Black Panther Party, “Petition for Community Control of Police,” 1968. Black Panther Party collection 1965-1998.

Deriving from the Civil Rights Movement, the Black Panther Party established themselves in Oakland, California in 1966. A prominent movement of the civil rights era, the Black Panther Party was a counterculture movement where their purpose was to educate and uplift the black community by using words as weapons and unmasking the racism of police agencies. Their genesis began when California attempted to outlaw carrying loaded weapons in public. To which they made sure “to take careful note of the racist California Legislature which [sic] is now considering a legislation aimed at keeping the black people disarmed and powerless.” They retaliated against the police with petitions and anti-establishment propaganda for giving the power back to the people by advocating for the community to gain control over the system. Throughout the party’s existence, they never once took a pause to consider if they would fight for the people; they just did it.