Pre-Black Panther Party

The time is always right to do what is right.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Before getting into the Black Panther Party and the #BlackLivesMatter movement we need to talk about the history before that. Let’s start with the movement that started it all, the Civil Rights Movement.

Civil Rights Movement

What was the Civil Rights Movement? A struggle for social justice for African-Americans that took place between 1954 and 1968. The African-American society in the United States had been granted some rights after the Civil War, and slavery was abolished but, there was still more to fight for hence, why they came together as one to stand up for what they believed in and fought for what was “the right thing” as Martin Luther King Jr. defined it as. Let’s get more into detail about what happened in that time period starting on August 28th, 1963

March on Washington arguably the most famous event that took place during the Civil Rights Movement era. On August 28th of 1963 Martin Luther King Jr., with the help of activists such as A.Philip Randolph, and Bayard Rustin organized a peaceful march that took place in Washington DC. by the famous Lincoln Memorial. Over 200,000 African-American and White people came together to protest one thing, job equality and freedom for all. The purpose of the event was to draw attention to the ongoing inequalities and challenges faced by African-Americans after emancipation. On top of all of this the event led to Martin Luther King Jr. making his famous “I have a dream speech” that has left an impact on today’s society and will continue to echo through many years to come. Now, the only reason for this protest wasn’t solely to achieve equality, but it was also to protest the violent attacks on Civil Rights activist in Birmingham, Alabama in that year. Initial there was meant to be two separate protests, but by the recommendations of A.Philip Randolph the two protests were combined into one with the hopes of making a bigger and greater impact.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

What was the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Under this act, segregation on the grounds of race, sex, religion, and national origin was banned at all public places. Based on this act African-Americans, and other minorities could no longer be denied service or any kind of government funded accommodation based on their skin colour, race, and etc. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, after it was originally initiated by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Kennedy believed that the United States “will not be fully free until all of its citizens are free,” and Johnson made his words come to life by signing the law into action on the 2nd of July of 1964. President Johnson said “Let this session of Congress be known as the session which did more for civil rights than the last hundred sessions combined,” many southern states argued that this that the bill unconstitutionally seized individual liberties and states’ rights. Many southern states and their governments tried to sabotage this bill, but ultimately the law was passed and put into action.

Bloody Sunday

“Bloody Sunday” started off as, yet another, peaceful march from the town of Selma in the state of Alabama to the capital of Montgomery to protest the brutal murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson by a white police officer while trying to protect his mother. Based on this injustice 600 activist set out to march 53 miles to Montgomery to protest this cause to the governor himself, but after becoming aware of this the governor informed his police platoon to set up a blockade on the Edmund Pettus Bridge. As the protesters reached the bridge Major John Cloud stated “This is an unlawful assembly. You have to disperse, you are ordered to disperse. Go home or go to your church. This march will not continue.” Wallace, the governor of Alabama, had also mentioned to his troopers “to use whatever measures are necessary to prevent a march,” which ultimately led to the death of more innocent people. The African-American community was yet again outraged by the brutality of the White man and wanted to retaliate in the same way they had been treated, but by the recommendation of Martin Luther King Jr. they did not as he had said that there are more effective ways to show our anger rather than being one of them.

It is wrong- deadly wrong- to deny any of your fellow Americans to vote in this country.

President Lyndon B. Johnson

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Voting rights activist in the southern states, during the Civil Rights Movement, were faced with many forms of mistreatment and violence. One of the many events the outraged the African-American community, as mentioned above, was the Selma to Montgomery march. In the wake of this incident President Johnson called for a voting rights legislation, in which he gave a speech that outlined ways in which officials treat African-Americans and raised more awareness. Almost all African-Americans were to take literacy tests before voting. These literacy tests were English exams that were almost impossible to pass, and were put in place to prevent African-Americans from being able to vote. Through this bill, President Johnson fully abolished these tests and made sure that no state was allowed to conduct these examinations on Black individuals wanting to vote. However, like many of his other decisions he was faced with a lot of hold backs from the southern states, but he put the law into actions eventually and banned literacy tests once and for all.

Assassination of Malcolm X

The assassination of Malcolm X on February 21st, 1965 created another out burst in the African-American society, and finally after that the Black Panther Party was formed. A little about Malcolm X and what happened to him. Malcolm X was a son to a priest which had many controversial views at the time, so they were forced to move around the country a lot. During his teen years Malcolm was taken in by a foster family, and got involved in street crimes. He was sent to jail for robbery and during his time in jail he met a man by the name of Elijah Muhammad. Muhammad was the leader of Nation of Islam, which was a group of people who believed the white man was the devil. X was strongly influenced by Muhammad, to the point where Muhammad realized that Malcolm has gained too much power. Eventually Malcolm X left the group and started his own group called Afro-American Unity, where he preached to his followers that the black man should stand up for himself, like Martin Luther King. During one of his speeches in New York City Malcolm was assassinated by a person who is believed to have been part of his old group Nation of Islam. Even though X was not killed by a white man the black community was outraged, and eventually the Black Panther Party was formed to stand up for black peoples’ rights.

James Brown – Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud

The song “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud” was put out in 1968 as a funk genre song aimed to give African-Americans another push and another reminder of what they had been put through, so that they would not give up fighting for what they believed in, and what they deserved as a part of the society. The song goes to talk about all the hardships black people have been through, and that they have not given up so far and that they should not give up yet. Brown says:

Some people say we got a lot of malice, some say it’s a lotta nerve

But I say we won’t quit movin’ until we get what we deserve

We’ve been buked and we’ve been scourned…

In the first part of his song, he sings those lyrics, and they are clearly aimed towards the white people who never believed that the Civil Rights Movement would have any positive outcome for the African-Americans. It also gives those black people losing hope that we’ve come this far and can’t give up yet, making them push harder and fight harder.

I’ve worked on jobs with my feet and my hands

But all the work I did was for the other man

And now we demands a chance to do things for ourselves…

The song is very self explanatory and was intended to be that way so that everyone could understand the message. There were no hidden messages in this song and Brown just sang about what he believed in, and what he thought would help people get through tough times.

We rather die on our feet than keep livin’ on our knees…

In the last parts of his song he sings these lyrics, which ultimately go to show how fed up they were with their living situation, and how badly they demanded change.

This song went to receive many awards and placed highly on the charts. Peaked at No. 10 on Billboard Hot 100 Singles, and spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B; Singles chart. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, one of the 500 songs that shaped rock ‘n’ roll, and No. 305 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Lift every voice and sing (The Black National Anthem)

This song was originally a poem written back in 1900, but due to the message it carried it resonated a lot with the African-American society and gave them hope during hard time. Since it was not ever really a song it never received any awards or help any spots on the charts. The song had a bigger purpose, and that was to bring people together in hard times and help them get through it and fight for what they wanted.

The beginning of the song goes :

Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun,

Let us march on till victory is won…

Again, a very simple a straight forward song, no hidden messages. Just giving people hope that they will get what they want and that giving up is not an option.

Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;

Yet with a steady beat

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?

We have come over a way that with tears has been watered

We have come, treading our path thro’ the blood of the slaughtered….

Again, the song goes on about reminding people that they have come so far from the days that they were used as slaves, and how their ancestors pushed through harder times for the future generation to live an easier life. This song became the Black National Anthem because it made such a connection with the community and reminded them of how far they have come and how much they have achieved in the past decades.

Word Count: approx. 1900