Black panther - C

The image of the Black panther became a well recognized symbol during the Civil Rights era, used by members of the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In the mid-60s it was adopted by the urban based Black Panther Party (BPP). From a political and cultural perspective, this symbol became linked with Black power and BPP members wore black berets, black leather jackets with raised and clenched fists to represent cultural empowerment and militancy against all forms of oppression. The significance of this look is explained by Clovis E. Semmes who states "...Black people shifted to a more determined commitment to collective struggle that called for a psychological cleansing." (p. 156). In this period, Black Power was also linked to "Black is Beautiful" a look and belief that reflected an even greater cultural awareness. There was a renewed embrace of culture not unlike the Harlem Renaissance thirty years earlier (See Annotation 18). Wearing African garments such as dashikis, ornaments, "the natural" or Afro hair style, this era was also marked by an outpouring of literature, art and soul music as celebrations of Blackness.