In November of 1966 6 young African American men were sick of their segregation from white America. What's more is they wanted the unity of all working class people, and so the Black Panther party was formed. Their militant stance earned them infamy while their strong influence in the civil rights movement earned them respect. This influence was not necessarily a good thing as the "Panthers" would use this influence to insight riots and beatings amongst the young black members of society. Their main reason for starting the party however was their inpatients for Martin Luther King Jr's "Peaceful Revolution".
The group expressed itself in a number of ways. The performing arts played a large part. Many of their follows were aspiring film makers and made short films about the group's struggle to reach their goals. The most famous of which would be MayDay. "This film documents a huge Black Panther rally to demand freedom for Huey Newton held on May 1, 1969 in San Francisco outside the federal building during a hearing for the imprisoned Black Panther leader. The film includes clips of speeches by Newton's attorney Charles Garry, Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale, Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver, and Peace and Freedom Party spokesman Bob Avakian, as well as footage of the police raid on the San Francisco Black Panther Party office the day before the rally and scenes from the Breakfast for Children program run by the Black Panther Party."* This was the press release from the short 15 minute films distributor Newsreel. The film was actually shown on American TV on the 7th of June 1969.
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