Delbert Samuel Orr Africa, Black Panther, MOVE member, and political prisoner, was born April 2, 1946 in Chicago, Illinois to Herma Estelle Hall and Samuel Orr. After graduating from Chicago’s Crane Technical High, Orr enlisted into the US Air Force in 1963, and was honorably … Read MoreDelbert Africa (1946-2020)
Philip “Felipe” Luciano, poet, activist, musicologist, and journalist was born November 24, 1947 in East Harlem to Aurora Olmo Luciano, a factory worker and practical nurse, and Joseph Luciano, Jr., He was reared in East Harlem and Brownsville. Aurora, a devout Pentecostal, read extensively to … Read MoreFelipe Luciano (1947- )
In 1966 Huey Newton and Bobby Seale created the Black Panther Party (BPP) to fight police oppression of blacks in Oakland, California. Two years later the BPP started Peoples’ Free Medical Clinics (PFMC) because of systemic discrimination against blacks in hospitals and private medical practices. … Read MoreBlack Panther Party’s Free Medical Clinics (1969-1975)
Best known for his role as President of the Pacific Northwest Black Community Festival, Michael Leroy Taylor spent most of his life working and volunteering in the two communities he lived in: Monroe, Michigan, and Seattle, Washington. Born in Monroe, Michigan on June 26, 1950, … Read MoreMichael Leroy Taylor (1950-2020)
M. Gayle Dickson, also known as Asali, was the only woman graphic artist for the Black Panther Party Newspaper between 1972 and 1974. Dickson was born in Berkeley, California on June 27, 1948 to James Stowers, a dry cleaner owner, and Madeline Stowers, a seamstress. … Read MoreMadeline Gayle “Asali” Dickson (1948- )
Olive Elaine Morris was a member of the British Black Panther Party and a grassroots activist in Great Britain. Morris was born in St. Catherine, Jamaica on June 26, 1952. Her parents migrated to post-World War II Great Britain while Morris and her siblings were … Read MoreOlive Elaine Morris (1952-1979)
Educated youth from the slums of Mumbai, India started the Dalit Panther Movement (DPM) in June 1972, inspired by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar and the U.S. Black Panthers. Dalits (“downtrodden”) are the lowest “untouchable” caste in Hinduism. Hinduism views Dalits as sinners in their prior lives who can only redeem themselves … Read MoreDalit Panther Movement (1972-1977)
The Mangrove Nine Trial was Britain’s most influential Black Power trial. In Britain, descendants from the Caribbean, Africa, or South Asia, who were mainly immigrants from former British colonies, were considered to be “black.” The London police and the British Home Office, responsible for immigration, security, and law and order, … Read MoreMangrove Nine Trial (1970-1972)
Inspired by the Black Power movement in the U.S., the Nigerian playwright, Obi Egbuna, founded the British Black Panthers (BBP) in 1968 in London’s Notting Hill. In Britain, people of Caribbean, African, or South Asian descent, who were mainly immigrants from former British colonies, were considered to be “black.” The tripling of Britain’s black population from … Read MoreBritish Black Panther Party (1968-1973)
