Black Panther History and Action

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The Black Panthers were a political party founded in Oakland, California in the 1960s. The Black Student Union, Experimental College, and Ethnic Studies department are rooted in the work of the early Black Panther Party (BPP).

You’ll find that SF State mentions very little about the Black Panthers. English graduate student George Murray was once a teacher here; he held the title as Minister of Education in BPP. Murray was suspended for encouraging Black students to arm themselves on campus which, among many other grievances, directly led to a mass strike November 6th of 1968.

Dismissal of Chicago PD’s targeted assassination of Fred Hampton. a Iberia Hampton, et al. v. City of Chicago, et al. 1970-1985. (search for “scandalous and irrelevant”)

In 2013, under the Obama administration, Black Panther Joanne Chesimard (aka Assata Shakur and god-mother of Tupac Shakur) was upgraded to Most Wanted Terrorist on the FBI’s Most Wanted. Total reward of information leading to apprehension being $2 million from the FBI and state of New Jersey.

In this class, you will learn the history of the Black Panther Political Party and its members here in the Bay Area and the greater United States. You will also have the opportunity to meet that Panthers in person and physically discover their action.

Here is the lesson plan for this class.