3. Strain, Christopher Barry. “Civil Rights and ... - Freedom Archives

self-defense denotation from the official name of the group soon after its inception,
becomes crucial in understanding the paradigmatic shift in the group's ideology and
tactics. The title of the organization was shortened from "Black Panther Party for Self-
Defense" to "Black Panther Party" (or sometimes the acronym "BPP") because, according
to Huey Newton, they wanted to make clear that the group was recognized as a "political
organization" and not merely a paramilitary group or a cadre of bodyguards ; however,
the Panthers' name change also coincided with a devolution from their legitimate claim to
self-defense .
To understand Huey Newton, Bobby Scale, and the organization they founded in
1966, it helps to examine the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) and its
adjunct political party, the Black Panther Party. There were, in fact, many Black Panther
Parties in 1965 and 1966 2 , but only two of considerable historical significance : first in the
desolate, rural environs of central Alabama; then, only a few months later, on the equally
The Black Panther (March l6, 1968) : 4 ; see also `"fhe Black Panther Party: Its Origin
and Development as Reflected in Its Official Weekly Newspaper The Black Panther
Black Community News Service ," A Staff Study by the Committee on Internal Security,
U.S . Congress, House of Representatives, 91st Congress, Second Session, October 6,
1971 (Washington, D.C . : U .S . Government Printing Office, 1971), 3 .
2Stokely Carmichael and other SNCC activists consciously promoted and publicized
the Black Panther name and logo . As a result, before Newton's organization in Oakland
became~Black Panther Party, many organizations, inspired by the Lowndes County
group, carried the name "Black Panther." For example, see "Black Power Goes Political :
Pouncing Panther Portrays Power," New York Amsterdam News (September 10, 1966) : 1
[on Harlem group] . Another s~h group, the Black Panther Party of Northern California,
operated in San Francisco . In a joint action, the two Bay Arca groups briefly combined
forces to provide armed protation for Malcolm X's widow, Betty Shabazz ; afterward,
Huey Newton would force the San Francisco-based group to change its name . See Hugh
Pearson, The Shadow of the Panther. Huev Newton and the Price of Black Power in
~~ (Reading, Massachusetts : Addison-Wesley, 1994), 97, 108, 119-126 .
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