The Black Panther Party: Seattle and the Nation

The Black Panther Party: Seattle and the Nation
The Seattle Black Panther Party is celebrating its 50th Anniversary

On October 15, 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale launched the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, later dropping for Self Defense (BPP), in Oakland, California. Their aim was to build a Revolutionary Black Political Party to give voice to the conditions in the Black community and take direct action to address them. The foundation of the BPP was based in the Declaration of Independence of the United States, which states, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,” and the creation of the BPP 10 Point Platform and Program which in essence outlined the efforts that the BPP would undertake. The first program launched by the Party was the Police Alert Patrols which were designed to halt the murder of unarmed Black citizens as stated in point number 7 of the 10 Point Program. Two years later, on April 20, 1968, the Seattle Chapter of the BPP was founded by a small group of men and women from Seattle.

This page is dedicated to the history and legacy of the national party and its local chapter in Seattle. Gathered together here are all the entries on BlackPast.org related to the Panthers. The first section features the Seattle chapter. Section two focuses on the national organization. As with all BlackPast.org pages, please write us at [email protected] if you have ideas about improving this page.


THE SEATTLE CHAPTER:
The Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party was founded by a collection of Seattle activists including brothers Aaron and Elmer Dixon in 1968. The founders and early members include:
Welton Armistead
Rashad “T” Birdsong
Henry Boyer
Willie Brazier
Mark Cook
Leonard Dawson Jr.
Asali Dickson
Melvin Dickson
Gwen Dixon
Michael Dixon
Carolyn Downs
Larry Gossett
Ronald Jackson Lewis “Lewjack” Jackson
Earl Jennings
Kathi Halley
Bobby Harding
Arthur Harris
Curtis Harris
Valentine Hobbs
Rosita Holland
Wayne Jenkins
Kathy Jones
Vanetta Molson
Joanne Motin
Warren (Na’eem Shareef) Myers Chester Northington
Garry Owens
Joyce Redmon
Linda Richardson
Steve Phillips
Mike Tagawa
Anthony Ware (Frank Muhammad)
Bobby White
Clifton Wyatt
Black_Panther_Party_Rally_Downtown_Seattle
Black Panther party rally,
downtown Seattle, 1969

Films and Documentaries:

Relevant Media:

Ideas and Institutions Inspired by the Seattle Panthers

Bibliography: Books Related to the Seattle Chapter of the Black Panther Party

 

  • Aaron Dixon, My People are Rising: Memoir of a Black Party Captain (Chicago: Haymarket Books, 2012)

The National Black Panther Party

Black Panthers on the Steps of the Washington State Capitol Building, Olympia, 1969 (UW)
Black Panthers on the steps of the
Washington state capitol building,
Olympia, WA. 1969
Founder and National Leader Profiles
The Black Panther Party, Overseas
Ideas and Institutions Inspired by National Black Panther Party
Black Panthers in Front of Federal Courthouse, Seattle, 1969 (MOHAI).jpg
Black Panthers in front
of federal courthouse,
Seattle, 1969
Other Related Entries:

Speeches and Documents:

Websites:
Films, Documentaries, and Other Media:
  • Stanley Nelson, The Black Panthers, Vanguard of the Revolution (2016)
  • Mario Van Peebles, Panther, (1995)
  • The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 by Swedish Director Goran Hugh Olsson (2011)
  • Le Lew Lee, All Power to the People! (1996)
  • Spike Lee, A Huey P. Newton Story, (2001)
Women of the Black Panther Party
Women of the Black
Panther Party

Bibliography: Major Books on The Black Panther Party

  • Joshua Bloom and Waldo Martin, Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2016)
  • Elaine Brown, A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story (New York: Anchor, 1993)
  • Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice (New York: Delta, 1999)
  • Angela Davis, Angela Davis: An Autobiography (New York: International Publishers, 1974)
  • George L. Jackson, Blood in My Eye (Baltimore: Black Classic Press 1996)
  • George L. Jackson, Soledad Brother: The Prison Letters of George L. Jackson (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 1994)
  • Jeffrey Haas, The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered A Black Panther (Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2001)
  • Donna Jean Murch, Living for the City: Migration, Education, and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2010)
  • Huey P. Newton, Revolutionary Suicide (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973)
  • Huey P. Newton, To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton (New York: Writers and Readers, 1995)
  • Bobby Seale, Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton (Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 1970)
  • Bobby Seale, Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2016)
  • Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography (Boston: Lawrence Hill Books, 2001)
  • Robyn C. Spencer, The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland (Durham: Duke University Press, 2016)