Former members of the Black Panther Party are reuniting with a new generation this weekend to honor the party’s history and legacy after being founded in Oakland six decades ago.
A revolution started in Oakland 60 years ago, when Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party amid police brutality and racial inequality. Beyond the black berets and images of armed resistance was a movement building programs to help people survive.
“This legacy was a legacy of love. It was based on the love of our community that young men and women laid their lives on the line to fight for the rights of, not only Black people, but all oppressed people,” co-founder of Black Panther Party Museum and Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation Fredrika Newton said.
That led to 65 survival programs, from free meals for children to healthcare and community support, all meant to fill gaps the groups’ leaders say the government wasn’t meeting.
This weekend, Panther veterans from across the world will meet in Oakland for four days of workshops, cultural programs, and celebrations.
It’s a surreal moment for Fredrika Newton.
“It feels other worldly in many ways. It’s beautiful to see party members coming from all over the country. For many, it’s the first time that many have been under the same roof since the 60s,” she said.
Black Panthers from around the nation say the legacy lives on.
“We are about the connecting from the old to the young. So, this is very important that they see us, knowing that they have passed the watch to a generation that is still dedicated, that is still in the struggle and will not give up,” Yusef Miller with the San Diego Black Panther Chapter said.
Around 1,000 high school and college students are attending the weekend celebration for free, passing the history to the next generation.
“We need to keep the Black Panther party alive. It’s bringing an awareness to Oakland that maybe some of the younger students and younger people know about how important the Black Party is,” Metwest High School community school manager Carinne Salnave said.
Four blocks of Broadway are being renamed Black Panther Party Boulevard on Saturday. Mayor Barbara Lee, who worked with the party as a community worker, says its impact continues to shape the fight for justice today.
“No one can deny that the Black Panther Party contributed to our freedom and to racial and economic justice,” she said. “They were the north star,” she said.
