Revolutionary Black Nationalism: The Black Panther Party

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to take an in depth look into the Black Panther Party, the major champion of a form of Black Nationalism commonly known as Revolutionary Nationalism. My interest in the topic was sparked by some research done in the 11th grade on Black Nationalism in an African-American Studies course. During my research, the information I found on the Black Panther Party was very intriguing to me, but because of the limits of the assignment, I could not place much emphasis on the Black Panthers; I could only touch on them and the entire Black Nationalist movement in general terms. With my interest about the Black Panther Party still being piqued, it was meaningful to me to do this research paper focused solely on the Black Panthers and finally appease my curiosity about this very militant and controversial group. Before I go into my discussion on the Black Panther Party, I would like to first give a little background information on Black Nationalism and then its two major expressions Classical Black Nationalism and Contemporary Black Nationalism. Throughout the history of Africans on these hostile American shores, Black Nationalism has found itself on numerous occasions to be the significant school of thought for many of our organizations, institutions, and protest activities. From Martin R. Delany to Alexander Crumell, and Bishop Henry McNeal Turner to Marcus Garvey, in its simplest form, Black Nationalism is the recognition of cultural and racial commonality and a call to racial solidarity. From a social standpoint, Black Nationalism deals with the proposition that an oppressed people must first cherish a friendly union with themselves, and that this particular charity begins at home and then spreads abroad. The political objectives of Black Nationalism can range from the admonition that black people must control the politics and economics of their communities, to the creation of a separate black nation in North America or returning to the African homeland. Even though it is very noticeable that the convictions of Black Nationalism have bridged a wide reaching spectrum, because of the complexities associated with black life in the United States, it was to be expected that the common goal of the Black Nationalist movement was to liberate black people from oppression.' The earliest expressions of this goal took place during an era in history ranging from the 1800's until 1930's known as the period of Classical Black Nationalism. Classical Black Nationalism can be defined as the effort of African-Americans to create a sovereign nation-state and formulate an ideological basis of a concept of national culture. Classical Black Nationalism's objective of establishing a national homeland in