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The Black Panther Party
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The Black Panather Party is formed
Huey P. Newton(co-founder)is released from jail. He and Bobby Seale(co-founder) form the Black Panther Party, along with Elbert Howard, Sherman Forte, Reggie Forte, and Bobby Hutton. -
First Organized Protest
Members of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California protest a new ban on firearms in front of the Caifornia capitol building. Over thirty members are arrested and co-founder Bobby Seale is taken into custody. All charges were eventually dropped. -
Huey Newton Arrested
Huey Newton is arrested for the murder of Oakland police officer John Frey. This leads to many rallys and protests, bringing national attention to the Black Panthers. -
Bobby Hutton Killed
During a raid on the Oakland police department, organized by Minister of Information Eldrige Cleaver, three Oakland officers are killed. Two Panthers are wounded, but Bobby Hutton is killed. Stokely Carmichael takes his position in the Panthers. -
Gaining National Recognition
In the 1968 Presidential Election, Eldrige Cleaver ran for President on the Peace and Freedom Ticket. Although they were beaten mightily by Richard Nixon, this wasmore for recognition than the office. Cleaver gave many speeches to crowds of people, explaining the goals of the Black Panther Party. From mid 1968 to 1973, the Party had almost 27,000 members in major cities across the United States, aand even some supporters in England. -
Highest Point
In 1970, the Black Panther Party was the strongest it would ever be. At 27,600 members, the leaders of the Party had done excellent recruiting work. It was polled that over 2,00 more people went to Panther rallies,protests, and speeches than one of Martin Luther King Jr's. speeches. Hollywood actress Jane Fonda and movie producer David Horowitz also supported the Panthers. They controlled and funded almost every school district and small town politics in Oakland and towns south of it. -
Even More Recognition
The Party grew to even bigger heights after 1970. Two Summer Olympic medalists, Tommie Jones and John Carlos, gave the BPP and black power salute during the National Anthem. In the summer of 1972, a magazine poll showed that more people knew who the Black Panthers were than the President. Soon though, the downfall would begin -
The Murder of Betty Van Patter and the decline of the Black Panther Party
Betty Van Patter, the Black Panther Party Bookeeper, is murdered. Although this may seem insignificant, it lead to the decline of the Party. Many members turned on each other, blaming certain groups of the Party for the murder, while the one mighty and influential Black Panther Party slowely faded. -
Party is disbanded
After years oof intense fighting with the government, police, and even in their own ranks, the membership had swiftly gone from over 27,00o to an astonishing 20. Of the original founders, only Huey Newton remained. The rest had been either killed, arrested, or had simply left. With no manpower and nowhere to go, Huey Newtonm disbanded the party after an FBI raid on the last Panther stronghold killed or arrested what little was left of the one mighty Black Panthers.
