It wasn’t until college that I had the opportunity to take a Black History class or started collecting Black Panther Party books. As a Afro-Latina living in the Bay Area, my elementary and high school history classes totally bypassed this subject. Instead, I learned about missions and Native Americans but nothing about the Black paramilitary organization that worked to provide free meals to children. In college, I had the opportunity to research this amazing organization and I kept a lot of the books I used for research! Based in Oakland, California the Black Panther Party’s core priority was its open carry armed citizens’ patrols to monitor the behavior of the Oakland police department who was known for its brutality against Black people.
The history surrounding this organization is so rich and interesting. They had a female leader at one point and were the target of a massive FBI counterintelligence investigation. They lost brilliant leaders like Fred Hampton, Huey P. Newton and George Jackson.
I encourage all readers to try books outside your comfort zone, or outside what you normally read, because you just might be surprised. Why not start with these fascinating books, set during the Black Power era? Here are twelve of the essential Black Panther Party books.
We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party, New Edition
In We Want Freedom, Mumia Abu Jamal combines his memories of day-to-day life in the Party with analysis of the history of Black liberation struggles. The result is a vivid and compelling picture of the Black Panther Party and its legacy.
Panther Baby
In raw, powerful prose, Jamal Joseph helps us understand what it meant to be a soldier inside the militant Black Panther movement. He recounts a harrowing, sometimes deadly imprisonment as he charts his path to manhood in a book filled with equal parts rage, despair, and hope.
The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland
n The Revolution Has Come Robyn C. Spencer traces the Black Panther Party's organizational evolution in Oakland, California, where hundreds of young people came to political awareness and journeyed to adulthood as members.
The Black Panther Party [Reconsidered]
Dr. Charles E. Jones and the other contributors to this provocative collection of essays. Here is a volume that provides the extensive analysis that will lead to a more complete understanding of the dynamics surrounding the Black Panther Party.
Soul on Ice
The classic memoir that shocked, outraged, and ultimately changed the way America looked at the civil rights movement and the black experience.
To Die for the People
This release of a classic collection of his writings and speeches traces the development of Newton’s personal and political thinking, as well as the radical changes that took place in the formative years of the Black Panther Party. More than just a historic record, Newton’s prescience and foresight make these documents strikingly pertinent today.
The Black Panthers: Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution
In The Black Panthers, photojournalist Bryan Shih and historian Yohuru Williams offer a reappraisal of the party's history and legacy. Through stunning portraits and interviews with surviving Panthers, as well as illuminating essays by leading scholars, The Black Panthers reveals party members' grit and battle scars-and the undying love for the people that kept them going.
Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers
In words and photographs, Power to the People is the story of the controversial Black Panther Party, founded 50 years ago in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton.
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story
How Elaine Brown came to a position of power over this paramilitary, male-dominated organization, and what she did with that power, is a riveting, unsparing account of self-discovery.
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Stokely Speaks: From Black Power to Pan-Africanism
In the speeches and articles collected in this book, the black activist, organizer, and freedom fighter Stokely Carmichael traces the dramatic changes in his own consciousness and that of black Americans that took place during the evolving movements of Civil Rights, Black Power, and Pan-Africanism.
Have you heard of the Black Panthers? What would you add to this essential Black Panther Party books that everyone should read list?