Second Class Citizens
Press TV (2024)
Film Review
This is a fascinating Iranian-produced documentary about Contelpro and the FBI war on the Black Panther Party (BPP) during the 1970s. The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was formed in 1966, the same year that Marvel comics brought out a new superhero called Black Panther.* Their initial goal was to help protect Black men against arbitrary police violence. Members openly carried rifles to protect themselves and and other Black men against unprovoked police assaults.
The BPP gained national attention following a well publicized attack by Governor Ronald Reagan when they attended a California legislative hearing about a proposing law making making it a misdemeanor to publicly display a rifle. The wide publicity promoting the formation of BPP chapter across the country. By this point, they had a 10-point program to not only end police violence, but to guarantee African Americans equal access to health, education, housing, employment and justice (ie the right to a fair trial).
It also resulted in national media attention, with prominent Black intellectual Eldridge Cleaver appearing on William F Buckley’s Firing Line.
Fairly quickly the BPP shifted their focus to improving the wellbeing of African Americans, launching free clinics for women, children and addicts; educational programs for young people; meals for the poor; free breakfasts for school children and free acupuncture treatments for addicts. Their program for monitoring (often fatal) sickle cell anemia inspired Nixon to initiate a similar program.
In September 1967, the police framed BPP founder Huey Newton was for killing the cop who shot him (although the conviction was reversed on appeal). After nearly dying in the hospital, Newton spent three years in jail. When Oakland police killed a 17-year old BPP member two days after the 1968 assassination, BPP leader Eldridge Cleaver fled to Algeria.
The same year FBI director J Edgar Hoover proclaimed the Black Panther Party the single greatest threat to US domestic security, launching his his Cointelpro operation targeting BPP members nationwide with wiretapping, infiltrating their groups, framing them for fictitious crimes and planting negative news stories.
In April 2, 1968, 21 members of the New York Black Panther Party were framed for fake bomb plots. On December 8 1969, the Los Angeles police raided the Los Angeles BPP headquarters and arrested all its members. A day later, the Chicago police raided the apartment of BPP leader Fred Hampton and killed him in his sleep.
As mainstream media switched from covering their inspirational social programs to portraying them as terrorists, Marvel comics dropped their Black Panther superhero. Owing to successful infiltration, federal undercover agents assumed most of the party’s top leadership roles, BPP activities steadily declined. In 1982 the organization was officially dissolved.
Influenced by the Black Panthers community-based medical support programs, communities in Japan, India, German, France, South Africa and England all started similar community run medical clinics. Vietnam started the Yellow Panthers.
* In the US, the panther is a traditional symbol of Black empowerment. The Black Panthers DID NOT name themselves after the Marvel superhero.
The Most Revolutionary Act 
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