Black radicalism and political repression in Baltimore: the case of the Black Panther Party

Cultural inclusion, exclusion and the formative roles of museums

“…Within the USA, the defining effects of severe, caste-like, geographic, social and economic segregation enforced upon the poor, African Americans and other non-European 'minorities' have been repeatedly documented (Abu-Lughod 1997; Massey and Denton 1989;Massey and Fischer 2000;Ross and Turner 2005;Simkus 1978;Venkatesh 2008;Wacquant 1997). The social inequalities of 'race', gender, class, and ethnicity are enforced through persistent statutory and extra-legal violence designed Á or tacitly condoned Á to compel victim groups to remain subordinate; African-Americans and other 'minorities' are frequently subjected to police violence, unprovoked arrests, and subsequent disenfranchisement (Blee 2005;Collins 1998;Jeffries 2002;King 1999;Noakes 2003;Wacquant 2005).…”

Mario Van Peebles'sPantherand Popular Memories of the Black Panther Party

“…These scenes tracked many of the tactics that FBI agents used during the 1960s to infiltrate the Black Panther Party. The FBI's use of repressive tactics to destroy the movement is well documented in activists' accounts (Anthony, 1990;Newton, 1973;Seale, 1970), government memos (Marx, 1974;O'Reilly, 1989), and scholarly texts (Jeffries, 2002;Jones, 1988;O'Reilly, 1989). FBI operatives frequently posed as Panthers to gain knowledge of movement activities and to spread distrust within the movement (Jeffries, 2002).…”

“…The FBI's use of repressive tactics to destroy the movement is well documented in activists' accounts (Anthony, 1990;Newton, 1973;Seale, 1970), government memos (Marx, 1974;O'Reilly, 1989), and scholarly texts (Jeffries, 2002;Jones, 1988;O'Reilly, 1989). FBI operatives frequently posed as Panthers to gain knowledge of movement activities and to spread distrust within the movement (Jeffries, 2002). Between 1968 and 1971, the FBI's COINTELPRO (Counter-Intelligence Program) resulted in frequent arrests of Black Panther Party members, raids of party offices, and the deaths of at least 29 party members.…”

“…Between 1968 and 1971, the FBI's COINTELPRO (Counter-Intelligence Program) resulted in frequent arrests of Black Panther Party members, raids of party offices, and the deaths of at least 29 party members. Many of these arrests were made on dubious charges that could not be substantiated in court (Churchill & Vander Wall, 1990;Foner, 1970;Jeffries, 2002;Jones, 1988;Wilkins & Clark, 1973. Likewise, party office raids were often based on false pretenses.…”

“…Much of the film's drama revolved around Judge's relationship with Detective Baker, who asked Judge to set the Panthers up for robbery, and Judge's relationship with fictional BPP member Tyrone, who suspected Judge was working for the police. This fictional plot gave narrative form to historical documents that prove the FBI infiltrated the Panthers to undermine the movement's activities (Jeffries, 2002); thus, the film's fictional depiction of Judge's relationship with Baker illustrates how fictional forms are rooted in counter-memories of injustices (Lipsitz, 1990, p. xiii). However, the film's climax highlighted illegal and brutal tactics that did not occur, as well as those that did.…”