Legacy
"We are runaway slaves from our own past, and only by turning to face the hounds can we find our freedom beyond them."
Shaped by the words of Malcom X, the theory of Marxism, and the right to bear arms, the Black Panther Party was a vital part of the Black Power Movement in the 1960s. At its peak, Panther membership exceeded 2,000, and the organization operated chapters in several major American cities. There is no question that the Black Panther Party increased the level of mutual fear and hatred between races. Much of this animosity was due to the FBI cointelpro scheme. Nevertheless, the Black Panthers, and greater Black Power Movement, instilled some valuable pride and courage for a generation of Black individuals. For the first time in history, masses of Black people stood up for their constitutional rights, and monitored police brutality. In addition, the Black Panther Free Breakfast Program and free health clinics were immensely influential. The free health clinics alone tested over one million Black people for sickle-cell anemia for the first time in US history (Shames). The Black Panther Party provided a new model for contemporary political organizing.
Eventually, the Black Panther Party membership dropped and its founders left the public eye. The continued high crime rates and angry white response came to overshadow the positive impacts the Black Panthers had on Blacks in the community. Much progress has been made since the 1960's, but we are far from racial equality in our society. According to a 2004 news story from wral.com, people in Oxford still remember the killing of Henry Marrow. Yet even today, there is no monument to Marrow other than his gravestone (CBC). Marrow was one of millions of Black people who suffered and died in America because of racial hatred. Recently, the United States has had a revival of Black Power protests following the killings of Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin (amongst others). There have also been questions regarding gun violence and gun reform lately. The legacy of the Black Panthers leaves us with a question - is violence ever the answer?