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.
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I agree with your observations. The Black Panthers’ approach to reform set the pace for the next set of protestors. Already with the guns, the Black Panthers were on the edge of what was legal or not. After the disbandment of the party, the countless and unfortunate deaths and arrests that occurred through the tensions have led to us seeing no other group with the promotion of raising arms. I would also like to include that this might have also impacted the difference that we see now between the political parties. If we take what the Black Panthers represented, we can associate them with the Democrats, while the government is the Republicans. In doing this comparison, we see that the Democratic Party is mostly against gun use, while the republicans are often quoted for praise of the second amendment. So while we have seen a change in protests, we have also seen a change in political parties. Regarding your question, I don’t think there would be any more responsiveness by the police for any change, unfortunately. I am hoping for the best but seeing the rising tensions towards the Police in NYC, I would say the chances are slim.