The Black Panther legacy lives on Imbaseni, Tanzania. An article today in the Wall Street Journal, discusses the work of two proud Panthers, Pete O’Neal and his wife Charlotte. The couple hosts students and volunteers at their home in Tanzania. People who visit the couple are those who are “seeking to understand the peculiar history of radical black activism before it fades from memory. For the O’Neal’s, every visit is an opportunity to try to repair the controversial legacy of the Black Panthers.” On O’Neal’s compound, called the United African Alliance Community Center, the socialist model remains intact. The O’Neal’s founded the villages’ only elementary school in the 1990’s and the building of the first well in Imbaseni. The school is complete with classrooms, rooming quarters, computers, and a basketball court. One can argue that students at the O’Neal compound receive better education than some students in the States. Efforts like the Emmet Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 aim to bring justice to families and injustices during the Civil Rights Era of the 1960′s. How can similar efforts like the O’Neal’s and the Emmet Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 work together to preserve and protect black culture in the United States?
Yesterday, I wrote about how Gov. Bob McGonnell tried to omit slavery from his Confederate History Month proclamation. Aside from being belligerently inconsiderate, McGonnell’s actions are the exact reason why the work of Pete and Charlotte O’Neal is of the utmost importance. Without their first hand testimonies, the times and trials of the Black Panther Party will be lost. With systematized efforts to eradicate black history from the national consciousness, the O’Neal’s work is crucial.
The Black Panther Party is unfortunately remembered as a violent group of militant blacks that ran drugs, perpetuated violence, and created political unrest in the country. Little to nothing is known and about their successful work in instituting medical centers and free breakfast programs for children across the country. The Black Panthers were indeed grassroots to the core. The article in the Wall Street Journal clarifies that Pete O’Neal, as head of the Kansas City, MO group of the Black Panther Party, was not violent. For Pete O’Neal “incendiary rhetoric was his weapon of choice”. Prominent in O’Neal’s story is Clarence Kelly. Kelly was once the chief of police in Kansas City when O’Neal was a Panther. Kelly then became the director of the FBI in the 1970’s. Kelly said that: “They (the Kansas City Panthers) made an awful lot of noise. But I don’t recall anything too forceful.” However, the interference of the FBI and the Black Panther Party led to the Panther’s bifurcation in 1972. The split left members of the party following Eldridge Cleaver who was then a political exile in Algeria or Huey P. Newton in the United States. After the split of the Black Panther Party, members who affiliated themselves with Cleaver became known as the Black Liberation Army. Remaining Panthers include Assata Shakur who is still in political exile in Cuba.
The Black Panthers were literally black listed by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover as a “Black Nationalist Hate Group”. Sentiments towards the Black Panthers remain foul although accounts of their work is very understudied. In fact, the warrant for Pete O’Neal’s arrest in Kansas City, MO still stands. He claims that the charges of transporting a gun across state lines is false. The U.S. Marshals Services are still looking to capture O’Neal should he return to the U.S.
The Emmet Till Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007 aims to review, investigate, and asses for prosecution cases of homicide against African-American from 1964-1969. I’m curious if investigators of this initiative will prosecute F.B.I. agents who launched chemical warfare, covert operatives, and assassinations against key Black Panther Party Members including Fred Hampton. The Act is limited as it only investigates crimes that resulted in murder and that are unsealed by the F.B.I. The civil liberties of Black Panthers such as Assata Shakur, Pete O’Neal and Charlotte O’Neal were clearly obstructed. What methods or systems are being implemented to rectify the defamation and destruction of their lives?
Other articles by Eryn on Black History:
How they sold Marcus Garvey for Rice
If you would like to see a documentary about Pete O’Neil’s school in Tanzania click this link
Eryn is a Bostonian native who currently resides in the Metro New York area. She completed her B.A. in Psychology from St. John’s University where she also studied Mandarin, Chinese. Eryn has conducted psycho-social, medical, and environmental research. When she’s off the clock, Eryn spends time learning about world cultures, languages, and the best restaurants in town. She is currently working on her first novel A Beautiful Autymn. You can find more of Eryn’s work ranging from free-writes, poetry, and social analysis at http://autymn.wordpress.com
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