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seano312 's review for:
I thought this was a gripping and balanced history of the Black Panther Party.
The authors make the case that after the Civil Rights victories of 1964 and 1965, the Black Panther Party formed to fight social and economic oppression that still affected Blacks in America. They also rode nascent Anti-War feelings about the Vietnam war.
The story is infuriating because state oppression to the BPP led to confirmed assassinations of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. The government persecution of the BPP was wrong and really didn't harm the organization.
What ended up harming the organization was changes in how the US fought the Vietnam war, changes in social programs, and improvements of black economic and political power. Once these happened, the BPP stopped being a unique threat as the vanguard revolutionary party and became a social Democratic Party.
Finally, the organization tore itself apart because three of the four leaders of the party were in and out of exile and prison. Once they were all free, there were at least four giant egos fighting over a dwindling pile of power and money.
I think the BPP was unique, because they were revolutionary and they failed at that, but their increased focus on black oppression resulted in enduring changes that improved public life for oppressed Americans.
Don't read this if you're a bigot or a fascist. Your brain might explode. Do read this if you the Black Panther Party has some kind of mystique for you. The mystique will be gone, but the truth is just as compelling.
The authors make the case that after the Civil Rights victories of 1964 and 1965, the Black Panther Party formed to fight social and economic oppression that still affected Blacks in America. They also rode nascent Anti-War feelings about the Vietnam war.
The story is infuriating because state oppression to the BPP led to confirmed assassinations of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. The government persecution of the BPP was wrong and really didn't harm the organization.
What ended up harming the organization was changes in how the US fought the Vietnam war, changes in social programs, and improvements of black economic and political power. Once these happened, the BPP stopped being a unique threat as the vanguard revolutionary party and became a social Democratic Party.
Finally, the organization tore itself apart because three of the four leaders of the party were in and out of exile and prison. Once they were all free, there were at least four giant egos fighting over a dwindling pile of power and money.
I think the BPP was unique, because they were revolutionary and they failed at that, but their increased focus on black oppression resulted in enduring changes that improved public life for oppressed Americans.
Don't read this if you're a bigot or a fascist. Your brain might explode. Do read this if you the Black Panther Party has some kind of mystique for you. The mystique will be gone, but the truth is just as compelling.