i see you are a avid student of history. you have a deep understanding of what they were really about. i tend to touch only the surface of the bpp because i don't want the perception that i support their (meaning the original bpp) agenda. i cannot and will not support any group that seeks to destroy this country instead of trying to fix the issues between it's people.Much ground to cover . . .
You've made some decent points about what Newton, Seale, et al. and did in inner city Oakland that was omitted. However, their violence toward police in particular plus direct armed intimidation of others was their undoing with the mainstream press and general public at the time. Newton killed an Oakland PD officer and Eldridge Cleaver ambushed two others - plus there were numerous shootouts between (original) BPP with police with fatalities. From a public relations standpoint the BPP had been gaining some traction with the general public. Then they shot themselves in the foot with the armed violence. Cleaver was, as mentioned before, booted from BPP by Newton over a significant disagreement they could not resolve, resulting in the much more violent Black Liberation Army (and the convicted NJ cop-killer woman still in Cuban asylum). That was their downfall that began with a slow decline circa 1970. I cannot ignore that. You didn't mention, nor did I earlier that Bobby Seale ran for Oakland Mayor in 1973, coming in 2nd.among nine candidates. Elements of the Ten Points Program he ran on are clearly Marxist, and quite a few are currently part of BLM and Matters for Black Lives (M4BL). BLM is the largest part of M4BL; their circa 2016 manifesto is BLM's demands. They've buried it since then as too many people in media and the general public started looking it up. It was exposing their Marxist agenda. (The Wayback Machine Internet Archive is your friend; I read it before they buried it.)
I was living in Arizona in Phx attending HS and then living at and attending ASU (in Tempe) at the time all this went down. I vividly remember the mainstream news about Newton, Seale and Cleaver and thinking they had so much potential promise for real change that was completely squandered. I was still at ASU when Newton et al. began extorting Oakland businesses and dealing drugs to make money for the BPP and was concluded it was their death knell. I was majoring in Political Science at the time as an undergrad (for Public Administration, an ASU grad school strength) before changing to General Physics after three years (radical change but I was happier with it). These kinds of current events with their political implications were very relevant. Some of why I know salient details about them (because of their Marxism).
Bobby Seale now, in his later years after the demise of the BPP and Newton's murder is a much different man than he was. Whether that mitigates what he was in 1967-1982 I won't delve into here as it's well beyond the scope of this thread. I don't want to be contentious about the original BPP, but I'm of the opinion the violence they committed cannot be ignored as it was their ultimate undoing and they were oblivious to the mainstream media and public support they lost as a result.
Read my comments about the "Propaganda of the Deed" tactic dating back to the mid 1800's and formalized about 30 years later in 1881. Their demonstration wasn't about mainstream "likes" and "shares". It's about recruiting and radicalizing a specific demographic of young inner-city impoverished blacks, not just in Indianapolis, but in major cities across the US. They don't care how you, I, or others on this forum react to it. We're not the target demographic. We can debate about how effective it might be, but that must be done in the context and mindset of their target audience.
Yes, they are likely to be more a danger to blacks who oppose them, but they're also the thugs who show up at demonstrations to incite them to destructive violence with looting and arson, and they also commit deliberately violent acts attempting to incite violent law enforcement responses to them. I could give some examples of the methods used but this is already too long. Watch extensive riot confrontation footage in detail and you'll see some of the tactics used. Suffice they want the violence. The more, the better, as it puts them closer to The Revolution - the violent one they believe is required.
John
the main reason i say the nbpp (and the black isrealites by extension) are not as dangerous as most believe, is because i know some personally. they talk about being superior to the white man on the weekend and punch the white man's time clock on monday. they do nothing to build wealth within their community and that makes them weaklings in my book. i am not saying they are not dangerous. as i've stated, the truly dangerous supremicists (on both sides) are not seen but their influence is felt.
they do incite violence but do not participate in it. when they see that some aren't intimidated by them they tend to back off.
i really appreciate your perspective on this. how did you gain this knowledge?
make me smart