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[2 articles]
Intelligence or Interference?
COINTELPRO & the Black Panther Party
http://cchronicle.com/2010/02/intelligence-or-interference-cointelpro-the-black-panther-party/
By Eryn-Ashlei Bailey
February 6, 2010
Will Smith's movie Enemy of the State, and Mel Gibson's Conspiracy
Theory are fascinating films depicting government intelligence used
unlawfully. With twists and turns throughout the script, viewers are
left on the edge of their seats for the entire 90 minutes or more.
Though these films are captivating and plant seeds of curiosity and a
certain level of fear, government operatives in regards to black
liberation, civil rights, and specifically the Black Panther Party
prove to be even stranger than these fictional films.
FBI files hold specific notes on a counter-orientation meeting held
by black liberation movement leaders at the beginning of the
university year in Durham, NC in the late 1960's. This
counter-orientation meeting was held to discuss the shift of the
black liberation movement from a uni-dimensional purpose focused on
race, to a wider context of focus on capitalism, workers' rights, and
quality of education for blacks at the time. Interestingly, this FBI
document has blank spaces throughout where important and relevant
information brought about by the discussion are now lost forever.
Ordinary citizens can look at these Freedom of Information Act (FOA)
documents, but the names of FBI agents and their informants are blacked out.
From what is legible in the counter-orientation week document, is
the discussion lead by individuals such as Adolph Reed, Chuck
Hopkins, and Howard Fuller. Chuck Hopkins sheds light on the nuanced
system that was black education at the time. Because the overseers of
education were the same group that imposed oppression on young black
learners, men like Hopkins demanded that blacks be able to take
complete control of their education. He questioned how the system in
place for education prepared young black intellectuals to deal with
issues pertinent to them at the time. In his delivery, Hopkins
discussed the motivations for establishing the Malcolm X Liberation
University which would "represent an independent effort on the part
of some black people to establish a real, relevant, educational
program to deal with real problems that face black people in society."
At the time that this counter-orientation meeting was held, riot and
arms holding laws were changing. Hence solid plans to oppose unfair
treatment could not be made. The black liberation movement was also
in quasi-limbo. Howard Fuller, a speaker at the meeting, picked up
with specific and enlightening comments about the necessary shift
within the Civil Rights Movement towards more aggressive tactics.
Petitions, legislation, and non-violence weren't yielding the change
deemed appropriate. There indeed needed to be armed resistance in
order to demonstrate that black liberals were incredibly serious
about effectuating and mandating change.
Fuller began by explaining that the meeting was not
counter-orientation as it sounds similar to counter-revolution and
other terms that do not qualify the mission of black liberation.
Fuller asserted that this particular meeting of blacks was a
"disorientation" from what attendees would be learning at nearby UNC
in Durham, NC that academic year. Fuller further explained the unique
status of black students and workers at UNC campus specifically as
their position was integral to black liberation at the time.
Fullers' comments added an incredible element to the meeting when he
said: "I don't know anybody…that can represent all black people".
This commentary by Fuller captures an element of the black community
that was at danger of being lost at the time. As the Civil Rights
Movement carried on, there existed student, militant, and non-violent
groups that people not part of the movement would lump together. This
distinction made by Fuller is quite profound in that it separates
blacks not just in terms of group affiliation, but also speaks to the
variety of blacks in terms of thought, decision, action, and lifestyle.
Meetings like the counter-orientation meeting may have the hint of
fundamentalism to the average American. But with reports of FBI
activities unlawful and covert operatives to undermine the Black
Panther Party and other black liberation groups offers a credence to
and new understanding of the events that took place during the
socially volatile 60's in America.
COINTELPRO was a counterintelligence program launched by the FBI.
Reports about COINTELPRO state that "covert actions have been used to
disrupt the lawful political activities of individual Americans and
groups and to discredit them, using dangerous and degrading tactics
which are abhorrent in a free and decent society". In a supposed
effort to protect America from harm by militant groups seen as a
threat, COINTELPRO launched an entire operative to undermine the
black liberation movement. COINTELPRO violated first amendment rights
and attacked members of the Klu Klux Klan, Black Panther Party
members, and even members of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference which directly effected Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The campaign to dethrone Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began in December
of 1963, which was four months after his historical March on
Washington. The section of the FBI report detailing this account
reads: "the sustained use of such tactics by FBI in an attempt to
destroy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. violated the law and fundamental
human decency." A nine hour meeting at FBI headquarters took place to
discuss "various avenues of approach aimed at neutralizing King as an
effective Negro leader". The danger of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was
his immense popularity within the black community. King influenced
droves of blacks and unified them in a cause. This was scary to the
FBI. In the COINTELPRO document, it lists the privacy and ethical
violations on Dr. King. Two weeks after the initial 9 hour meeting,
the FBI planted microphones in King's hotel room and proceeded to do
so in whatever hotel room that King stayed in while traveling across
the country. The FBI attempted to inhibit King from meeting with
world leaders, receiving honorary awards and degrees from
universities, and gaining financial support. In August of 1964, Dr.
King was scheduled to meet with the Pope, and records show that FBI
agents tried to encourage Cardinal Spellman to have this meeting canceled.
In September of 1968, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover added the Black
Panther to the group of alleged "Black Nationalist Hate Groups" that
would need to be brought down using counter-intelligence. The direct
aim of the FBI was to cripple and destroy the Black Panther Party.
The FBI used forged letters to spouses to create distrust in
marriages, forged letters to rival gangs to incite gang violence with
the Black Panther Party and other groups, and even created dissension
within the Black Panther Party by falsely labeling BPP members as
informants which would inevitably lead to their loss of life.
In July of 1969, the Black Panther Party became the focus of the
COINTELPRO program. 233 members were authorized as "Black
Nationalist" and hence open for covert, illegal, and unethical
manipulation of their lives. Aside from launching assassinations that
directly involved FBI agents, COINTELPRO doctored caricatures and
sent letters with said caricatures to BPP members in order to cause
anger, frustration, and mistrust between these black groups. The
fulfilled hopes of the FBI were to pit these groups against each
other and "with violence let nature take its course". Although FBI
employees were not holding hand guns and shooting direct bullets
during this time period, their ruthless exploitation of psychological
distress and manipulation lead to the murder of BPP and other gang
members specifically in southeast San Diego and Chicago as well. It
is sometimes hard to distinguish from the documents where some BPP
violence was a result of their interference. Meaning that because
the FBI was so involved in forging letters and inciting gang wars,
it's not possible to determine what acts of violence took place
because the Panthers were inherently violent. One can suppose that
blood shed, shots fired, and wars waged wouldn't be as many without
such intense FBI involvement.
In order to ensure that the black groups would eventually extinguish
each other, FBI members made rival gangs aware of Black Panther Party
activities, locations, and time of events. This was coupled with
forged letters sent to BPP members planting seeds of anger about
rival gangs such as the United Slaves and Black Rangers having hits
out on BPP members lives and questioning the BPP's authority or
credibility. August of 1970 saw an entirely new counterintelligence
program launch at the prison release of Huey P. Newton, founder of
the Black Panther Party.
With the threat of exposure, the COINTELPRO was done away with in
1971. Unfortunately, this doing away with COINTELPRO was unnecessary
by then because their mission was achieved. The Black Panther Party
split up in 1971 as a direct result of forged letters from the FBI to
Panther leader Eldridge Cleaver who lived in Exile in Algeria.
Cleaver spearheaded the formation of the Black Liberation Army,
another militant black liberation group. At the effective crippling
of the Black Panther Party, one sees the unfortunate deterioration of
BPP leader Huey P. Newton who was known to be dealing with drugs at
the end of his career. Again, this chemical warfare was launched by
COINTELPRO and other military operatives.
I encourage readers to read more into this topic as it can be
translated to so many social and political activities within the
United States. As technology has only been improved, the potential
and power of intelligence agencies to launch these operatives is
enhanced. The links embedded in this article are crucial for
substantiating all points presented. Ironically, when reading the
COINTELPRO document, the font is incredibly small. This is because
they are copies of the original documents.
To see the original FBI documents about their investigation of the
Black Panther Party click here.
http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/bpanther.htm
--------
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
http://cchronicle.com/2010/02/the-black-panther-party-for-self-defense/
By Eryn-Ashlei Bailey
February 4, 2010
The Civil Rights movement of the 1960's in the United States
consisted of two distinct forms of combating social oppression of
African-Americans. Commonly known is the non-violent stance of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. The contributions of King's March on
Washington protest in Birmingham and Selma are widely studied and
annually reviewed. The second stance of combating racial
discrimination is less widely studied and hardly available through
internet resources. This second stance was a militant resistance to
oppression led by the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.
The scant media attention paid to the Black Panther Party delivers
less than comprehensive understanding of the party's purpose and
contributions to the United States of America. Trying to find
information for this article was challenging due to the dearth of
information made available. In attempts to reflect on any accounts of
the Black Panther Party, I remembered Tom Hank's "Forrest Gump". This
movie shows a short clip of a Black Panther Party in Washington D.C.
The scene shows militant blacks in sunglasses, leather jackets,
pointing big guns with big attitudes. However, there is much more to
the Black Panther Party for Self Defense than this incomplete
representation of perhaps the most influential group of blacks in the 60's.
In October of 1966, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black
Panther Party for Self Defense. The black panther was used as a
symbol because it produces a powerful image and also to tie it to the
Lowndes Country (Alabama) Freedom Organization founded by Stokely
Carmichael. Self defense was included in the title such that the
movement would be readily distinguished by other non-violent
groups. The movement was greatly influenced by the ideas of Malcom X
and included an agenda for "real economic, social, and political
equality" across gender and color lines. This organization worked
with other minority and white revolutionary groups.
On April 25, 1967, the first edition of The Black Panther was
published. In October of 1967, Huey Newton was arrested which gave
birth to the "Free Huey" campaign which only solidified this group to
a common cause. In attempts by California legislation to ban the
carrying of loaded weapons, Huey Newton along with other Panthers
radically opposed this idea.
Although King's non-violent approach was effective in specific areas
of the country and with specific groups, it must have been
ineffective in other areas as there was a distinguishing shift
between non-violent and militant based leaders. Stokely Carmichael
was once the leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC). However, in February of 1968, Carmichael became the Prime
Minster of the militant Black Panther Party. Carmichael expressed
marked issue with the language of black men being referred to as
"dialect" by his racial counterparts.
Beyond self-defense, unity within a community, and pride, the Black
Panther Party effectuated positive contributions to society at their
time. In January of 1969, the first free breakfast program was hosted
at St. Augustine Church in Oakland, CA. Interestingly, this event was
hosted in a church suggests that despite its militant nature, the
Black Panthers were not an evil, diabolical, or physical threat to
those not imposing the same on them. The Ten Point Program of the
panthers itemizes strict guidelines of morality and engagement of all
panther members which explicitly forbids violence or immoral acts. By
the close of 1969, more than 10,000 children were daily fed breakfast
by kitchens established nationwide by the Black Panther Party. Fred
Hampton was a leading member in Chicago that initiated five breakfast
programs, a free medical center, and door to door health care
services for blacks in the community. Hampton also reached out to
gangs within the community to encourage them to "clean up their acts".
Because of the organization and influence of the movement, J. Edgar
Hoover of the F.B.I. coined the Black Panther Party "the greatest
threat to the internal security of the country". As the organization
began to influence the flare up of other groups to organize for
change, the Black Panthers were deemed a threat. A series of brutal
assassinations, including the shooting of Fred Hampton's pregnant
wife, chemical warfare, and forging letters to panther member
Eldridge Cleaver abroad led to the disintegration and black listing
of the movement. Former panthers were either killed, formed their own
movements, or went abroad such as Assata Shakur still living in Cuba.
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Please find more information about the Black Panther Party at
http://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/.
And by visiting the Standford Center for Research on the Black
Panther Party at http://www.stanford.edu/group/blackpanthers/.
Information on the Black Panthers is very limited via the internet.
Finding written documents and published books may be the most
comprehensive source of information along with the websites provided
above. A list of books on the Black Panther Party can be found at
http://www.google.com/products?sourceid=ie7&q=Black+Panther+Party+and+books&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7ACAW&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=0NNqS6DgAs-0tgedw7WUBg&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=3&ved=0CEgQrQQwAg.
.
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