Repression breeds resistance: The black liberation army and the radical legacy of the black panther party

Umoja, Akinyele O.

doi:10.1080/07393149908429859

Cited by 27 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Since the Party’s beginnings, an armed-struggle wing had existed, which aimed to serve as a future military unit for Black America. On the East Coast, many Panthers slowly begin to transfer over to the BLA, as the principal armed-struggle component of the Black power movement (Umoja, 1999) 5 and Black anarchists Alston and Balagoon were affiliated with the BLA. The BLA’s militancy (manifested as armed struggle) occupied the “radical cusp” between social movement collective action and political terrorism (see Beck, 2007).…”

Section: A Sociological Critique Of the Black Power Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radicalization within the Black freedom movement did not always translate into calls for violence (let alone actual violence) but did involve a polarization of political attitude. Much of this radicalization was driven by perceived shortcomings of the liberal civil rights movement and by police violence against the movement (Umoja, 1999). Armed struggle—as advocated by the BLA and many Black anarchists—is best seen as “a means of last resort, employed after all other forms of political action have been met with severe state repression” (Dudouet, 2012, p. 99), as happened very visibly to the Black Panthers.…”

Section: Radical Factionalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Black Panther Radical Factionalization and the Development of Black Anarchism

Williams

2015

Journal of Black Studies

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Racial justice social movements often fragment when their goals do not seem completely achievable. Former participants in the radical Black freedom struggles of the 1960s and 1970s, most of whom were Black Panther Party (BPP) members (and also participants in the Black Liberation Army) and identified with Marxist-Leninism, became disaffected with the hierarchical character of the Black Panthers and came to identify with anarchism. Through the lens of radical factionalization theories, Black anarchism is seen as a radical outgrowth of the Black freedom struggle. Black anarchists were the first to notably prioritize a race analysis in American anarchism. This tendency has a number of contemporary manifestations for anarchism, including Anarchist People of Color caucuses within the movement, and, more indirectly, the many anarchist strategies and organizations that share similarities with the BPP, prior to its centralization.

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Section: A Sociological Critique Of the Black Power Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Radical Factionalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Panther Radical Factionalization and the Development of Black Anarchism

Williams

2015

Journal of Black Studies

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“…52 And there was evidence to suggest this was the case: neighborhood vigilante groups, as well as the Black Liberation Army, and local street gangs, had recently taken to violently confronting drug pushers in the community. 53 Faced with this diversity of opinions, black and Puerto Rican representatives struggled to determine an appropriate and responsible stance on the legislation. Of the eighteen members of the state legislature's Black and Puerto Rican Caucus, positions ranged from "endorsement by two by legislators, at least partial acceptance by many, guarded neutrality by a few and flat denunciation by six members."…”

Section: A Waste Howling Wildernessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harshest in the Nation: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Widening Embrace of Punitive Politics

Neptune¹

2012

The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs

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This article analyzes local debates around the enactment of New York's 1973 Rockefeller Drug Laws, which marked a watershed moment in the turn towards punitive drug policy. This history contributes to a growing body of literature that has challenged and complicated the traditional backlash narrative of "law and order." Governor Nelson Rockefeller did not root his campaign for harsh new drug laws in the politics of white racial backlash. Instead, he championed the laws by publicizing their endorsement by several African American community leaders from Harlem. This article argues that historians must take seriously Americans' perceived threats to security and safety in order to better understand the public's embrace of punitive politics in the later twentieth century. More attention to the ways local community leaders debated and promoted crime policy better informs our understanding of the punitive turn and the formation of a bipartisan legislative effort responsible for the War on Drugs.

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“…At other times, Blacks have formed formal paramilitary organizations that have taken up arms to resist White violence (Umoja, 2002). The Deacons for Defense and Justice and the Black Panther Party are notable in this regard (Jones, 1998;Umoja, 1999b). At times, paramilitary organizations have even initiated violent conflict with authorities and even engaged in small-scale guerilla tactics-as the Black Liberation Army did during the 1970s and 1980s (Umoja, 1999a).…”

Section: The Reality Of African American Violent Revoltmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Beware of the Frustrated...”

Worgs

2006

Journal of Black Studies

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Throughout African Americans’ struggle for liberation, there have been incidents of their engaging in violent revolt—from slave revolts to the urban riots of the 21st century. Images and depictions of violent revolt have also been a recurring element in African American artistic productions—including literature, music, and film. An analysis of these “fantasies” of violent revolt provides insight into how African Americans understand violent revolt, and under what conditions such actions are justified. The analysis reveals that violent revolt is understood by many as both instrumental (a means to a desired end—usually freedom) and cathartic. Furthermore, there are four recurring themes within these fantasies. These include a justification for violence, the need to fight to gain the “respect” of the oppressor, the rage of the oppressed along with their yearning for retribution, and the humanizing or transformative effect of participating in a violent revolt against an oppressor.

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Repression breeds resistance: The black liberation army and the radical legacy of the black panther party

Cited by 27 publications

References 9 publications

Black Panther Radical Factionalization and the Development of Black Anarchism

Black Panther Radical Factionalization and the Development of Black Anarchism

Harshest in the Nation: The Rockefeller Drug Laws and the Widening Embrace of Punitive Politics

“Beware of the Frustrated...”

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