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voices_of_black_panther_women_:_university_of_california,_berkeley,_office_of_media_services_:_free_.webarchive | |
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"There were women who came through the Party and would immediately leave because of the vulgar male behavior. There were women in the Party like me who tried to hold on because we understood the power, the significance, and the need for our organization. Black men, who had been too long without some form of power, lacked the background to understand and rework their double standards toward the female cadre. Perhaps, if the Party had external observers--community elders who respected our platform--such unfair practices against women may not have occurred or could have been curbed." -Clenora Hudson-Weems
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When most people think of the Black Panthers, they think of men in berets doing the Black Power salute. The Black Panther Party was often accused of being sexist, and the efforts of women were undermined by men. However, Black women were a part of the movement, serving local communities by providing food and healthcare.
Black women who joined the Black Panthers adopted a new ideology called Africana Womanist, an ideology that stems from the African woman's cultural and historical experience. Black Panther women headed the Black Panther Newspaper until its dissolution in 1982. In Des Moines and New Haven, the offices were led by women. Black Panther women supported women's reproductive rights, abortion, and their sexual freedom. Due to their involvement within the party, the women demanded childcare to remain fully involved in the group. As a result, "survival programs" were created to provide healthcare, food, and clothing, as well as on-site child development center. Although there were influential female leaders in the party such as Elaine Brown and Kathleen Cleaver, Black women were often pushed out of the party through sexual harassment from the men, and that was one of the leading factors of the dissolution of the Black Panther Party. Like the Civil Rights Movement, Black women's activism for that cause was not noticed until the 1980's. Today, the women of the Black Panther Movement are seen as revolutionary, as they represented sexual freedom and a strong ideal of womanhood. |
Timeline of Black Women's Involvement in the Black Panther Party
- October 1966- Black Panther Party founded
- 1967-Ericka Huggins and Kathleen Cleaver join BPP with Cleaver becoming secretary and the first woman to hold a position of power within the Party
- 1968-Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, and Ericka Huggins lead the BPP chapter in New Haven
- 1968-Kathleen Cleaver is on the ballot for California State Assembly
- Late 1960s-Tarika Lewis' artwork appears in BPP Newsletter: revolutionary image of men
- 1969-Kathleen Cleaver moves to Algeria in exile
- Early 1970s-Gayle Dickson makes image of BPP women as people who wanted to rebuild the Black community
- 1970-Assata Shakur joins BPP Chapter in Harlem before leaving to join the Black Liberation Army
- August 1970-Angela Davis most wanted by FBI
- October 1970-Angela Davis is captured by the FBI
- 1971-Elaine Brown becomes part of the Party's Central Committee of Ministered Information, replacing Eldridge Cleaver
- August 1972-Angela Davis is released from prison
- May 1973-Assata Shakur is involved in shootout in New Jersey; state trooper left dead
- 1974-Elaine Brown is declared Chairman of the BPP after Huey P. Newton's exile
- 1975-Kathleen and Eldridge Cleaver return to the U.S.
- 1977-Elaine Brown steps down as Chairman, moves to Los Angeles
- April 1977-Assata Shakur sentenced to prison
- November 1979-Assata Shakur escapes prison
- 1984-Assata Shakur moves to Cuba
- 2013-Assata Shakur is named a terrorist by the FBI, demands Cuba hands her over (#HandsOffAssata)