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okays1331 's review for:
Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
by Waldo E. Martin Jr., Joshua Bloom
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.