10 Reasons Why Calling The Black Panther Party 'Terrorists' Is Dumb

They were all about equal rights for women. The Black Panther party adopted a womanist ideology and stressed that women were equal to men. Also, that men should treat women fairly and equally.

They had childcare centers in their chapter offices to help make sure women could participate. They also helped poorer women get abortions.

They started a free Breakfast for school children program across the country.

Fred Hampton led five different breakfast programs in Chicago and helped build a free medical center. He also encouraged Sickle Cell testing and went door-to-door to ensure testing was happening.

The Black Panther party worked hard to end gang violence, cleaning up neighborhoods in California and Chicago.

They formed an actual political party and Eldridge Cleaver actually ran for president.

They had worldwide support from other countries. Norway and Finland organized tours for Bobby Seale and Masai Hewitt because they aligned with their political beliefs.

They had rehab centers for drug and alcohol for victims of addiction in their communities.

Here’s their 10-point program. Does this sound like terrorism?

We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.

We want full employment for our people.

We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community.

We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.

We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society.

We want all Black men to be exempt from military service.

We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people.

We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.

We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black Communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.

We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.

The ACTUAL terrorist here was COINTELPRO and the United States government who worked to destroy the group, conspiring to send members to jail and ordering assassinations. But we’re sleep.