The Rise of the Black Power Movement and The Black Panther Party

Catalog description

This course critically examines in historical context, and the intersection of the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power Movement and how the protracted struggles waged by African Americans for social justice and full equality brought about the founding of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. Tracing the 1966 formation of the Panther Party in Oakland, California, after the death of Malcolm X in 1965, students will explore the early influence and impact of the Black Power Movement in establishing specific community-based programs, the philosophical and political underpinnings of the BPP emphasis on self-defense, community organizing and empowerment, and how the party organized against the onslaught of the FBI’s Cointelpro program. Students will additionally examine the BPP impact on contemporary movements of social change including the Black Lives Matter Movement and the party’s lasting legacy in current African American culture and political engagement.