ENG 2150 w Prof. Perry Spring 2023

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.

The more I learn about the KKK the scarier it gets. These people see no problem in using violence to get what they want. The first member who had spoken in the video had said, “I could be your neighbor, you don’t know who i am.” They would use fear as their main tactic in their actions. This feeling of not knowing who or whom not to trust must’ve been terrible for people at the time. During the day they would have their professions such as lawyers, police, or doctors, just to disguise themselves at night and do horrible things. These people were amongst everyone and you wouldn’t have a clue. We can see the clear difference between the two groups. The KKK was created for bad purposes, their goal was to hurt these people while The Black Panthers came together for a positive impact. Their goal was to be able to come together and have a voice, be able to protect themselves and help each other out any way possible. One of the biggest things that stuck with me is when the KKK brings up God into their doing, when they are doing things that aren’t acceptable in any shape in life. They claimed that they wanted to protect their race, but who were they protecting from? They were the ones after Black people, not the other way around. The Black Panther Party was only another factor that would play a part in removing this cycle of hate in our history. 

“Judas and the Black Messiah”

Watching the movie it was shocking to see all the things members in the Black Panther Party would go through. One of the most shocking scenes in the movie for me was how the officers treated Deborah Johnson when they broke into their home. The knew she was pregnant and still proceeded to treat her roughly. We were able to see the way some would act as traitors knowing the consequences that would come. In the end your conscience would drive you crazy and we go to see this throughout the movie. One way I would describe the Black Panther Party to someone who has no idea what it is, is as a group of people who are motivated to come together and fight this cycle of hate in our society. They would go through any extent to protect each other and find ways for a better future.

The video that I watched was “These Women Were the Unsung Heroes of the Black Panther Party”. It talked about the women’s contribution to the party and their success. It made me think when talking about revolution or protest, people would think that males are the ones that take the lead; they are the ones that did the major things. Many would ignore women’s role. Women could also be a part of this revolution and have contributed to the party. So, when I saw the title of this clip, the word ‘unsung’ attracted my attention. Why were the women being unnoticed and ignored when they did great things? Why weren’t there any males that were unsung? This indicated that lots of people had a bias against women. People would think that women are not capable of doing things that were categorized into the male field. Such as technology, mathematics, or even standing up for themself. But that is wrong. Women are capable of doing what the males are capable of. There shouldn’t be any prejudice toward one gender. 

In the first few minutes, I thought the movie was about how Black Panther was formed or maybe some background facts, like a documentary. But after I finished watching it, it was mainly focused on the important leaders in the Black Panther. It showed how each of them were trying to go through the hardness and the threats that they faced. The FBI perceived them as terrorists and wanted to kill them. The movie added more details to what we had learned before. Before watching the movie, we learned that Fred Hampton was killed during his sleep and with his pregnant wife next to him. I was thinking about how he was not awake when the FBI shut the door with the gun, now I know that he was being drugged so he couldn’t wake up. As we are getting more knowledge about Black Panther Party, it was a party that tried to help the minorities and support them when they needed help. They want equal rights among everyone under the law and not being treated as foreigners in the country. 

When we look back at the history of the Black Panther Party we often see the male leaders and the movements/protests they did, but as we discussed in class women also played an important role in the making of this party. The video “These Women Were the Unsung Heroes of the Black Panther Party”, tells us that in fact women played a very important political role and as well were the ones who recruited many members of the party. Elaine Brown was the Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party from 1974-77, she was a skilled editor for The Black Panther. She founded multiple nonprofits aimed at bettering the Justice System, one key one is the NARPR, the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform, which helps prisoners after they have been realized. Kathleen Cleaver is another important woman role model, she would join the group when she married Eldridge Claver, she would work as the National Communications Secretary and helped in the release of Huey P. Newton. Later sadly she would leave due to experiencing a lot of misogyny within the Black Panther group. Nevertheless, women played a very important and powerful role in the creating, building, and expanding of the Black Panther Party.