Black Panther - P

In this passage, the Handlers are describing a large black leopard. As a political symbol in the early 1960s, the Black Panther represented black power philosophy for two highly influential black organizations. The image of the panther was first associated with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) organized in 1960. Devoted to the cause of civil rights, its activism began with the first sit-in at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and escalated to freedom rides and violent clashes with white racist groups during voter registration drives. According to music historian Jon Spencer, most of the freedom songs of the civil rights era was written or adapted by SNCC and core, non-religious organizations. Of these songs Spencer writes they were composed by men and women "who faced the attack of armed police and snarling dogs, fallen unconscious under the toxin of tear gas and the pungent spray of high-pressure hoses, felt the crack of the horse whip and the billy club against flesh and bone, and suffered unjust and dehumanizing imprisonment…the epitome of documentary history." (Protest and Praise p. 104),According to the SNCC Project, the panther symbolized Black Power, "the guiding philosophy of SNCC in later years…Black power was time for black people to fight for themselves." It came into use around 1964 but generated national influence in 1966 under the leadership of Stokely Carmichael. The second organization to use the black panther symbol was originally known as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, but later known as the Black Panther Party (BPP). Formed in Oakland, California in October 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, the BPP was strongly influenced by the Black Nationalist position of Malcolm X. It attracted many young urban-based African Americans to its ten-point platform that they summarized in the final point: "we want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace. On a day-to-day basis, the BPP made their commitment to their community highly visible including breakfast programs for young school children and armed patrols of their neighborhoods. The Black Panthers, portrayed as a terrorist group, were targeted by the FBI and CIA. Nearly 30 of its members were killed in unwarranted police raids across the country. Countless others are still imprisoned for their membership.