The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

Because I'm old as dirt, I recall reading about the murder by the Chicago Police of Black Panther Fred Hampton in his bed while he slept, clearly part of J.Edgar Hoover's national program to undermine any leadership of the Black Panther Party. I was a senior in high school, and promptly tossed aside the Beowulf paper I was writing for one on the Black Panthers. This documentary gives you the full story that overlooked in civil rights discussions: the idea of militant blacks bearing arms was too frightening, although it sure made Martin Luther King's marches seem quite suddenly acceptable. I suspect it is the frightening aspect that has kept the Black Panther story stuffed in the closet of civil rights history.

The documentary portrays how carefully the Panthers attended to legal rights regarding guns, how they stood witness en mass whenever police pulled over black in the neighborhood (Black Lives Matter) to ensure just treatment. Very well portrayed was the diabolical and successful program of the FBI and law enforcement to cripple the organization. Important viewing for all Americans.

This is the story of the revolutionary group, The Black Panthers. Formed in the late 60's, they were an anti-capitalist, left wing militant group formed by disenfranchised black citizens originally in Oakland, California. Their formation was a result of the continued harassment and police brutality their people suffered in American cities at that time. It was a separate incarnation from the Civil Rights movement which had been specifically about redressing the actual lack of equal rights for black people in the American southern states. The Black Panthers were formed to stand up for blacks in the more 'equal' urban areas who were still put upon by the white authorities and who still suffered much racism. They famously had an image of openly bearing arms and their overall approach was of a more confrontational style than that preached by Martin Luther King. Just as important, their look became very chic, dressed all in black, wearing berets, leather jackets and shades, they also sported afro haircuts in an unashamed way for the first time in contemporary America. The idea was to visually show that black was beautiful in its natural form. The look certainly resonated with images of the group making the front covers of various magazines; it remains iconic to this day.

The film is made up by a combination of extensive archive footage from the time and current interviews with past members of the group. It tries to understand some of the motivations and ambitions of the group, while looking at some of their opponents such as the head of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover who seemed quite obsessed with eradicating the group. In one telling clip he even states that he doesn't consider the concept of justice as being all that important and that law and order was what he was all about. So it's perhaps not so surprising that this philosophy led to an infamous incident where a prominent member of the Black Panthers was murdered by the Chicago police, an event that is thought to be related to the FBI chief in some way. For some reason though, despite the very interesting subject matter and the dramatic backdrop that the late 60's / early 70's America provides, I felt something lacked from this telling of the story. It never seemed to be as dynamic as it should be and while I learned a few things, it never felt as engaging as it should be and so I left a bit disappointed on the whole. This is certainly an interesting subject though and it does cover quite a lot of ground but I felt it could have been more dynamically told.

... to fight for a party! (to paraphrase a known song) Although it's actually a lot more than just about voting rights. It's about general rights, it's about equality and it's at times disturbing. Not because of the tactics the Panthers used, but the way the goverment undermined them and everything they did to discredit them. Things that still are in some peoples heads, even though they are wrong and fake (like one recent "reporter" and I use that word very losely with her, compared the Panthers with the KKK).

There are a lot of interesting stories that are being told and a lot of things that come out. And while even in 2015 it seemed timely, it is even more so right now. Whatever you think of President Trump at the moment and his comments or his behaviour in general, you can't dismiss that there are movements out there for more rights. Recently it's been an uprising from women, who have been held down and supressed for far too long. Pretty sure there will be a movie about that too, let's hope the documentary will be as good as this one is

(Watched Nov 14, 2016)

Stanley Nelson's Black Panthers: Vanguard Of The Revolution documentary is amazing and insightful, glad I picked it up. Of course, very relevant to today. Some parallels you can make to BLM, but BLM doesn't quite have leaders so maybe won't fall to cults of personality or targeted attacks by government/FBI to cause in-fighting. Then again, big enough changes haven't happened for social reform such as stop-and-frisk, voter ID suppression, etc but might be too much to expect from a movement that still is a social media phenomenon. And there isn't the cool trendy outfit to catch on with the general public like the beret/leather/shades combo, so not hitting mainstream media as much. Although DeRay McKesson could be considered a vanguard of BLM now, much like the campaign for Bobby Seale to be mayor.

With the heightened sense of racism that has been projected in the media in the last 12 months (not that it didn't exist without all the publicity), director Stanley Nelson's recollection of the fight for civil rights with The Black Panthers on the front lines seems highly appropriate at this juncture. While some deemed the party's actions as bold and arrogant, the passion for equal rights was front and center. Nelson divulges frank interviews with former Black Panther members as they discuss their methods that exploited the media to further their cause as well as the rallies that ignited the streets with support and outrage. The true enthrallment comes from the dastardly deeds of J. Edgar Hoover and his Counterintelligence Program that tracked, tapped, and falsified personal letters to members of the Black Panther party. The first Director of the FBI even convinced detained party members to turn on their organization and become government informants. It's an accounting with so many outrageous points it has to be true. -Jimmy Martin