The 1950s and 1960s were significant decades in American history. Those decades were filled with a black activist movement known as the Black Panther Party. Black Panther Vanguard of the Revolution highlighted how the Black Panthers helped Black communities, influenced the black culture of the ’60s, and it provided a lesson that still applies today.

The Black Panther organization was established on October 15, 1966, in Oakland, California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. It was an organization created to provide self-defense and protect black males who lived in Oakland’s black communities from the Oakland Police Department. Oakland Police department would often discriminate against and harshly mistreat black males.

First, the Black Panthers helped black communities by establishing meal programs that fed 20,000 meals a week to low-income students from nineteen communities in local California schools. This was to help black children have better academic achievements in the classroom.  Another way the Black Panther organization helped black communities of Oakland was by creating a newspaper entitled “The Black Panther Party” for black Oakland residents that outlined the Panther’s ten-point program for the organization. Some of the points of the program included an end to police brutality, decent housing, and a decent education. The newspaper also highlighted who the Black Panthers were as an organization and what the organization believed in. It provided illustrations accurately describing what black people were going through in that era.

Secondly, the Black Panthers influenced the black culture of the sixties by acknowledging that being an urban black person is beautiful. The Black Panthers continued to influence black culture by embracing natural afros for men and women and wearing black jackets and shades.  The black Panthers were a militant-style organization that believed in nonviolent protest, although some members would carry weapons to intimidate the police when necessary. 

Thirdly, the lesson that I took away from this documentary was that some of the same inequalities the Black Panthers fought for over 56 years ago still exist today. The Black Panthers sought to end capitalism and have better healthcare for black people. While the great former President Barack Obama established affordable health care in our country, there are still astronomical premiums and deductibles that black people face today. In addition, the Black Panthers fought for equal opportunities in education, housing, and employment in order to compete with our counterparts. Those equality conversations are still happening in our government and in society even in 2022.

In conclusion, the Black Panthers were originally just supporting the black communities in Oakland, but their concept inspired many other cities to do the same. They emphasized that being a black person is beautiful and it is okay to be proud of that. Their meal programs and fight for black equality were monumental in establishing the change that was so well needed. However, their impact on black culture will be one that lives on forever.