Thesis here: http://ouleft.org/wp-content/uploads/Huey-WATP.pdf Huey P. Newton was one of the founders, along with Bobby Seale, of the Black Panther Party. From Wikipedia: I don't know much about the BPP (I've seen the accusations of criminality) but founding "over 60 community support programs[1] (renamed survival programs in 1971) including food banks, medical clinics, sickle cell anemia tests, prison busing for families of inmates, legal advice seminars, clothing banks, housing cooperatives, and their own ambulance service [plus the] Free Breakfast for Children program which fed thousands of impoverished children daily during the early 1970s" is pretty cool. Most of the crisis lines in America were founded between 1965 and 1975. I've heard that it was an outgrowth of the "Summer of Love" in 1967 that caused all of these mutual aid organizations to sprout up. I actually used to own a book on helplines from the late 70s which had a funny line in it about how the number of crisis lines had exploded in "the last several years", which was actually true then. I look forward to reading the thesis and learning more about the BPP and Huey Newton.
For a new perspective on the Black Panther Party, this is a must-read. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Panther-Party-Reconsidered/dp/0933121970?asin=B00DD3XV0W&revisionId=f792b886&format=1&depth=1
So I'm about halfway through. One story was interesting. In 1971, the California Package Liquor Dealer Association (CalPak) asked for the Panthers to participate in a boycott of a company that refused to hire black drivers. The Panthers obliged and the company reversed the policy. Then, the Panthers approached CalPak and asked for an ongoing contribution to the Panthers' social programs. CalPak declined, indicating it would make only a one-time contribution. The Panthers then began boycotting CalPak, and in particular the liquor stores owned by Bill Boyette, CalPak President. Eventually they reached a compromise, but the thesis goes on to discuss the repeated (ultimately unsuccessful) efforts by the FBI to convict the Panthers of extortion.
I finished the dissertation. It seems like a good review of the history and harassment of the Black Panther Party. I was surprised that there was minimal discussion of the Panther ideology of intercommunalism. There was some, but after it was introduced it wasn't really referenced again. I'm used to quantitative theses so this was an interesting change of pace. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the Party.
