Freedom is described as, “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint
we do have some freedom of choice" (Dictionary.com). For a long time African Americans have been working hard for their freedom. We have been treated unfairly and we have also been slaves since the early 1600’s. Even today we are still considered as slaves, but just in a different term. We are slaves to material items, and to prison. Today we are still challenging our freedom through the new motto “Black Lives Matter”; however, there was a group named the “Black Panther Party” who challenged freedom in mid-1960. This group fought for the freedom and equality of blacks, but did it in a totally different way…
The Black Panther …show more content…
We haven’t been slaves to the white man legally since 1865; however, we still didn’t have the same rights as White people did. For example, we had to sit, eat, and use different washrooms than the white man. We saw this as unfair, but no one was really brave enough at the time to challenge this. The white man still had enough power to segregate “Whites” and “Blacks”. One major killing that really started the Panther movement was the killing of an unarmed man. A man named Matthew Johnson was killed in San Francisco by the police, which caused the leaders of the Black Panther Party to retaliate. They ended up taking matters into their own hands and noticed that they needed their own protection. The murder of Matthew Johnson angered many African Americans in the ghetto, and Newton used their anger to his advantage! Newton felt that if he could show rebellion towards the police, then others would also join with him and retaliate in a defensive manner. Newton then begin to study the laws of California. They had certain Gun Laws and Newton used this to his advantage. Huey knew the laws better than most police officers and strategically used this towards his advantage. After knowing the laws he and his group monitored police officers, but they ended up carrying guns. This is seen as a major turning point towards African Americans freedom. At a time African Americans dared not to rebel, but through the …show more content…
The black panthers then challenged this freedom. They challenged freedom through the use of violence. The freedom they were actually granted was being able to have their guns publically shown, as long as they didn’t point them at anyone. So to an extent they were free in that aspect, but that wasn’t enough. The Panthers wanted to be equal and not worry about police officers killing innocent African Americans. Through the use of their rebellious acts they even spoke negatively towards the police. It was stated that they chanted, “The revolution has come, it’s time to pick up the gun. Off the pigs!” (Wikepedia.org). This is literally an improvement towards the freedom of blacks. Back then during slavery times, if you were to speak back to your slave master you would be punished severely, but the black panthers found a way to even threaten the police. This was a noticeable step towards freedom. They literally challenged the law. By the use of violence they were able to put a dent in the law
The Black Panther …show more content…
We haven’t been slaves to the white man legally since 1865; however, we still didn’t have the same rights as White people did. For example, we had to sit, eat, and use different washrooms than the white man. We saw this as unfair, but no one was really brave enough at the time to challenge this. The white man still had enough power to segregate “Whites” and “Blacks”. One major killing that really started the Panther movement was the killing of an unarmed man. A man named Matthew Johnson was killed in San Francisco by the police, which caused the leaders of the Black Panther Party to retaliate. They ended up taking matters into their own hands and noticed that they needed their own protection. The murder of Matthew Johnson angered many African Americans in the ghetto, and Newton used their anger to his advantage! Newton felt that if he could show rebellion towards the police, then others would also join with him and retaliate in a defensive manner. Newton then begin to study the laws of California. They had certain Gun Laws and Newton used this to his advantage. Huey knew the laws better than most police officers and strategically used this towards his advantage. After knowing the laws he and his group monitored police officers, but they ended up carrying guns. This is seen as a major turning point towards African Americans freedom. At a time African Americans dared not to rebel, but through the …show more content…
The black panthers then challenged this freedom. They challenged freedom through the use of violence. The freedom they were actually granted was being able to have their guns publically shown, as long as they didn’t point them at anyone. So to an extent they were free in that aspect, but that wasn’t enough. The Panthers wanted to be equal and not worry about police officers killing innocent African Americans. Through the use of their rebellious acts they even spoke negatively towards the police. It was stated that they chanted, “The revolution has come, it’s time to pick up the gun. Off the pigs!” (Wikepedia.org). This is literally an improvement towards the freedom of blacks. Back then during slavery times, if you were to speak back to your slave master you would be punished severely, but the black panthers found a way to even threaten the police. This was a noticeable step towards freedom. They literally challenged the law. By the use of violence they were able to put a dent in the law