Welcome to Poetry Friday, this week hosted by Karen Edmisten here: https://karenedmisten.blogspot.com. Thank you very much, Karen for hosting.
What is Poetry Friday? Find out here:
After I read REVOLUTION IN OUR TIME: THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY’S PROMOSE TO THE PEOPLE, I knew I had to recommend it to my Poetry Friday friends and anyone else interested in American History. That is simply because when I was a teen in the glorious nineteen sixties, lies were spread about the Black Panther Party and so much else.
I remember overhearing adults and from reading the newspapers, that the Black Panthers were “terrorists.” But they were not terrorists. This organization was formed to help black people deal with police violence that targeted them, to help black people cope with poverty, substandard education, access to voting and in short, a country that governed by racist laws and policies.
Armed black panthers would show up at traffic stops and stand a legal distance away, to observe arrests of black people. It was done to deter police violence done usually when no one was looking. In California, open carry of a firearm was legal, and so black citizens bought guns and defended themselves too. This made white people nervous. The FBI made it their job to spread propaganda to stir the public against the Black Panthers like they did concerning Martin Luther King. The bad press against the Black Panthers served to terrify the white public.
As I look back on my teen years, I believe I would have greatly benefitted from honest adults telling me the truth. The Black Panther Party only lasted over teen years, and Magoon explains the rise and reasons for its fall, but even so, to me, those who spoke up about police violence, created schools where children were taught to read, and made sure hungry kids had breakfast were heroes.
Here is a Black Lives Matters site featuring kids’ poems:
https://charmlitmag.org/poems-for-black-lives-matter-at-school.
I found this ninth grader’s poem. It’s just the first few lines and the rest is at the above website. Thank you Ayodele Ayoola!
I AIN’T WELCOMED HERE NO MORE Ayodele Ayoola, Grade 9 I WALK DOWN THE STREET AND GUESS WHO I MEET THE MEN IN BLUE WHO SUPPOSED TO DEFEND BUT INSTEAD THEY CHOSE TO APPREHEND THEY SLAP, PUNCH, CHOKE ME RED THEY WON’T STOP TILL I END UP DEAD OH STOP! PLEASE? I CAN’T BREATHE!
Racism, of course, continues, but I found Kekla Magoon’s book inspiring. I learned about so many heroes from the sixties who I knew so little about, some who dedicated their lives and died serving their communities. There is nothing like a good book, and this is a great one.
Thank you, Karen, for hosting Poetry Friday this week. Find her blog:
https://karenedmisten.blogspot.com.
I have the book on my list but haven’t read it yet, Janice. Yes, so little has changed all these years. We have a case here in Colorado nearly finished, trying both police officers & paramedics over their treatment of a young black man, unarmed, just walking home, no weapon. . . Thanks for the poem link and this one, too, heartbreaking.
Janice, the world is still complex and filled with turburlent times. It is sad that we still have America filled with racism and anger. I remember the Black Power era of the 60s and the upheavals. Thank you for bringing a different perspective to light on the Black Panthers. The site you shared on Black Life Matters brings art and poetry to life. Thank you for sharing the links and information.
I have this book on my TBR pile…you give me just the perfect nudge to open it today and read some. I was a child in the 1970’s and the lies about the Black Panthers were still around and dug into belief by then.
Thank you for the recommendation, Janice. I am a child of the 50’s and 60’s and remember the Black Panthers, although I probably actually knew little about them at the time. Time to remedy that.
I LOVE even the cover of this – the scraps of history. I am so excited that it was a NBA nominee. This is definitely one of those “need it for my own library” books. (I clearly need to win the lottery with the number of books I want…)
Thank you for sharing the poem, too – sobering, yet so beautifully stated.
Janice, Thank you for sharing this book. I’m a little younger than you, being a teen in the 70’s instead of the sixties but still remember people speaking poorly about the Black Panthers. It is important we all seek the truth instead of just believing what we were told. I also find music does this as well and for that reason really enjoyed both Motown the Musical and Beautiful (Carole King).
This looks interesting. I remember those days and the way the Black Panthers were portrayed. truth must always be shared.
Thank you for sharing this book! I have it on hold at my library.
Such a powerful post, Janice – thank you for shining a light on this book and for the links. The poems and the visual art created by those young people are beyond compelling. I was born in the 60s; I have fuzzy memories of thinking the Black Panthers had such a cool name and they looked so intriguing, but I remember a negative connotation floating around it all in my little white corner of the then-world.
Incredible what we realize now as adults — all that we weren’t taught, all that we were told… I will add this to my TBR. Thank you, Janice.
I just read the Wikipedia page about them because I didn’t really know anything. Sounds very complex. Some of the parts were certainly disturbing, like the death of Betty Van Patter, and others were impressive, like the free breakfast program. Thanks for encouraging us to educate ourselves!
Thanks for this recommendation, Janice, and for the power of your post. It’s beyond disheartening, to say the least, to think about how much *hasn’t* changed over the years. Adding this to my TBR list.