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The Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) was founded in October 15, 1966 Oakland, California as a direct response to the police repression and economic oppression of the Black community. The Panthers put their comprehensive Ten-point Program into action through their many Survival Programs that included everything from free breakfasts for school children to free sickle cell testing. Volunteers were asked to serve the community “body and soul.” The BPP also founded the renowned Oakland Community School, a liberating space for children. These initiatives highlighted the importance of mutual aid as a necessary step towards the liberation and self determination of the Black community.Though many members of the BPP were targeted, jailed, and even killed by the hands of state and federal government, their legacy lives on through the deep and permanent impact made locally and internationally in the ongoing struggle for the liberation of all people.

Ten-point Program

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  1. We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.
  2. We want full employment for our people.
  3. We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community.
  4. We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.
  5. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in present-day society.
  6. We want all Black men to be exempt from military service.
  7. We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people.
  8. We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.
  9. We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black Communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.
  10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.