vogue justice

Oct 20

Written By L.D.

Playtime is over - slay time has begun.

In October of 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Through a black nationalist and liberation framework, the party sought to address the struggles faced by the generation of young blacks. The party believed in traditional roles and an egalitarianism system for black men and women.

Defense of community came by way of physical protection and the re-setting of political and economic standards. So many blacks benefited from the programs created by the Black Panther Party. Unlike the political and religious leaders we had then and now who make empty promises, the party leaders were able to physically produce and provide for the most disenfranchised in the community.

With most true black liberation movements, the dominant society by way of the FBI and their black minions were able to infiltrate and bring progress to a screeching halt. Despite the party eventually dissolving due to betrayals and the murders of the party’s top leaders, the spirit of the Black Panther Party lives on 55 years later.

You can see the same fortitude and conviction for justice rising during this time. There is a heightening of black consciousness that cannot be stopped. The drumbeat calling us to our liberation gets louder each day. Adjust your beret. Raise your fist. Get in formation. ■