If you believe a certain faction of right-wingers, Raphael Warnock got re-elected thanks to the “violent” Black Panthers.
That, at least, was a claim made by Kelly Loeffler, a former senator from Georgia who was the first senator to lose a runoff election to Warnock back in 2021.
As can be expected, many of Loeffler’s followers pointed out her hypocrisy, claiming that she didn’t have a problem with the Second Amendment when armed white men threatened potential voters, but seemed to have a problem with armed Black men in the form of the Black Panthers providing a protection service for the poor, sick and elderly.
This all sounds about white right. After all, who better than a white woman to truck in tired stereotypes about Black men being threatening, violent and aggressive? It’s a racist trope that’s as old as America itself.
And it’s also a fine illustration of how much Americans get wrong about the Black Panthers to this day.
Who are the Black Panthers?
Originally known as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, the Black Panthers — or, more correctly, the Black Panther Party — was founded by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California, back in 1966. The Party were advocates for class struggle and became known for other social programs and societal advancements, but their biggest contribution to the American zeitgeist was their ongoing fight against police brutality.
Yes, all the way back in 1966, the Panthers were pointing out that police brutality — especially against the Black community — was getting out of control, proving that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Perhaps it’s due to their willingness to call out the cops — or perhaps it’s because their self-proclaimed aim is to promote Black liberation — or perhaps it’s a bit of both. Regardless of the rationale, misconceptions about the Black Panthers still exist today. Here, once and for all, are the top five myths about the Party and what the truth is behind their contributions.
Misconception No. 1: The Black Panthers Made No Social Progress
Contrary to the (racist) tropes about Black Panthers being violent, the Party actually advocated for — and implemented — a lot of social good. In addition to creating the Free Breakfast for Children programs (per The History Channel), the Panthers also created educational programs for disadvantaged schoolchildren and even created health clinics in so-called “inner cities.”
Misconception No. 2: The Party Was 'Anti-White'
One of the most common right-wing tropes about the Black Panthers is that the Party is anti-white. In fact, these same right-wingers claim that the Black Panthers are even more “racist” than their white counterparts because of this mendacious claim.
The truth is, being pro-Black does not mean being anti-white.
And Bobby Seale himself, one of the founding fathers of the Party, disabused The Washington Post of the notion back in 2020. “You cannot fight racism with racism. You have to fight it with solidarity,” he said to the outlet.
Misconception No. 3: The Party Was Violent By Design
Notwithstanding the infiltration of the Black Panthers by J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO program — who massacred Panthers legend Fred Hampton, an incident dramatized by the recent movie hit Judas and the Black Messiah — and the Party’s fatal fights with the police, the Black Panthers were a peaceful organization by design.
There’s some speculation that their “violent” reputation stemmed from their willingness to take advantage of open carry laws in states like Illinois (which have since banned open carry).
Misconception No. 4: The Black Panthers Were 'Anti-Semitic'
While the New Black Panther Party — which has no affiliation to the original Black Panthers, a claim which both parties confirm — is listed as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center due to their virulently anti-semitic views, the original Black Panther Party denounces these views.
In fact, Seale denounced the New Black Panther Party back in 2002 when he spoke to The New York Times, making clear the original Black Panthers stood in solidarity with Jewish men and women back in the 1960s, and they continue to do so to this day.
“This new generation that sees this stuff doesn’t know that we are opposed to these guys,” he said. “I get letters all the time threatening me and Mrs. Newton because they confuse us with them. We weren’t racists. We were in coalition with people of all colors. People died and went to prison and are in exile for this history.”
Misconception No. 5: They Are No Longer Relevant Today
If there’s any organization that represented — and continues to represent — the fight for freedom and equality, it’s the Black Panthers. And because of their prescient views and forward-thinking achievements, they continue to be relevant today.
Kelly Loeffler should only have been so lucky as to have the real Black Panthers protecting Black Georgians.
