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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
A very good read and what feels like a comprehensive history of this fascinating party and people who steered it and were involved with them. Maybe a bit repetitive at times, but all in all a very straight forward and honest take on the life and times of the Black Panthers. Huey, Bobby, Eldridge - Revolution in the streets - pretty exciting stuff !!! Solid 4 stars
Very interesting book, learned a lot that I didn’t learn about in any history class. Some wild stuff happened at Yale and San Francisco State in the late 1960s that I had never even heard about. Unclear what I’ll remember from this or any lessons to take going forward but it was very well done and well written
Moments such as the brutal execution of #GeorgeFloyd are an extremely sad reminder that the violence against black people in America, is genuinely an existential crisis. Due to the way that media cycles run and social media cycles raise outrage, we are forced to quickly move on to the next outrageous act of the state, dealing with its immediacy, all the while having to constantly remind ourselves that this is nothing new.
I started ‘Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party’ prior to the killing of George, and have been going through it very slowly. I primarily picked up the book because of the importance place on that period of activist history as an exceptional moment of activism in the West. The Black Panther Party presented a militant and revolutionary attitude within the heart of Empire itself. As someone who studies securitisation though, I am fascinated by how they held the state to account, but also, unfortunately, how they were ultimately dismantled through the intense repression of the state. I’ve written more academically about the specific tactics of repression that were used against the BPP, but I’m always interested to read more about them.
Bloom and Martin’s book on the BPP attempts to be a definitive account on their history of the BPP, but particularly in relation to the way in which the revolutionary group designed its project and attempted to resist America from the inside. They have drawn on an incredible amount of information from a range of sources, and while I had certain issues with things they wrote, ultimately this is an excellent account of the history of the organisation and movement, as well as the wider politics they were situated in.
The movement didn’t just arrive out of a few ‘radical’ thinkers, but was forged in extreme violence of the state towards its black populations. Just between 1962 to 1965, LA highway patrol officers murdered 65 people, and ultimately the Watts Rebellion was sparked by an incident of police brutality against Rena Frye. You cannot separate the history of demonstrations and rioting by black people in the US from the incidents of police brutality.
Initially constituted as a self defence organisation, Bobby Seale’s Black Panther Party for Self Defense would provide security for celebrated black figures such as Betty Shabazz, the widow of the martyr Malcolm X, when she was due to speak publicly on race relations in the US. The origanisation morphed quickly into providing support to those impacted by police brutality, hold state officials to account, for example when Denzil Dowell was killed. They were there almost in the capacity of community first responders.
The Panthers saw themselves ultimately as a revolutionary force against an occupying army. The police were not seen as police officers, but rather as occupation troops in a domestic conflict with the black community. They took armed resistance seriously, not being afraid to show their weapons, but all the while complying within the letter of the law. Living what he preached, Heuy Newton was stopped by the police in the summer of 1967, and refused to compy unless he was being formally arrested:
“When an officer refused to accord him these rights, he made it clear that he would accept an arrest peacefully but that he would take the officer to court for false arrest. But if an officer attempted to go outside the law and abuse or brutalize him in any way, Newton was armed, as was his legal right, and he made it clear that he would not hesitate to use his weapon in self-defense.”
This approach was completely outside of the norm at the time, and the BPP provided an entire generation with the confidence to stand up to the police and against police brutality. The story of the bPP is necessary reading for all involved in community organising and a rights struggle. They embodied an ethic of resistance, but one that was well thought through and articulate. They did morph and change over the years, even bringing radical white allies into their world, but ultimately the s
I started ‘Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party’ prior to the killing of George, and have been going through it very slowly. I primarily picked up the book because of the importance place on that period of activist history as an exceptional moment of activism in the West. The Black Panther Party presented a militant and revolutionary attitude within the heart of Empire itself. As someone who studies securitisation though, I am fascinated by how they held the state to account, but also, unfortunately, how they were ultimately dismantled through the intense repression of the state. I’ve written more academically about the specific tactics of repression that were used against the BPP, but I’m always interested to read more about them.
Bloom and Martin’s book on the BPP attempts to be a definitive account on their history of the BPP, but particularly in relation to the way in which the revolutionary group designed its project and attempted to resist America from the inside. They have drawn on an incredible amount of information from a range of sources, and while I had certain issues with things they wrote, ultimately this is an excellent account of the history of the organisation and movement, as well as the wider politics they were situated in.
The movement didn’t just arrive out of a few ‘radical’ thinkers, but was forged in extreme violence of the state towards its black populations. Just between 1962 to 1965, LA highway patrol officers murdered 65 people, and ultimately the Watts Rebellion was sparked by an incident of police brutality against Rena Frye. You cannot separate the history of demonstrations and rioting by black people in the US from the incidents of police brutality.
Initially constituted as a self defence organisation, Bobby Seale’s Black Panther Party for Self Defense would provide security for celebrated black figures such as Betty Shabazz, the widow of the martyr Malcolm X, when she was due to speak publicly on race relations in the US. The origanisation morphed quickly into providing support to those impacted by police brutality, hold state officials to account, for example when Denzil Dowell was killed. They were there almost in the capacity of community first responders.
The Panthers saw themselves ultimately as a revolutionary force against an occupying army. The police were not seen as police officers, but rather as occupation troops in a domestic conflict with the black community. They took armed resistance seriously, not being afraid to show their weapons, but all the while complying within the letter of the law. Living what he preached, Heuy Newton was stopped by the police in the summer of 1967, and refused to compy unless he was being formally arrested:
“When an officer refused to accord him these rights, he made it clear that he would accept an arrest peacefully but that he would take the officer to court for false arrest. But if an officer attempted to go outside the law and abuse or brutalize him in any way, Newton was armed, as was his legal right, and he made it clear that he would not hesitate to use his weapon in self-defense.”
This approach was completely outside of the norm at the time, and the BPP provided an entire generation with the confidence to stand up to the police and against police brutality. The story of the bPP is necessary reading for all involved in community organising and a rights struggle. They embodied an ethic of resistance, but one that was well thought through and articulate. They did morph and change over the years, even bringing radical white allies into their world, but ultimately the s
This was a great book on the Panthers. I bought this book in DC at the African American History Museum. I grew interested in the Panthers after watching Judas and the Black Messiah (which is an incredible movie btw). The way that the Panthers are portrayed in the film is far more complex than what I had been told about them before. The truth is, the Panthers are a complex and fascinating group. They certainly had misguided moments of extreme violence and they seem to have lost their way in the end. But I can't shake the feeling that they tapped into something real. They were able to harness anger and challenge the status quo. They used what they had to try to change a broken system. They failed. That is what I found so interesting about this book. What would it have taken for them to succeed?
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
A fascinating history of the Black Panthers and their role in the Black Power Movement. The book captures how the organization was both riveting and frustrating, and is probably too sympathetic to the revolutionary musings of militant Maoist twenty-somethings, but nevertheless it is a solid history of what, how, and why of the organizations rise and fall between 1968 and 1971.
There is a too much repetition of Panther propaganda—the repeated self-assertion that the Panthers were the “vanguard” of revolution sticks out as well as dorm-room level philosophizing about the society some Panthers asserted they were fighting for—and the authors never examine the inherent difficulties and contradictions of deferring to the collective in all social, political, and economic matters in order to secure “true freedom.” But it is a very thorough analysis of the political and organizational successes and failures of the Black Panthers as both national and local organizations.
There is a too much repetition of Panther propaganda—the repeated self-assertion that the Panthers were the “vanguard” of revolution sticks out as well as dorm-room level philosophizing about the society some Panthers asserted they were fighting for—and the authors never examine the inherent difficulties and contradictions of deferring to the collective in all social, political, and economic matters in order to secure “true freedom.” But it is a very thorough analysis of the political and organizational successes and failures of the Black Panthers as both national and local organizations.
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Insightful, engaging, and depressing.
Must-read for anyone interested in revolutionary movements, and gives much to reflect on. The importance of intersectionality to the success of the Panthers is highlighted throughout the book in a way which is tied to the thoughts & actions of the Party at its most influential.
It also paints a sad picture of the decline of the party, due to both external pressures & internal contradiction. Much to be learned from that side of the story too, in order to create any sustainable movement capable of overcoming the status quo.
Must-read for anyone interested in revolutionary movements, and gives much to reflect on. The importance of intersectionality to the success of the Panthers is highlighted throughout the book in a way which is tied to the thoughts & actions of the Party at its most influential.
It also paints a sad picture of the decline of the party, due to both external pressures & internal contradiction. Much to be learned from that side of the story too, in order to create any sustainable movement capable of overcoming the status quo.
It took me awhile to read this book, I finished at least 4 fiction titles while reading it. Despite that, this book is actually an incredibly straightforward read that takes a dense amount of material and places it into manageable and interesting context(s).
I would HIGHLY recommend this book to folks interested in: American, Black, revolutionary, or Bay Area history. It’s easier to read than the size of the book may indicate (there’s over 100 pages of notes & index at the end), and really really engaging.
I think what I took most from this book is that revolutionary insurgency against state repression IS POSSIBLE in the United States AND, only under specific circumstances, at least as far as we know.
I would HIGHLY recommend this book to folks interested in: American, Black, revolutionary, or Bay Area history. It’s easier to read than the size of the book may indicate (there’s over 100 pages of notes & index at the end), and really really engaging.
I think what I took most from this book is that revolutionary insurgency against state repression IS POSSIBLE in the United States AND, only under specific circumstances, at least as far as we know.