Defying the Image of the Black Panther Party: The Nonviolent Power of Female Black Panthers

The contributions of female members are an important and understudied aspect of the Black Panther Party. Survival Programs, the Panthers’ community service programs which were governed mostly by women, are a good example of nonviolent techniques carried out by the Panthers to reach some of the goals on their Ten-Point Program Since the Black Panther Party consisted of mostly women for most of its existence, this indicates a difference between the common image of the Black Panther Party and the reality of it. Therefore, this thesis will answer the question “In what ways did female members defy the stereotypical image of the Black Panther Party?” In short, it will argue that not only is the significance of the nonviolent Survival Programs undervalued in the party’s popular image; so is the significance and even the existence of (other forms of) female involvement and crucial contributions to the Black Panther Party. Indeed, although the violent, male contributions to the movement are...Show moreThe contributions of female members are an important and understudied aspect of the Black Panther Party. Survival Programs, the Panthers’ community service programs which were governed mostly by women, are a good example of nonviolent techniques carried out by the Panthers to reach some of the goals on their Ten-Point Program Since the Black Panther Party consisted of mostly women for most of its existence, this indicates a difference between the common image of the Black Panther Party and the reality of it. Therefore, this thesis will answer the question “In what ways did female members defy the stereotypical image of the Black Panther Party?” In short, it will argue that not only is the significance of the nonviolent Survival Programs undervalued in the party’s popular image; so is the significance and even the existence of (other forms of) female involvement and crucial contributions to the Black Panther Party. Indeed, although the violent, male contributions to the movement are more known, the nonviolent techniques mostly executed by female members, such as the Survival Programs, take up a larger part of what the Party truly was. This thesis will pay attention to these lesser known acts committed by the Black Panthers.Show less

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Defying the Image of the Black Panther Party: The Nonviolent Power of Female Black Panthers