Daily Archives: February 12, 2023

The New York Time’s Black Panthers Revisited was very informative and covers the entire background of the Black Panthers. It was an important reminder of the past goals of the Black Panther Party and the many that are still addressed today. They aimed only to eliminate all violence against African Americans from the people of power. But today, unlike in the 1960s, there are no shootouts between any protesters and police. The film helped me draw a comparison of how the movements are vastly different from what they used to be. There are no organized groups calling for armed a revolution to take place to overthrow the authorities. The increased interest in these issues have shaken black communities to the core. The main question I was wondering during the film was whether police departments and elected officials will be any more responsive to demands for change and accountability than they were 50 years ago.

Film Review of: The Man Who Armed the Panthers

As I was watching the video “The Man Who Armed the Panthers”, I was genuinely surprised to see the face of the man who supplied such an iconic representation of black power. I hadn’t thought about how the guns came to be, maybe the guns suddenly appeared, or they were from an underground market. But in actuality, they were given by a man named Richard Aoki who also happened to have been an undercover FBI informant. He was of Japanese descent, whose family came during World War II. He grew up in an impoverished black neighborhood, he was in a gang, he was a political leader who joined associations for social justice, and was in the army.

So the genuine question is how can someone with such a complex story play on both teams? Maybe it was a strategy, to gain insight from both sides. However, its truly sad that we will never hear any of these details, from either the FBI who supposedly say they have no intel on him, to the Black Panthers who refuse to comment on him and Aoki himself as he, unfortunately, took his life in 2009, leaving two pressed uniforms in his room: an army uniform and a black panther uniform. Aoki close friends have never know about his two lives, stating that he was a mystery man. Despite this, we should give our respects to a man who did his best, and who joined a revolution that has changed time. Knowing we will never know the full story reminds me of how suddenly everything can disappear, that everything is so finite, such as all the history we will never know from the past, the legends, the myths, the hundreds of files in the library of Alexandria. I hope that for any future events, everything gets recorded because this is History and History should be remembered by us, not the oppressors.

Judas and the Black Messiah: Film Review

Like many others who are often focused with trivial life things like school, work, enjoying time with family and friends, we forgot for a while about the complete social injustice there is. And then when we see it being retold, again and again: a police man shot a black man, families being kicked out of homes, racism in healthcare and impoverished communities, we snap back. I experienced such things when watching documentaries about group struggles or movies like “The Pursuit of Happiness”. So “Judas and the Black Messiah” was no exception to that, I was infuriated and completed disgusted with the legal system. But I was also completely heartbroken to see that every time we take a step forward, someone always pulls the rug and we drop and hurt bad. I wanted to shout and repeat each statement.

And the ending? It left me with disbelief but also expectation, an expectation that I learned real young, that power is for some and not for the many. The film did teach me a lot, especially about how simple life can be taken. And often then not, how simple it is to fabricate stories. But despite that, the BPP did their best with what they did. They didn’t want one group to be better than the other, they wanted everyone to be on the same page and it really showed towards the end with The Crowns who were sworn enemies with the BPP, offered a sum of money so that Fred could escape. Ultimately, there was only one idea that you can sum up of the BPP after reading and watching and learning all there is, there were for the people more than government was and ever will be. And they showed that when action is not being taken, you have to step on it and make your move. Their actions might have been very infamous especially with their use of violence, but the sentiment was still there that power is with the people: where their is power, there is people.

This video was an interview on Stanley Nelson the film that he made. Stanley Nelson talk about how he black panthers were being misunderstood. The film that he made were to explain what had happened before with the black panthers. He also talks about how music in a film are one way to make the audience feel how it was like back then. He then talks about how people might thinks black panthers party’s were something outside of civil rights but he thinks that it is part of the civil rights movement. I think making a film that talks about black panthers are a good way of explaining and stopping the misunderstanding of the party. It’s also an easier way for people now to understand and feel what it was like before.

At first I thought the movies was going to be not boring/not attractive but as it goes on I found it pretty interesting. It wasn’t just giving information about the panthers. It’s actually grabbing the audience into the movie. While watching I’m able to feel the feelings the emotions that the actors are trying to give and shown. The movie shows the leaders of the black panthers and struggles that the panthers are facing from the FBI. Throughout the whole movie the FBI is trying all different ways to kill the leaders of the panthers. They had ask the member called bill where the panthers are. The FBI went in the apartment start shooting the guns at everyone. Calling them out and then they went up to Fred who was being drugged. Fred ‘s wife who is 8 month pregnant was told to get out the the room and by the time she walked out they had killed Fred. This shows the brutality and violence of the FBI. They seems to wanting to hide something to brainwash people from thinking like the black panthers. Trying to avoid the black panthers in helping other getting their equality and rights.

The film, “These Women Were the Unsung Heroes of the Black Panther Party”, speaks about women’s contribution to the Black Panther Party and the success behind it. While media often tends to show more male leaders in the movement, the film brings a different light into the picture as women also played a significant role in the creation, success, and expansion of the party. Elaine Brown, chairwoman of the Black Panther Party, founded several nonprofits (like the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform) that focused on improving the justice system. Kathleen Cleaver worked as the National Communication Secretary, however, left due to the misogyny she faced within the Black Panther Party. Angela Davis was a fighter for the Black Panther Party, advocating for the abolishment of prison. These women all played a notable role in the party but still have not been credited enough for their actions. Although they fought as equally as men did, they lack in recognition for their work.

The New York Time’s Op-Doc Black Panthers Revisited was extremely insightful. It proved to be an important reminder of how the goals of the Black Panther Party are still addressed today. In all honesty, the film left me feeling slightly upset or agitated, simply because of the striking similarities between then and now. The film was talking specifically about the protests of 2014 around the same topic, which is why I feel such frustration knowing that the protests and the need to protest has resurfaced again in 2020. Another feeling I got from this, however, is optimism, because of the increased interest in this issue by more diverse groups of people, and the large following it seems to have today. One can only hope that all this effort is not for nothing, and that one day we will achieve the goal that decades worth of generations have fought so hard for.

Out of the list the videos that really interested me the most was the one titled ” The Man Who Armed the Panthers “. Now I say this because I did not know how they originally got their hands on weapons. So when watching this 10 minute video it is interesting because right off the bat they tell you that the man who armed the “BPP” was Richard Aoki. It is also key to understand that since this was only around the 1960s most people that knew the “BPP” were still alive because it had only been anywhere from 30 to 40 years. I like that the reporter who was writing about the Panthers brought in an informant that was a former member of the FBI named Burney Threadgill. When the reporter questions Aoki he asks if Aoki remembers Threadgill, and Aoki claims no he didn’t but which is a thing most controversial people do to bury the past. Aoki understood the issues at hand because of another figure who was Malcom X. He provided guns and training which is really good to see because he was a Japanese man and people never thought that this was possible. The FBI used him as an informant but did not black out his name which is an old thing to do unless they considered him low valuable. I overall enjoyed this film because it was able to pack in a lot of information over the 10 minutes. I like the ending where Aoki says that the FBI never paid him and that the whole situation was complex. Overall rating is a 7.8 out of 10.

Edit Film review : Judas and the Black Messiah Now going into this film I had no idea of what to expect for some reason as I’ve never actually seen it when I was taught about the BPP when in high-school. They mostly kept it to books and articles. However during this particular film I enjoyed it all the way through. I really enjoyed when William O’Neale (Bill) started mentally degrading because of all the pressure he is going through while working with the FBI and BPP. Over the course of his character arc he went from being mentally clear to being mentally unstable. It is crazy to think about because when he met another agent that gave him something to make Fred Hampton sleep longer. That same agent after walking away and getting in his car while Bill followed and screamed for an ID hands Bill back his own fake ID. I lost it at that moment like woah. It really was like Bill was being tormented by the FBI as well because they just wouldn’t let him escape. Anyway I give this movie based on character acting , historic accuracy , etc a solid 8.4 out of 10.

It’s hard to describe the complex feeling after watching the film Black Panther Still in Prison After 46 years. Put a side of the conflict between the government and Black Panther, all I see is that the families were destroyed in the conflict. This film actually made me think of the sacrifice of the individuals and their families during the revolution of Black Panther. There are countless black panther members and police who died during the revolution, and their families all suffer from the pain of losing their family members. Also, it’s ironic that a black panther member can get 46 years in prison for killing police and police get much less punishment for killing a black innocent.

Comment on film: Judas and the Black Messiah

The movie was great, it really illustrated the struggles and tragic journey of how black panthers grew under the suppression of the FBI. The characteristics of Fred Hamilton really stood out to me, he was wise, calm, and selfless, which were the complete opposite of William O’Neal, the traitor of the black panther party. When the crown member offers Hamilton a bag of money for him, Hamilton decided to use the money to operate a clinic in the community to serve the people and rather use the money to escape over the sea, which shows how he values the power of people comparing to himself in this revolution. Ironically, William who had faced a similar situation made a different decision, he was defeated by his fear and greed and decided to become a threadman of the FBI in Black Panther Party. Fred Hamilton and William O’Neal represented the conflict between selflessness and selfishness in the revolution. Other than the conflict between the leader and traitor, the film also shows the impact of the Black Panther Party on the community: They never a violent terrorist group but stopped the violent conflict between gangs and use the gang power into serving the community, they never rob a penny from the people but gather and united people in different skin color to dedicate to the community, they were never perpetrator but a victim of white dominant society on that time. Hope that one day in the future, there would be another leader stood up to unite the people, and yell out the slogan again:

“POWER TO THE PEOPLE”

For my review, I watched “Truth about The Black Panthers and the KKK.” In this video, it compares the Black Panthers and the KKK because there is an on-going idea that the two groups are the same and serve the same hateful purpose. The first half of the video shows the Black Panthers, and I learned that they armed themselves with guns and knowledge. They would follow police around and took action when they saw police act in a harmful way. The Black Panthers did this as a way to protect themselves and defend others from brutality and racism. The second half of the video shows the Ku Klux Klan, and showed their rituals along with their values. The KKK pushes for “white power” and believes that white should be separated from any other race, especially blacks. The group was created in the 1800s and was solely made to be a hate group. The Black Panthers and the KKK are not the same, as the Black Panther’s purpose was to protect the people and the KKK’s purpose was to terrorize non-white people.

Judas and the Black Messiah Review

Before watching Judas and the Black Messiah, I was very intrigued because I knew about the BPP and its history and seeing it on film made it more impactful. The film felt very powerful to me, and moved me the whole way through. From seeing the actions and beliefs of Fred Hampton, it really made me feel for his death. I can’t imagine the anger and pain of what the people and the chapter felt when he was assassinated. Seeing Bill O’Neal, be taken under the FBI’s wing and aiding them with the assassination of Hampton filled me with anger. This film also did a good job with explaining and depicting socialism vs. capitalism. The Black Panthers fought against police brutality and overall harm against people of color. They fought for the protection of not just black people, but all people suffering from the horrors of police brutality.

These three women had significant roles in the Black Panther Party, and their services are addressed in the short clip “These Women Were the Unsung Heroes of the Black Panther Party.” Even though women also committed brave acts in the party, it showed how men receive more credit for them. The lack of recognition given to women within the Black Panther Party seemed unfair. For their efforts to the party, Elaine Brown, Kathleen Cleaver, and Angela Davis were acknowledged in the video. Elaine Brown, a chairwoman of the Black Panther Party, was credited with founding several nonprofit organizations that aimed to increase the black community’s access to justice. Kathleen Cleaver and Angela Davis was also involved in fighting for the community. I believe women should be more recognized in historical moments. In other historical photos or documents, I usually see men getting the recognition even if there are women that have done the same.

Edit: The “Judas and the Black Messiah”, video was very powerful and made me feel emotional watching how much they’ve gone through to fight for their community. When Fred Hampton got thrown under the bus, killed, I felt the same emotion of being betrayed. This movie helped me understand more about the Black Panther Party. The organization was created to protect the black community from police brutality and unnecessary suffering.