Liberated Territory: Untold Local Perspectives on the Black Panther Party

by Yohuru Williams, Jama Lazerow

With their collection In Search of the Black Panther Party , Yohuru Williams and Jama Lazerow provided a broad analysis of the Black Panther Party and its legacy. In Liberated Territory , they turn their attention to local manifestations of the organization, far away from the party’s Oakland headquarters. This collection’s contributors, all historians, examine how specific party chapters and offshoots emerged, developed, and waned, as well as how the local branches related to their communities and to the national party. The histories and character of the party branches vary as widely as their locations. The Cape Verdeans of New Bedford, Massachusetts, were initially viewed as a particular challenge for the local Panthers but later became the mainstay of the Boston-area party. In the early 1970s, the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, chapter excelled at implementing the national Black Panther Party’s strategic shift from revolutionary confrontation to mainstream electoral politics. In Detroit, the Panthers were defined by a complex relationship between their above-ground activities and an underground wing dedicated to armed struggle. While the Milwaukee chapter was born out of a rising tide of black militancy, it ultimately proved more committed to promoting literacy and health care and redressing hunger than to violence. The Alabama Black Liberation Front did not have the official imprimatur of the national party, but it drew heavily on the Panthers’ ideas and organizing strategies, and its activism demonstrates the broad resonance of many of the concerns articulated by the national the need for jobs, for decent food and housing, for black self-determination, and for sustained opposition to police brutality against black people. Liberated Territory reveals how the Black Panther Party’s ideologies, goals, and strategies were taken up and adapted throughout the United States. Contributors : Devin Fergus, Jama Lazerow, Ahmad A. Rahman, Robert W. Widell Jr., Yohuru Williams

Genres: History

312 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Mitra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5!

[Canyon Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid read with a unique local-national analysis of otherwise unexplored chapters. Every article was good, but the Alabama and Detroit articles were the most exciting. The Detroit content was really strengthened after I realized it was written by a local Panther, who was a participant in the underground activities discussed, and served a 22-year sentence. It was especially critical and gave some telling takeaways into the struggles of such a young cohort of radicals. The epilogue also got to something I learned in Ashley D. Farmer's "Remaking Black Power", which is that, once women came to lead the Panthers, the obviously masculinist but actually revolutionary intent of the Party dramatically shifted toward service-oriented, legally inclined reformist attitudes and activities. In one way, this is essential for connection with the people but also demonstrates a deep-rooted relationship to the needs in the community. Yet, the success of such projects is lacking in retrospect, with the BPP gone and Black women/children/communities being the most impacted and exploited in 2024. Really important history I hope to see explored more. Altogether tho, the book was fabulous.

[Michael Boyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Academic, but accessible- a collection of essays and investigations of the Panthers and the groups they inspired outside of Oakland and New York. Fascinating and inspiring, if dragged down at times by the academic language. Particularly notable is the essay on the BPP chapter in New Brunswick Mass, and it's relationship to the Cape Verdean population.