The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

I learned somethings, and have a new appreciation for this organization. It's not always what "they'd" have you believe if you get all your news from the nightly news! Why do we have *anything* named after Hoover? He was vicious. And I feel I understand Regan's racism a bit better (not excusing it, just saying now I see what happened, and it makes sense in the way he acted... let's just say... without the Black Panthers, he likely would NOT have become president...)

This is a heroic attempt at a one-film history of the Panthers. It suffers only from its own ambition- this is too complex a subject to offer a "history of" in the length of a single feature film.

The best parts of the film are the stirring, emotional recounts of battles with agents of the state by revolutionaries who were on the front lines, heroes most of us have never before heard of.

The portraits offered of the iconic Party leaders were a bit more problematic, or simply lacking. The presentation of Huey Newton is far too simplistic. One comes away with a sketch of a sociopath who the Party naively turned into an icon. While there is credible documentation of Newton's erratic behavior and drug abuse after spending many years in prison on likely trumped up charges, watching this film you would not know of Newton's extensive and influential writings on revolutionary theory, including his ground-breaking advocacy of the Gay- Equality struggle.

Other important strands of Panther history were simply lacking. There is, for instance, no mention of George Jackson or the Angola Three. Still, a fine attempt to do a lot with too little space and time.

BLACK PANTHERS is a salutary piece that should be shown as a reminder to every politician past and present that racism is alive and regrettably flourishing throughout the United States. Perhaps they should bear this fact in mind before making racist and inflammatory statements in their campaign speeches.

With the help of extensive archive footage plus first-hand reminiscences from those involved, Stanley Nelson's documentary tells the story of a movement that grew out of the Civil Rights Movement but favored more active forms of intervention. Protests might be kept largely peaceful - at least in the early years - but members of the movement were quite prepared to carry weapons, especially in California, where a loophole in the law allowed them to do so. The overwhelmingly white police force took strong exception to this, but there was little they could do within the confines of the law ... except to beat up miscreants in the name of preserving the peace.

Ideologically speaking, the Black Panthers had a lot in common with the liberation movements that sprung up all over Africa during the Sixties. Many nations freed themselves at length from the shackles of colonial rule: the Black Panthers wanted to do the same for African Americans within the USA. They garnered considerable support from within the African continent, and managed to attract a huge following for their various demonstrations. The media found some of them highly attractive with their Afro hairstyles and alternative modes of dress through which they expressed their unique identities.

In a chilling reminder of the anti-Communist movement two decades previously, the government - especially under Richard Nixon - tried to limit the Black Panthers' activities through the work of J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. Although not exactly described as such, his determine to root out so-called "subversives" reeked of an anticommunist witch-hunt, taking place in a country that publicly speaking liked to proclaim its commitment to democratic values.

Perhaps the document was a tad one-sided, as it tended to concentrate on the Panthers' commitment to eradicate racism while not exploring some of its more violent tactics. But then perhaps they could be justified; the days of the African American passively turning the other cheek or peacefully resisting in a manner prescribed by Martin Luther King were long gone.

My first memory of the Black Panther movement and its significance came at the 1968 Olympics, when the African American Tommie Smith raised his hand in the movement's salute just after he had received a gold medal. Although the television companies tried to make light of the incident, it was a clear indication of how the movement had become part of the mainstream rather than remaining on the margins.

Greetings again from the darkness. Black lives matter. We hear the phrase frequently these days, and director Stanley Nelson (Freedom Summer) takes us back 49 years to the beginning of the Black Panther Party, and then walks us through the rise and fall. Rather than the usual textbook approach that focuses on the famous photos of angry black men wearing leather jackets and berets while toting firearms, this is a much more comprehensive look at the complexities of the organization and its members.

The familiar names of the Black Panther leaders include Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver, Kathleen Cleaver, Elaine Brown and Fred Hampton. Despite the fact that first hand interviews weren't possible with the big three – Newton and Cleaver are no longer living, and Seale declined the opportunity, there are some fabulous video clips and photographs, many of which have been rarely seen.

It's the interviews with former Black Panther members that provide the most insight. Their stance is that the original plan was a non-violent approach to bring attention to police brutality and the lack of equality in Black America. Many social programs were started to assist kids and the poor, but things turned more aggressive when the passive approach didn't yield the desired results. Newton studied the laws and realized open carry was permitted on public property, and that's where most of the famous photos originated.

The segment on J Edgar Hoover's counterintelligence plan for the FBI to do what was necessary to prevent the expansion of the Black Panthers is one of the film's best. Hoover even described them as "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country" (yes, this was during the Vietnam War). He was especially concerned about the rise of a "messiah", and that led to what most consider the assassination of Illinois chapter leader Fred Hampton while he slept.

Oakland is widely accepted as the central hub of the Black Panthers, and it was surprising to learn that "most" members were teenagers and a majority were female. The interviews with the former members are fascinating and void of any pomp or bluster … just matter-of-fact recollections. What really stands out is just how media savvy the leaders were. They understood how to get headlines and bring attention to the issues.

We also learn that Jane Fonda hosted fundraisers and meetings, and we see a clip of Marlon Brando supporting the Black Panthers. These celebrities brought legitimacy to the organization, but didn't stop the fracture that occurred when Huey Newton and Eldridge Cleaver began feuding over the best direction. Seeing clips of Bobby Seale running for Mayor of Oakland in 1972 certainly brought a contemporary feel, as the black voter registration drives continue to this day.

As one of the former members states "making history" was "not nice and clean". We learn that more than 20 former Panthers are still in prison today, and the parallels between the mid-60's and the movement for equality today are undeniable. Director Nelson offers an informative education without preaching or romanticizing the Black Panthers.

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