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166 reviews for:
Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
Joshua Bloom
4.48 AVERAGE
166 reviews for:
Black against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
Joshua Bloom
4.48 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
This book offered important insight into the inspiration for the Black Panther Party and its impact on national and World politics even after its dissolution.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
This is my first book (or anything) that talks about the Black Panther Party as anything except a more extreme civil rights struggle that is a cautionary tale of what not to do. For the first time, I heard the stories of the beginning of the party, the accomplishments of the party, the power they wield in their heyday, the issues and ego in the party leadership, and the lauded and controversial actions taken by the party. The Black Panthers focus was on Black safety and equity, but they also fought for freedom and economic parity for all people against oppressive governments and ruling class.
To me, the most interesting party of the story is the study of revolutionary vs. reform movements. Bloom argues that the goals of the Black Panther Party and movements like them did not have the same goals as other civil rights movements. While other movements seek to create space and fairness within the existing system, the Black Panther Party argued that the system itself had to go. This book was published in 2016 which was only the beginning of the first Black Lives Matter movement when reform was the main goal. In 2020, the abolitionists seem to be moving towards the revolutionary classification though many supporters and detractors are uncomfortable with even significant reform. The wide span of ideas on what BLM should be seems to echo the black movements in the 1960's. We can see what there is to be learned from what was successful (either in making the party appeal to the masses or affecting real change) and what tore the Panthers apart. Though as the author warns, the uniqueness of the political moment in the 1960's likely had much to do with what was effective.
To me, the most interesting party of the story is the study of revolutionary vs. reform movements. Bloom argues that the goals of the Black Panther Party and movements like them did not have the same goals as other civil rights movements. While other movements seek to create space and fairness within the existing system, the Black Panther Party argued that the system itself had to go. This book was published in 2016 which was only the beginning of the first Black Lives Matter movement when reform was the main goal. In 2020, the abolitionists seem to be moving towards the revolutionary classification though many supporters and detractors are uncomfortable with even significant reform. The wide span of ideas on what BLM should be seems to echo the black movements in the 1960's. We can see what there is to be learned from what was successful (either in making the party appeal to the masses or affecting real change) and what tore the Panthers apart. Though as the author warns, the uniqueness of the political moment in the 1960's likely had much to do with what was effective.
"If one would look closely, and check this three year history, he will find that in damn near every rebellion a racist cop was involved in the starting of that rebellion. And these same pig cops, under orders from the racist government, will probably cause 50 or more rebellions to occur the rest of this year alone, by inflicting brutality or murdering some black person within the confines of one of our black communities. Black people will defend themselves at all costs. They will learn the correct tactics to use in dealing with the racist cops. . . . The racist military police force occupies our community just like the foreign American troops in Vietnam. But to inform you dog racists controlling this rotten government and for you to let your pig cops know you ain’t just causing a “long hot summer”, you’re causing a Black Revolution."
It is impossible I suspect to read a history of the Black Panthers now without feeling the weight of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the murders which make it necessary, settling over you as you read. You wonder how these young revolutionaries would react to thousands of people chanting: "Hands Up, Don't Shoot", and the depressing reality that despite the fact that Black kids play on the White House lawn, most of their peers live with endemic poverty, more Black boys will go to jail than university; Black kids die in wars overseas in disproportionate numbers in wars whose gains they will never see; and Black men and women are gunned down by police with regularity. Of what the originators of the Black Pride movement, the young Panthers who patrolled police, would think of parents teaching their children how to be polite to cops at all times, how to keep their hands away from their pockets, how to stay safe through compliance. (There is no implied criticism here, just a musing on what changes, and what doesn't). Of course, the Panthers themselves, the authors contend, faced dilemmas over militancy vs mass support at mobilisations, choosing increasingly to hold fire to conserve support and stay alive, in both a literal and metaphorical sense.
This history itself is fairly straightforward - there is some broad theses about the reasons for the rapid growth and rapid decline woven through - but mainly the authors have produced a dense-but-readable, roughly-chronological-while-grouping-themes-and-locations history of the Panthers (no small feat given the diversity to cover). It's not a ripping yarn. The authors are more concerned with dynamics than personality, accuracy than anecdote, and if the writing remains unmemorable, the book is still the more thought provoking for the approach.
While some things - the focus on police violence as a key mechanism of Black oppression - remain familiar, others contrast to current politics. In particular, the book places a strong emphasis on the importance of Third World Liberation struggles in formulating the Panthers critique, particularly the experiences of Cuban, Algerian, Chinese and Vietnamese revolutionaries. Far from adopting terms like African-American, the Panthers' overtly identified the interests of Blacks with these struggles against the USA, and rejected an identification with the US as a whole. Their use of the capitalised Black chose to emphasise the commonality with people of colour (African-American wasn't in use till the 80s). This broader, global perspective, a rejection of nationalist rhetoric, or the underlying idea that Black people should be fighting for incorporation into the American state is evident throughout their approach. From the formation of alternate sources of community organisation - from schools to health clinics to law enforcement - through to a strategy of intense alliance building. The Panthers described in this book certainly weren't seperatists, quite the opposite, they saw the Black struggle as part of something much larger, global in scope but also taking in the struggles of others whose interests were not aligned with the State, from other racial groups like the Young Lords, through to the emerging LGBTI movement and the women's liberation movements. Working with peace organisations was a natural for the Panthers, as they saw common cause with the Viet Cong, and the entire Third World Bloc. One of the biggest, and most welcome, surprises for me in this book was the extent to which the Panthers helped, funded and underpinned other movements, including those dominated by white activists, while maintaining clear leadership and focus on Black liberation.
This may not be an accurate comment - coming as it does from an Australian librarian - but it felt is stark contrast to current US politics, where the Black Lives Matter movement seems largely self-contained, a struggle others have not effectively connected to or supported. Bernie Sanders initial remove from this movement, lack of connection to Black activists and movements seemed to indicate this. Or not.
And of course, nothing was that simple. It is fascinating, and far too briefly touched on, how the Panthers formal support for Women's Liberation, and alliances with Women's Lib organisations, sits alongside an internal culture which was, in most cases and places, overwhelmingly sexist. The book covers this briefly, but densely, with a scattershot of comments from leading Panthers - many of whom are influential feminist leaders now and then - about the expectations upon women to serve, to have sex and to have children with the Brothers. The topic clearly needs a proper book long treatment, throwaway references to the painful difficulty of trying to deal with sexist violence when racist violence is deadlier just touch on what kinds of complex struggles women Panther leaders navigated and won gains on. I highlighted most of these comments - which should be visible as quotes from this book in my Goodreads account somehow.
The book has a few minor flaws - the organisation seems as if the different authors took different chapters: some of the material overlaps in an awkward way (the same quotes used twice a few times, the same info presented, like chatting to someone who forgets what they have already told you). I like Gramschi, I do, but his omnipresence in framing revolutionary analysis lately reminds me of the inescapability of Foucault in my postgraduate courses in the late 90s (yes, Gramschi is better than Foucault, just y'know, not the only thinker out there). But on the whole this is an amazing feat, a key reference and readable story.
It is impossible I suspect to read a history of the Black Panthers now without feeling the weight of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the murders which make it necessary, settling over you as you read. You wonder how these young revolutionaries would react to thousands of people chanting: "Hands Up, Don't Shoot", and the depressing reality that despite the fact that Black kids play on the White House lawn, most of their peers live with endemic poverty, more Black boys will go to jail than university; Black kids die in wars overseas in disproportionate numbers in wars whose gains they will never see; and Black men and women are gunned down by police with regularity. Of what the originators of the Black Pride movement, the young Panthers who patrolled police, would think of parents teaching their children how to be polite to cops at all times, how to keep their hands away from their pockets, how to stay safe through compliance. (There is no implied criticism here, just a musing on what changes, and what doesn't). Of course, the Panthers themselves, the authors contend, faced dilemmas over militancy vs mass support at mobilisations, choosing increasingly to hold fire to conserve support and stay alive, in both a literal and metaphorical sense.
This history itself is fairly straightforward - there is some broad theses about the reasons for the rapid growth and rapid decline woven through - but mainly the authors have produced a dense-but-readable, roughly-chronological-while-grouping-themes-and-locations history of the Panthers (no small feat given the diversity to cover). It's not a ripping yarn. The authors are more concerned with dynamics than personality, accuracy than anecdote, and if the writing remains unmemorable, the book is still the more thought provoking for the approach.
While some things - the focus on police violence as a key mechanism of Black oppression - remain familiar, others contrast to current politics. In particular, the book places a strong emphasis on the importance of Third World Liberation struggles in formulating the Panthers critique, particularly the experiences of Cuban, Algerian, Chinese and Vietnamese revolutionaries. Far from adopting terms like African-American, the Panthers' overtly identified the interests of Blacks with these struggles against the USA, and rejected an identification with the US as a whole. Their use of the capitalised Black chose to emphasise the commonality with people of colour (African-American wasn't in use till the 80s). This broader, global perspective, a rejection of nationalist rhetoric, or the underlying idea that Black people should be fighting for incorporation into the American state is evident throughout their approach. From the formation of alternate sources of community organisation - from schools to health clinics to law enforcement - through to a strategy of intense alliance building. The Panthers described in this book certainly weren't seperatists, quite the opposite, they saw the Black struggle as part of something much larger, global in scope but also taking in the struggles of others whose interests were not aligned with the State, from other racial groups like the Young Lords, through to the emerging LGBTI movement and the women's liberation movements. Working with peace organisations was a natural for the Panthers, as they saw common cause with the Viet Cong, and the entire Third World Bloc. One of the biggest, and most welcome, surprises for me in this book was the extent to which the Panthers helped, funded and underpinned other movements, including those dominated by white activists, while maintaining clear leadership and focus on Black liberation.
This may not be an accurate comment - coming as it does from an Australian librarian - but it felt is stark contrast to current US politics, where the Black Lives Matter movement seems largely self-contained, a struggle others have not effectively connected to or supported. Bernie Sanders initial remove from this movement, lack of connection to Black activists and movements seemed to indicate this. Or not.
And of course, nothing was that simple. It is fascinating, and far too briefly touched on, how the Panthers formal support for Women's Liberation, and alliances with Women's Lib organisations, sits alongside an internal culture which was, in most cases and places, overwhelmingly sexist. The book covers this briefly, but densely, with a scattershot of comments from leading Panthers - many of whom are influential feminist leaders now and then - about the expectations upon women to serve, to have sex and to have children with the Brothers. The topic clearly needs a proper book long treatment, throwaway references to the painful difficulty of trying to deal with sexist violence when racist violence is deadlier just touch on what kinds of complex struggles women Panther leaders navigated and won gains on. I highlighted most of these comments - which should be visible as quotes from this book in my Goodreads account somehow.
The book has a few minor flaws - the organisation seems as if the different authors took different chapters: some of the material overlaps in an awkward way (the same quotes used twice a few times, the same info presented, like chatting to someone who forgets what they have already told you). I like Gramschi, I do, but his omnipresence in framing revolutionary analysis lately reminds me of the inescapability of Foucault in my postgraduate courses in the late 90s (yes, Gramschi is better than Foucault, just y'know, not the only thinker out there). But on the whole this is an amazing feat, a key reference and readable story.
challenging
informative
tense
slow-paced
the black panthers were really on that socialist marxist anti imperialist anti capitalist stance 50+ years ago. super important and informative read, painstakingly researched, and continually relevant.
Coming from the standpoint of knowing basically zero about any of this, I thought this book was a really good place to start. It laid out the social and political background, how the movement formed and why, the main players and their backgrounds and what happened from there.
It was a little bit repetitive, and the timeline zigzagged a bit, but mostly it read very well.
I would like to read some individual stories by Panthers, as this book was meant to be more academic, and I feel like there's a lot of voice and emotion left out.
It was a little bit repetitive, and the timeline zigzagged a bit, but mostly it read very well.
I would like to read some individual stories by Panthers, as this book was meant to be more academic, and I feel like there's a lot of voice and emotion left out.
The book was good as it provided me with a lot of information about the Black Panthers. It was however repetitive in part hence my medium score.
It would have been good to explore further why we couldn’t see another Black Panther type organisation. I imagine in this ‘post truth’ era we just might as yes we don’t have Vietnam but we do have a dubious political climate that is sweeping the ‘Western’ World.
It would have been good to explore further why we couldn’t see another Black Panther type organisation. I imagine in this ‘post truth’ era we just might as yes we don’t have Vietnam but we do have a dubious political climate that is sweeping the ‘Western’ World.