Black Panther Movement Analysis

Emory Douglas’s pieces titled Afro-American Solidarity with the Oppressed and Panther Sisters on Women’s Liberation are two pieces that show Douglas’s revolutionary art that were powerful symbols of the Black Panther Party (BPP). The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was founded by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 to protect minority communities against the United States government. The BPP also used community based programs and mass organization to start revolutionary socialism. Both pieces show the importance that women played in the movement. Despite the idea of women with power is often overlooked, they were a key part in forming the BPP. The BPP women defied sexisim, took leadership roles, and implemented programs that were community …show more content…
The purple shows the ambition and power that the Black Panther Party held. The BPP had a strong desire to protect the communities against the government and fight against white oppression. The BPP had numerous members from all around the nation. The light purple shows the femininity that was in the BPP. More than two-thirds of the members of the BPP were women. Gold shows the wisdom and courage that the members had. They showed good judgment and knowledge in their actions and had the utmost courage to combat white oppression, which was not an easy thing since they were putting their lives on the line. The yellow displays the energy and intellect that the BPP held. The BPP was active from 1966 to 1982, which undoubtedly took much energy to continuously fight against the government for so long. The black shows elegance, fear, and authority that was in the BPP movement. The BPP were graceful in their militant-chic attire. The BPP instilled fear into the government by making use of assertive and aggressive protest style. They also had the power to give orders and make decisions that their members followed. The orange used shows the determination and success that the BPP had. The BPP were determined to protect communities, and they were successful. Many community things are available today because of the BPP. Community policing, healthcare, association, free meals, and political influence are all implemented in …show more content…
Although people think of the BPP members as strong black men, the party was predominantly women. By 1970, the party was made up of two-thirds of women. One panther woman talks about how a woman named Ericka Huggins had joined the BPP and how the men in the BPP had to look at Huggins in a new way because of the fact that she had been through so many things that the men have not been through. Because of the fact that women so naturally accepted the office-type jobs, it allowed male chauvinism to continue. There were few examples of women taking responsibility, such as Kathleen Cleaver, who was the communications secretary and the first BPP’s female member of the decision-making body. They picked up guns just like the men and spoke against male chauvinism. Many of the sisters looked up to Huggins and Cleaver, and that is when they knew what they had to, which was to take more responsible roles. They began to write more articles, attend more political aspects of the BPP, speaking out more in public and done outreach work in the communities. When the sort of separation between the brothers and sisters was abolished, there was no longer separate positions. It was not easy for roles to be separated because of the reactions that had come a result of the separation. The men were not used to relating the women as leaders, but the women were also so conditioned to believe that they were supposed