However, Livingston argued that, in arming themselves, the Panthers were doing more than protecting themselves and their livelihood they were sending a unique message to the rest of the world.įor the Panthers, guns also offered the potential for a rearranging of the racial hierarchy. In the Panthers’ eyes, they were fighting against an occupying force of police and legislators whose goal was to systematically oppress the black community. Newton noted, “With weapons in our hands, we were no longer their subjects, but their equals.” Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons Seeing himself as a vanguard for the oppressed, Black Panther party leader Huey Newton drew rhetorical parallels to the American Revolution and encouraged black Americans to arm themselves in self-defense.
#Obama black panther photo gun free
Why is this? Do we revere the ability to deal death or is it just the idea of it that we love? In her recent American Studies lecture, Lindsay Livingston explored these questions in the context of one of America’s most disruptive groups: The Black Panther Party.įounded in Oakland in 1966, the Black Panther Party began as a means of ensuring that the black community of Oakland was free from harassment and police brutality. For Americans, guns seem to suggest a certain power, a willingness to fight and preserve liberty. Lindsay Livingston explores America’s fascination with guns and how they were put to use by the Black Panther Party.įrom colonial revolutionaries to holster-bearing lawmen to sensationalized action heroes, our country is enamored with guns.
0 kommentar(er)
