The Black Panthers were a group of individuals who were sick of how they were treated in america. Instead of the Martin Luther Kind Jr. approach of turning the other cheek when attacks, the Black Panthers would defend themselves. They believe that it was their job to police the police. That they couldn't trust the police to keep them safe because of their track record with brutality. The movement started out really small, but as they started doing more and more it became a national movement with it's headquarters in Oakland. It's main goal was to defend African American people from local police departments.
The Black Panthers weren't a part of the movie we watched at all. I believe that if they were the people would have thought twice about attacking the buses if they knew that there was a black panther with a gun on the bus. However it might have taken away from the point that the students were trying to make if they did have armed people on the bus with them. It changes the whole meaning of what they are doing.
The original 6 members of the black panther party.
Its sad that the Black Panthers felt the needed to police the police. They felt no safety in fighting for what was right. I agree that if the Black Panthers were on the buses fully armed it could have taken away from the point of their movement, which was to use non-violence as a tool to get the rights they deserved.
ReplyDeleteTo think that they didn't trust the police to keep them safe is very scary, but fairly understood. The way the police treated people i would have be scared too. I agree with you on if there was a black panther on board the bus maybe the violence wouldn't have be so bad.
ReplyDeleteAt that point in time, i see why they felt the need to protect themselves against the police. But at the same time, some unneeded violence occurred that could have been prevented.
ReplyDeleteIn my eyes, the Black Panthers represent anarchy and chaos. Even though they were right about police brutality, there are other avenues to take to voice your opinions. As supported by MLK, biting your tongue and being the bigger man pays off in the long run. The Black Panthers were a prime example of what the black community didn't want to be seen as.
ReplyDeleteThis really rings true with me. If the Black Panthers were to get involved, violence would have obviously broken out. This violence would set the entire movement of the freedom rides and sit-ins backwards. It also might have created something that may not have been able to be stopped, by means of physical conflict between African Americans and white supremacists.
ReplyDeleteI agree, things would have gone very differently if the black panthers been on the freedom ride bus. It speaks a bigger and better message that they weren't on the bus. But it's sad that they felt the police couldn't protect blacks just because of their skin color.
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