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New Black Panther Party

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New Black Panther Party
LeaderMalik Zulu Shabazz
ChairmanMalik Zulu Shabazz
Founded1989, Dallas, Texas, by Aaron Michaels
HeadquartersDallas, Texas
IdeologyBlack nationalism, Pan-Africanism, Black supremacy, Racial antisemitism[1], Anti-capitalism, Anti-Zionism, Anti-imperialism
Website
newblackpanther.com

The New Black Panther Party (NBPP), whose formal name is the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, is a U.S.-based organization founded in Dallas, Texas in 1989. Despite its name, NBPP is not an official successor to the Black Panther Party.[2] Members of the original Black Panther Party have insisted that this party is illegitimate and have vociferously objected that there "is no new Black Panther Party".[2] The Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center identified the New Black Panthers as a hate group.[3][4]

The NBPP attracted many breakaway members of the Nation of Islam when former NOI minister Khalid Abdul Muhammad became the national chairman of the group from the late 1990s until his death in 2001. The NBPP is currently led by Malik Zulu Shabazz, and still upholds Khalid Abdul Muhammad as the de facto father of their movement.

Background

With the Panther Party in shambles, in 1987 an alderman in Milwaukee threatened to disrupt white events throughout the city unless more jobs were created for black people. A "state of the inner city" press conference in 1990 at city hall brought this situation to a head as the alderman, Michael McGee, announced the creation of the Black Panther Militia, which inspired Aaron Michaels, a community activist and radio producer, to establish the New Black Panther Party.

Michaels rose to widespread attention for the first time when he called on blacks to use shotguns and rifles to protest against the chairman of a school board who had been taped calling black students "little niggers."[5] In 1998, Khalid Abdul Muhammad brought the organization into the national spotlight when he led the group to intervene in response to the 1998 murder of James Byrd, Jr. in Jasper, Texas. He also made the NBPP well-known for their vehement school board disruptions and public appearances.

Philosophy, ideology, and criticism

The New Black Panther Party self-identifies with the original Black Panther Party and claims to uphold its legacy. It also says that many others see the organization this same way. But the NBPP is apparently largely seen by both the general public and by prominent members of the original party[2] as illegitimate. Huey Newton Foundation members, containing a significant number of the original party's leaders, once successfully sued the group, though their ultimate objective in doing so — to prevent the NBPP from using the Panther name — appears to have been unsuccessful. In response to the suit, Aaron Michaels branded the original Panthers "has-been wannabe Panthers", adding: "Nobody can tell us who we can call ourselves."[6]

Although it says it sees capitalism as the fundamental problem with the world and "revolution" as the solution, the new party does not draw its influences from Marxism or Maoism as the original party did. Instead, in a carefully-worded, roundabout form of ethnic nationalism,[7] they say that Karl Marx based his ideology and teachings on indigenous African cultures, and that the NBPP therefore need not look to Marxism or Maoism as a basis for their program, but can look to ideologies that stem directly from those African origins. The NBPP says it fights the oppression of black and brown people and that its members are on top of current issues facing black communities across the world. Also, it points to not all of its members being NOI, though the group acknowledges universal "spirituality" practices within the organization.[8]

Over time, many groups subscribing to varying degrees of radicalism have called for the "right to self-determination" for black people, particularly US blacks. Critics of the NBPP say that the group's politics represent a dangerous departure from the original intent of black nationalism; specifically, that they are starkly anti-white, and also anti-Semitic. The NBPP is considered by the Southern Poverty Law Center to be a "black racist" hate group, and even many of the mildest critics of the organization have said that, at the absolute least, the NBPP's provocative brand of black supremacy undermines other civil rights efforts. Members have referred to "bloodsucking Jews", and Khalid Abdul Muhammad has blamed slavery and even the Holocaust on the "hooked-nose, bagel-eating, lox-eating, perpetrating-a-fraud, so-called Jew"."[9][10][11]

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a NBPP critic, has pointed to NBPP members stating sympathy or understanding of Kamau Kambon's advocacy of the genocide of whites[citation needed], and Khalid Abdul Muhammad in his statement that "there are no good crackers, and if you find one, kill him before he changes."[12][13][14]

Recent controversies

Following the September 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., the party promoted the 9/11 conspiracy theory that 4,000 Israelis who worked at the World Trade Center were warned ahead of time by Israel and called in sick the day of the attack, a theory propounded by Amiri Baraka in his poem "Somebody Blew Up America".[15] The party also participated in the Reparations marches on Washington, DC in 2002 that drew hundreds of African-Americans.

The New Black Panther Party provoked a melee outside of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's campaign headquarters after she had lost a Democratic primary election to her opponent, Hank Johnson. The NBPP's Chief of Staff, Hashim Nzinga, had been acting as security detail for McKinney when, in a volatile confrontation, he physically attacked reporters, derogatorily calling them "Jews" and insisting that they must focus on Hank Johnson rather than on McKinney, since Johnson, he alleged, was a "Tom".[16] In a subsequent appearance on the Fox News Channel program Hannity & Colmes, Nzinga defended these actions and further accused his interviewers of being part of a Zionist media complex bent on defaming African-Americans and, by extension, the New Black Panthers.[17]

In 2006, the New Black Panther Party regained the media spotlight by interposing itself into the 2006 Duke University lacrosse team scandal, organizing marches outside of Duke University and made numerous media appearances where they demanded that the jury organized by District Attorney Nifong convict the accused lacrosse players.[18] Malik Zulu Shabazz met with the DA and asserted repeatedly that the DA's answers meant he was supporting the claims made by the NBPP, a point that was widely disputed. On April 12, 2007, after District Attorney Nifong's case collapsed and the Duke Lacrosse players were exonerated, Malik Zulu Shabazz appeared on The O'Reilly Factor and declared that he would not apologize for his actions in the leadup to the Duke University lacrosse rape scandal, stating that he did not know whether or not anything happened to the young accuser. He stated his beliefs that the rich, white families of Duke had placed political pressure on the investigation and forced the charges to be dropped. When questioned by guest host Michelle Malkin, he labeled her a "political prostitute" and "mouthpiece for that racist Bill O'Reilly." In response, Malkin stated that "the only whore present is you." Malik Zulu Shabazz replied, "You should be ashamed of yourself for defending and being a spokesman for Bill O'Reilly."

Critics have called the NBPP extremist, citing Muhammad's "Million Youth March", a youth equivalent of the Million Man March in Harlem in which 6,000 people protested police brutality but also featured a range of speakers calling for the extermination of whites in South Africa. The rally ended in scuffles with the New York Police Department as Muhammad urged the crowd to attack those officers who had attempted to confiscate the NBPP members' guns. Chairs and bottles were thrown at the police but only a few in the conflict suffered injuries. Al Sharpton appeared and spoke at this event, and was criticized later for taking part in its controversial rhetoric. The Million Youth March became an annual event thereafter, but rapidly lost popularity as time progressed.

Former Nation of Islam and New Black Panther Party member, King Samir Shabazz, had a long history of confrontational racist behavior, advocating racial separation and making incendiary racial statements while promoting anti-police messages in the media and on the streets of Philadelphia.[19][20] [21][22][23][24][25]

Voter intimidation in Philadelphia

During the 2008 presidential election, poll watchers found two New Black Panther militia members outside of a polling place in Philadelphia.[26] One of the two was a credentialed poll watcher, while the other was a New Black Panther member who had brought a police-style nightstick baton. Republican poll watcher Chris Hill stated that voters had been complaining about intimidation, while the District Attorney's office stated that they had not been contacted by any voters.[27] The New Black Panther with the nightstick was escorted away by the police.[28][29]

On January 7, 2009, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a civil suit against the New Black Panther Party and three of its members alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 over the incident at the Philadelphia polling place. The suit accused members Minister King Samir Shabazz and Jerry Jackson of being outside a polling location wearing the uniform of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, and that Shabazz repeatedly brandished a police-style baton weapon.[30] The suit sought an injunction preventing further violations of the Voting Rights Act. After the defendants did not appear for court, a default judgment was entered. On May 29, 2009, the Department of Justice requested and received an injunction against the member who had carried the nightstick, but against the advice of prosecutors who had worked on the case, department superiors ordered the suit dropped against the remaining members.

According to an April 23, 2010 press release from the New Black Panther Party, the Philadelphia member involved in the nightstick incident was suspended until January 2010. "The New Black Panther Party made it clear then and now we don't support voter intimidation...Correctly the charges against the entire organization and the chairman were dropped. The actions of one individual cannot be attributed to an entire organization any more than every act of any member of the Catholic Church be charged to the Vatican."[31]

In July 2010, J. Christian Adams, a former lawyer for the Justice Department, testified before the Commission on Civil Rights that the case was dropped because the Justice Department did not want to protect the civil rights of white people.[32]

Prevented from entering Canada

In May 2007, Party Chairman Shabazz was invited by Black Youth Taking Action (BYTA) to speak at a rally at Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and to later give a lecture to students at Ryerson University; the Ryerson Students' Union (RSU) had endorsed the event as it called for grade school curricula to acknowledge the historical contribution of African-Canadians and African-Americans, and for the Brampton, Ontario, super jail project to be dismantled.[33] However, a spokeperson for the RSU later stated that their support for the event was given "before they knew that Shabazz was the speaker."[33]

Shabazz arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport as planned, but was prevented from entering Canada by Canadian border officials because of "past rhetoric that violates Canadian hate laws." Though Canada's airports and borders are within the federal jurisdiction, Ontario Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Monte Kwinter justified the barring of Shabazz,[34] while Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed concern about Shabazz.[35] However, it was also reported that Shabazz was denied entry to Canada only because of a minor criminal record.[36] Shabazz then flew back to Buffalo, New York, and attempted to cross the border by car, but he was again spotted by border agents and prevented from entering Canada.[37]

The rally at Queen's Park went ahead without Shabazz, with approximately 100 people, plus at least two dozen journalists. However, the lecture at Ryerson University was canceled.[35][37] On the day of the lecture, school administration alerted the RSU that they had received e-mails threatening to violently disrupt the event. The RSU subsequently canceled Shabazz's lecture due to safety concerns. Heather Kere, RSU's Vice-President of Education, stated that "We definitely recognize there was some criticism of his views" and that "we were endorsing the campaign's goals and not the individual speaker." Kere added that "He deflected attention away from the main point of the campaign. We still strongly believe in the campaign."[33]

Hashim Nzingh, Shabazz's chief of staff, blamed Jewish groups for the incident, stating in a telephone interview that "they let these groups like the ADL (Anti-Defamation League) and the JDL (Jewish Defence League), which is nothing but a bunch of gangsters, dictate what happens in the world today," and "they told Canada not to let us in and Canada followed their rules, because this country is run from Israel."[34] Nkem Anizor, president of the BYTA, also blamed the "Jewish lobby" for the government's decision to deny Shabazz entry to Canada,[34][38][37] Shabazz himself later stated that "Canada is on Malik alert," and that "B'nai Brith has won this one, and I'm starting to see the power of the Jewish lobby in Canada, full force. I thought Canada was free... I think this is evidence that black people are being oppressed in Canada."[37]

Condemnation by former members of the original Black Panther Party

The Huey P. Newton Foundation issued a news release denouncing the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Their release reads in part:

As guardian of the true history of the Black Panther Party, the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, which includes former leading members of the Party, denounces this group's exploitation of the Party's name and history. Failing to find its own legitimacy in the black community, this band would graft the Party's name upon itself, which we condemn... [T]hey denigrate the Party's name by promoting concepts absolutely counter to the revolutionary principles on which the Party was founded... The Black Panthers were never a group of angry young militants full of fury toward the "white establishment." The Party operated on love for black people, not hatred of white people.[39]

Bobby Seale, one of the co-founding members of the original Black Panther Party, spoke out against the New Black Panther Party. Calling the rhetoric of the New Black Panther Party "xenophobic", he spoke of their remarks as, "absurd, racial, [and] categorical".

Just to hate another person because [of] the color of their skin or their ethnicity — we don't do that. That's not what the goal objective is. The goal objective is human liberation. The goal objective is the greater community cooperation and humanism. The goal objective is to get rid of institutionalized racism....[40]

Reacting to a video of two representatives of the New Black Panther Party positioned outside of a polling place on Election Day in 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of which was armed with a nightstick, who called themselves "security" when questioned by a bystander with a camera,[41] he referred to their actions as voter intimidation. He also spoke of the major differences between the methods of the original Black Panthers and the New Black Panthers, particularly the differences in their 10 Point Plans.[8] Before the close of the interview, Seale re-iterated that there is no connection between the original Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and the New Black Panther Party.[42]

See also

References

  1. ^ New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
  2. ^ a b c "There is No New Black Panther Party", The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation.
  3. ^ "Active U.S. Hate Groups Black Separatist." Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed February 11, 2009.
  4. ^ "New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense." Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved February 11, 2009.
  5. ^ The Cats Came Back: Can the Black Panther Party become a force again in Philadelphia?, Philadelphia Weekly, 17 December 2003.
  6. ^ http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/45a/274.html
  7. ^ Local Objectives at official website
  8. ^ a b 10 Point Platform at official website
  9. ^ "ADL Condemns Racist, Anti-Semitic Tirades At Rep. Cynthia Mckinney's Concession Speech", Anti-Defamation League press release, 9 August 2006.
  10. ^ Vincent, Steven. "Jews and Honkeys Need Not Apply", Front Page Magazine, 8 April 2005.
  11. ^ Article, Southern Poverty Law Center
  12. ^ Khalid Abdul Muhammad at Jewish Virtual Library
  13. ^ http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp?T=32&m=5[dead link]
  14. ^ Video clip[dead link] on YouTube
  15. ^ "New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", Anti-Defamation League, revised 19 April 2010; accessed 7 July 2010.
  16. ^ http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=83191[dead link]
  17. ^ Video clip, Hannity & Colmes, FOX News.
  18. ^ Biesecker, Michael. "New Black Panthers demonstrate, but not on Duke campus", The News & Observer, 2 May 2006.
  19. ^ http://www.theusreport.com/the-us-report/2010/7/7/the-new-black-panther-party-not-your-flower-childs-protest-g.html
  20. ^ http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/groups/new_black_panther_party_for_self_Defense/justice_dept_sues_panthers.htm
  21. ^ [1] [National Geographic Video, where he incites against whites [2]
  22. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1007/08/cnr.02.html
  23. ^ http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=175817
  24. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,596145,00.html
  25. ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2010/jul/8/new-black-panther-myspace-page-flashback/
  26. ^ Personal video by University of Pennsylvania student, posted on YouTube
  27. ^ Ruppel, Paul. "Philly DA: No Complaints About Black Panthers At Polls", WTXF, FOX Television Stations, Inc., 4 November 2008.
  28. ^ "Voting Intimidation By Black Panthers In Philadelphia". Fox News. November 4, 2008.
  29. ^ "Update: Police Confront Night Stick-Wielding "Security" Patrol at Philadelphia Poll". November 4, 2008.
  30. ^ Justice Department Seeks Injunction Against New Black Panther Party: Lawsuit Seeks to Prohibit Voter Intimidation in Future Elections", US Department of Justice, 7 January 2009.
  31. ^ The Phony Politicized Case and U.S.C.C.R. Hearing Against The New Black Panther Party, The New Black Panther Party, April 23, 2010
  32. ^ Racial Motive Alleged in a Justice Dept. Decision, New York Times, July 6, 2010
  33. ^ a b c Morrow, Adrian (August 21, 2007). "U.S. activist accused of anti-semitism invited to speak at Ryerson". The Eyeopener.
  34. ^ a b c Greenberg, Lee (May 16, 2007). "Black activist barred from entering Canada". CanWest News Service.
  35. ^ a b "Black Panther leader refused entry into Canada". CTV News. May 15, 2007.
  36. ^ CBC News (May 15, 2007). "Black activist denied entry to Canada, group says". Canada Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
  37. ^ a b c d Brean, Joseph (16 May 2007). "Black Panther stopped at border". National Post.
  38. ^ Goddard, John (16 May 2007). "Black activist blocked at border". Toronto Star.
  39. ^ Huey P. Newton Foundation. "There Is No New Black Panther Party"
  40. ^ Interview with Robert George "Bobby" Seale, CNN, 8 July 2010.
  41. ^ "Security" patrols stationed at polling places in Philly on YouTube
  42. ^ Bobby Seale on the New Black Panther Party CNN Interview, hosted on YouTube
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