Church in Oakland California Around the end of 1969 the Panthers had been able to create support kitchens in cities with significant minority populations across the nation they were able to feed over 10 000 children every day before they went to school However unlike most parties in the United States the Black Panthers were not only interested in gaining power through elections The BPP were more interested in setting up and endorsing other candidates and their platform for example the U S Representative Ron Dellums Democrat California 

They also occasionally used campaigns for a more symbolic approach rather than for office like the time Huey Newton had ran for the U S Congress while still in prison in 1968 The only few times the party took campaigns to a serious effort in order to win elected offices were in 1973 when both party members Bobby Seale had ran for mayor and Elaine Brown ran for city council in Oakland and once again when Brown re ran for the city council office in 1975 The BPP also heavily concentrated on creating a series of survival programs that were community based they followed the group s extensive philosophy that encompassed revolutionary and reformist ideals One of if not the most radical initiatives implemented by the group was the ideal of self defense which was brought on by Malcolm X s model The Black Panthers had created police patrols that was first utilized in Oakland and then with the increase of the numbers in the organization there was a spread of patrols linked in other cities in America These patrols were an almost extreme and militarized version of the neighborhood watch association due to members patrolling being visibly armed while protecting citizens from potentially lethal run ins with the police Thus the patrols sparked an enormous backlash from police resulting in numerously dangerous confrontations with the lovingly named Pigs Additionally the party's general focus on arming black people combined with the employment and usage of Black Panthers as bodyguards for prominent celebrities all deliberately strengthen the military symbolism and imagery Although the motto and preaching of the party indicated their would be lethal confrontations and armed struggles for black liberation which is a paradox to the self defense ideal Finally the reinforcement of the militant image of the Black Panthers was re emphasized by the increasing frequency of police shootouts and armed Blacks which concluded in the death of at least twenty eight members of the party