The Black Power Movement in the 1960's |
Racial Tensions in the United States are reaching their peak.During this stage of the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were being inspired by revolutionaries like Huey Newton and Malcolm X to take more radical action. Organizations like the Black Panthers had become dedicated to socialism and African American equality, and if necessary the use of violence to achieve these goals.
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Huey Newton's Role in the Black Power Movement
Huey Newton is arguably the most interesting character within the Black Power Movement. Huey Newton along with Bobby Seale formed the Black Panthers in 1966, and they quickly became the face of the Black Power Movement in the United States. He and the Black Panthers brought light to issues like this that the mainstream media wouldn’t talk about such as racism, police brutality, and racially motivated crimes against people of color. They mainly focused on problems in their own Oakland community, but their influence spread across the Nation and sparked a movement. Huey Newton being the face of the Panthers was a fearless, outspoken leader, and his efforts brought him worldwide fame. His creation of The Free Breakfast Program, opening of health clinics, the creation of the Inter Communal Youth Institute, the creation of the Seniors Against a Fearful Environment (SAFE), the Free Food Program, and many more had a tremendous impact on impoverished communities in California, and gave him and his organization even more clout than they already had gained. Huey Newton gave speeches ,did interviews, and wrote books all in the name of the progression of African Americans in the United States. (TheFamousPeople. Huey P. Newton Biography.)
Huey Newton was motivated to form a political group because of his relationship with Bobby Seale at Merritt College. He and Bobby Seale were the members of many political groups and sought out to create their own. Before Huey Newton's incarceration his goal for the Black Panthers was a militant stance of the protection of African Americans and their communities, but after his murder conviction in 1967 ( that was later overturned) his views drastically changed. After Huey Newton's incarceration he aimed to take the Panthers in a new direction that emphasized democratic Socialism, and interconnectedness which are the ideals of the Black Panthers that are still recognized today.
(Biography.com Editors. "Huey P. Newton." Bio.com.)
Huey Newton was motivated to form a political group because of his relationship with Bobby Seale at Merritt College. He and Bobby Seale were the members of many political groups and sought out to create their own. Before Huey Newton's incarceration his goal for the Black Panthers was a militant stance of the protection of African Americans and their communities, but after his murder conviction in 1967 ( that was later overturned) his views drastically changed. After Huey Newton's incarceration he aimed to take the Panthers in a new direction that emphasized democratic Socialism, and interconnectedness which are the ideals of the Black Panthers that are still recognized today.
(Biography.com Editors. "Huey P. Newton." Bio.com.)