Founded 1966
Oakland, California
Disbanded around 1980

African American self-defense and community improvement organization

The Black Panther Party (BPP) used arms and traditional organizing techniques to protect and uplift embattled African American communities. In an effort to curb police brutality against African Americans, BPP squads—carrying guns, cameras, and law books—followed police throughout the streets at night. BPP chapters throughout the United States also offered free community services such as breakfast programs, health clinics, schools, clothing distribution, and shoe repair shops.

Because of their antigovernment militancy, the Panthers were labeled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a “threat to the security of the United States.” FBI agents and local police forces used a variety of methods to destroy the Panthers. By the end of the 1960s, twenty-eight Panther leaders had been killed by police and hundreds of others had...