Documentary: USA – An Intimate History Of The Black Panther Party

The vanguard of a revolutionary culture that sought to drastically transform the system.

American socialist organisation, the BPP, which at its height reached around 5,000 members, before disintegrating due to a campaign of state terror and internal problems. Free Huey Newton, Black Panther Rally San Francisco, May 1, 1969.

In October 1966, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale organised the Black Panther Party in Oakland, USA, in response to police violence, and inspired by Malcolm X’s call to “freedom, by any means necessary.”

Founders of the Black Panther Party" Joshua Bloom and Waldo Martin.

Seen here are Black Panther members: Joshua Bloom [L] Waldo Martin [R].

At its inception on October 15, 1966, the Black Panther Party’s core practice was its armed citizens’ patrols to monitor the behavior of police officers and challenge police brutality in Oakland, California. In 1969, community social programs became a core activity of party members.

The Black Panther Party instituted a variety of community social programs, most extensively the Free Breakfast for Children Programs, and community health clinics. [01]

Master documentarian Stanley Nelson weaves a treasure of rare archival footage with the voices of the people who were there – police, FBI informants, journalists, white supporters and detractors, and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it.

This fascinating documentary tracks its rise and the painful lessons wrought when a movement derails.

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An essential history, it is a vibrant chronicle of this pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.

Change was coming to America and the faultlines were no longer ignorable – cities were burning, Vietnam was exploding and disputes raged over equality and civil rights. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would, for a short time, put itself at the vanguard of a revolutionary culture that sought to drastically transform the system.