BLACK PANTHERS, THE: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION (TV)
Summary
This made-for-television historical documentary examines the rise of the Black Panther Party in 1960s and 1970s America.
The program opens in 1966, where clashes between California police and African-Americans resembled similar conflicts in the Deep South. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale read up on laws regarding firearms and began openly carrying guns while "observing" encounters between black people and police, silently demanding a lack of brutality. Alarmed, police and local government scramble to change the laws regarding open carry; "firebrand" Newton, the more "cautious" Seale and others travel to Sacramento, interrupt Governor Ronald Reagan's press conference and enter the floor of the legislature fully armed, thus placing their cause "center stage" in the national news. Impressed by their fearlessness, many others from around the country travel to California or express interest in forming local chapters of the Panthers; the party comes up with a clear 10-point platform of change, though proceedings remain "somewhat chaotic" with no screening process for eager new members.
"Literary star" Eldridge Cleaver brings mainstream credibility — and unpredictable "insanity" — to the party, and gains further prominence as a leader when Newton is imprisoned for the 1967 shooting death of Officer John Frey, leading to the nationwide "Free Huey" movement. The party attracts media attention with their photogenic, "urban black is beautiful" demeanor and swagger, featuring Afro hairstyles, leather jackets and sunglasses. The party develops a well-received free breakfast program for underprivileged children, but FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover views the Panthers as a serious threat and attempts to "neutralize" them through his COINTELPRO (Counter-Intelligence Program), which involves an array of informants and surveillance methods. Party members move into communal "Panther pads" to protect their families at home. However, female members like Elaine Brown soon grow annoyed with the "chauvinist tone" of the group, in which the women were expected to perform housewife-like duties for the men. The Panthers also spread their messages through newspapers, featuring striking, emotional illustrations by Emory Douglas, whose works contributed to the rise in popularity of the slang term "pig," referring to police officers.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s April 1968 assassination marks "the last chance for peace" for many, particularly when 17-year-old Bobby Hutton becomes the first Panther killed by police a mere two days after King. Cleaver, present at Hutton's death, flees to Algeria to forge foreign alliances with other nations and governments similarly opposed to the American government, including the North Vietnamese. With Cleaver abroad and Newton and Seale imprisoned, David Hilliard emerges as a new leader, and the election of Richard Nixon leads to further action from Hoover and the FBI, who use informants to arm the Panthers and then conduct raids to seize those very weapons. The Panthers are financially overwhelmed by all the arrests and trials, and in 1969, "the Panther 21" are arrested on conspiracy charges. Prominent Hollywood celebrities like Jane Fonda host fundraisers for their legal defense fund, and after a 13-month trial, the jury takes only three hours to acquit all 21 of every charge. The victory is widely celebrated, though in Chicago, Seale is indicted for a speech given outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention; when attempting to represent himself in court, he is gagged and bound to his chair.
Young orator Fred Hampton speaks to the crowds outside Seale's courtroom and demonstrates his leadership skills as he works with other social groups, including Latinos and impoverished white "hillbillies," to create a broad movement of racial unity, thus becoming the charismatic "messiah" that Hoover had long feared. Hampton's bodyguard, William O'Neal, is actually an FBI plant, and Hampton's fiancée Deborah Johnson recalls the December 1969 night in which police raided their Chicago apartment and began shooting indiscriminately, killing fellow Panther Mark Clark and Hampton. Only one accidental shot came from Clark and hit the ceiling, and Johnson describes the killings as "just murder," adding that many other party members were permitted to visit the blood-soaked apartment and witness the gruesome murder scene. O'Neal receives a bonus for his useful tips, and the rest of the party begins preparing for future attacks as the LAPD decide to use SWAT team members to conduct more "no-knock raids" on various Panther headquarters.
Other members describe dramatic shoot-outs with police and many more arrests; in August 1970, Newton is finally freed from prison after receiving a new trial. Internal debate begins to swirl around the party's dual identities as a "social service" or an agent of radical change. Cleaver, still in Algeria, denounces Hilliard's seemingly tame approach. The Panther 21 are eventually expelled from the party, in part due to questions about the money raised for their cause. Hoover and the FBI are pleased when the party gradually split from within, with Newton and Cleaver as opposing leaders of the two factions. In an attempt to consolidate the party, Seale runs for mayor of Oakland and Brown for city council; though they work hard to register black voters and reach out to the community, both lose their races and are left with no "Plan B." A "cult of personality" springs up around the increasingly erratic and abusive Newton, and many longtime members leave the party as a result of his leadership. Concluding that the party's "ideals and youthful vigor" are both essential and detrimental to their efforts, the living members recap the goals of the 10-point program, and the film concludes by revealing the fates of several important figures: Newton dies in 1989 in a drug-related shooting, Cleaver turns to religion and supports Reagan before his death in 1998, and Seale remains involved with activism work. Hampton's family receives a $1.85 million settlement for his murder.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:54:29
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 136886
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - News/Talk/Docs; Public affairs/Documentaries; Black Panthers (organization); History - American
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV, 2016
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Sally Jo Fifer … Executive Producer
- Lois Vossen … Deputy Executive Producer
- Amy Shatsky … Supervising Producer
- Stanley Nelson … Producer, Director, Writer
- Laurens Grant … Producer
- Nicole London … Associate Producer
- Sam Aleshinloye … Assistant Producer
- Rebecca Kent … Associate Producer
- Tom Phillips … Music by
- Jeff Thomas … Instrumentalist, Guitarist / Bassist
- Angela Arnold … Cast, Voice
- Erica Ball … Cast, Voice
- Rhon G. Flatts … Cast, Voice
- Eric Lockley … Cast, Voice
- Nola Nelson … Cast, Voice
- Stu Richel … Cast, Voice
- Jason Torres … Cast, Voice
- Trudy Williams … Cast, Voice
- Elaine Brown … Interviewee
- Emory Douglas … Interviewee
- Deborah Johnson … Interviewee
- Mark Clark
- Eldridge Cleaver
- Jane Fonda
- John Frey
- Fred Hampton
- David Hilliard
- J. Edgar Hoover
- Bobby Hutton
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Huey Newton
- Richard Nixon
- William O'Neal
- Bobby Seale