The Black Panther Party was a force to be reckoned with during an era in American history where African-Americans fought to prevent their own subjugation.

During the 1960s and 1970s the Black Panther Party functioned as an organized front, ready and willing to militantly combat violence against black people. Their contributions to the development of a more liberated environment for African-Americans within a racist American society is immeasurable. Their importance to the process of building the societal structure that we now know is undeniable. As we celebrate another Black History Month, Hello Beautiful honors the influence that the Black Panther party has had in the Civil Rights historical canon.

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As we remember their historical importance, and look back upon the Panther experience, we especially honor the strong, bold, powerful image of the Panther woman. The women of the organization were in many ways the coal that kept the engine running. They served an imperative purpose, and helped to propel the Panther message, but they always did so with style. The Panther women’s distinctive style holds its own place in our memories.

In honor of the characteristic urban military look that the Blck Panthers are not famous for, we’re giving you a look back at some vintage panther photos.

If you are interested in recreating the Panther look, we’ve got you covered! Take a look at some of our Panther inspired looks with a modern twist. Check out the originators of “All Black Everything” in our gallery, and dont forget to equip your self with a good pair of these:

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“I could not have told you then that some sun
would come,
somewhere over the road,
would come evoking the diamonds
of you, the Black continent–
somewhere over the road.
You would not have believed my mouth.”

The above stanza echoes, poet and author Gwendolyn Brooks’ confidence in the potential of African-Americans. In 1950, Brooks was the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize. Brooks did more than illuminate the Black experience; she transcended racial boundaries, paving the way for transformative Black figures that would come after her.
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Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas on June 7, 1917. Six weeks later, her parents, David and Keziah Brooks, moved to Chicago, Illinois. As a teen, attending a leading white high school, Brooks was no stranger to racism and prejudice. She transferred from the all-black Wendell Phillips to the integrated Englewood High School. She graduated from Wilson Junior College in 1936. Brooks developed profound insight on racial dynamics, which later influenced her work.

At 13, Brooks’ first poem, “Eventide,” debuted in the American Childhood Magazine. By 16, the shy Brooks had compiled 75 published pieces. As a teen, she met two of Harlem Renaissances iconic poets, Langston Hughes and James W. Johnson, who encouraged her to read modern poetry extensively.

In 1945, Brooks won critical praise for her first published book of poetry in, “A Street in Bronzeville.” By the end of the decade, she had become a Guggenheim Fellow, and in 1950, Brooks became the first African-American to win the Pulizer Prize, for her book “Annie Allen.”

In 1962, John F. Kennedy invited Brooks to read at the Library of Congress poetry festival, she later began teaching creative writing at several notable institutions.

1967 marked a pivotal change in Brooks career; she attended a Black Writers’ Conference at Fisk University, where she said she rediscovered her Blackness. This consciousness is notably portrayed in “In The Mecca,” a long poem about a mother’s desperate search for her missing child in a Chicago housing project.

Gwendolyn Brooks was made poet laureate of Illinois in 1968, a title that she held until her death, of cancer, on December 3rd 2000, at age 83. Brooks’ resilience lives on far beyond Chicago’s South Side. Whether it was via ballads and sonnets or blues and rhythms in free verse, the poet’s words reverberate loudly. She once said that in order to create “bigness” one doesn’t have to create an epic. “Bigness,” Brooks proclaimed, “Can be found in a little haiku, five syllables, seven syllables.”

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THE STORYTELLER: Zora Neale Hurston

THE FIRST CHAMPION: Jack Johnson

By now, everyone’s seen Shaft and Superfly, the ultimate blaxploitation films, but the relatively shortlived film genre produced hundreds of low budget action and comedy films that allowed filmmakers like Spike Lee and Robert Townsend to have successful careers in film.

Take a look at the trailers for a few blaxploitation films that are essential viewing!

Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)

Although it wasn’t really considered a blaxploitation film, Melvin Van Peebles’ magnum opus blew open the doors for black filmmakers and opened the doors for the new school of cinema.  Released with the tagline, “Rated X by an all white jury,” Sweet Sweetback tells the tale of the title character, played by Peebles, on the run from white authority.  Peebles couldn’t get a major studio to finance the film and mostly spent his own money to produce it, along with a $50,000 loan from Bill Cosby.  The soundtrack of the film was provided by Earth Wind & Fire, before they became one of the biggest bands in black music.

The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973)

This controversial film, based on the novel by Sam Greenlee, tells the story of a black man named Dan Freeman (get it?  free man…) who becomes a top spy for the CIA with a secret agenda: destroy the agency from the inside and start a revolution.  He uses his espionage training to educate young black men in Chicago.  Soon after its release the film disappeared from theaters and remained a difficult movie to obtain until it was finally released on DVD in 2004.

Dolemite (1975)
Rudy Ray Moore’s classic character Dolemite made his film debut in 1975 after appearing on several of his comedy albums.  Dolemite is a poetry spitting pimp who is released from jail after being framed by a couple of corrupt cops.  The film is full of quotables, and several scenes were featured heavily in Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Got Your Money” video.

Detective: Now, I know you think you’re smart, see, cause you got all them flashy clothes, you got that big car there, you got all them black b*****s working for you.
Dolemite: You forgot about the white ones.

Truck Turner (1974)

A blaxploitation film starring Isaac Hayes as a bad-ass, ass kicking bounty hunter looking for a guy named Gator.  That’s all you need to know.  This is classic!

Welcome Home Brother Charles (1975)

One of the most unintentionally hilarious blaxploitation films ever, Welcome Home Brother Charles details the post-prison life of a man who is subjected to a bunch of incredibly ridiculous experiments while in jail.  Once he’s released, he vows to get revenge on those that put him in jail.  How does he go about getting his revenge?  He seduces their women and kills them.  The real kicker is the murder weapon he uses……… SPOILER ALERT (Highlight to find out what the murder weapon is) He strangles them with his freakishly large penis.  Yup!

Sheba Baby (1975)

Pam Grier was the undisputed queen of Blaxploitation films.  She appeared in several of its classics: Foxy Brown and Coffy to name a few.  In nearly all of them, she also managed to lose her shirt to the delight of any man who watched.

In Sheba Baby, the title character returns to her hometown of Louisville to fight some thugs who are trying to strong-arm her father’s family business out from under him, and just like in all of her films, Pam kicks a*s and takes names later.

Willie Dynamite (1974)

Willie Dynamite has the distinction of having Roscoe Orman playing the title character.  Who exactly is Roscoe Orman, you may ask?  Well, Roscoe also played Gordon on the children’s educational show Sesame Street.

Willie Dynamite is a pimp who’s doing what pimps do, and on his quest to be the number one pimp in New York City finds himself at odds with his league of fellow pimps, the cops, and a former prostitute turned social worker named Cora.

This is one of my favorite Blaxploitation films if only for it having one of the greatest moments of a pimp losing his cool and turning into a total simp. WATCH THAT SCENE HERE.

Trouble Man (1972)

Trouble Man is mostly known for it’s score which was written and performed by the legendary Marvin Gaye.  The movie itself is pretty substandard and pretty forgettable.  But, no blaxploitation film collection would be complete without it.  After years of being unavailable, it was finally released to DVD in 2006.

BONUS:

Black Dynamite (2009)

Black Dynamite stars Michael Jai White as the title character in this brilliant homage to the blaxploitation genre. From the costuming to the intentional production mistakes to the kind of film its shot on, Black Dynamite is nearly indistinguishable from the films it parodies.  The film co-stars Salli Richardson and Tommy Davidson and features cameo appearances from Arsenio Hall, John Salley, Brian McKnight and many more.

What are some of your favorite Blaxploitation films???

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As Black History Month comes to an end, it is important that we remember the African-Americans who fought and died for America during its many wars. Few people know that the man credited to be the first one to die in the Revolutionary War was a Black man by the name of Crispus Attucks. During the War of 1812, Black soldiers helped defeat the British in New Orleans.

By the end of the Civil War, 10% of the union forces were Black. The 54th regiment, which was an all Black fighting unit, was immortalized in the movie “Glory” and fought a number of important battles, eventually losing more than half of their troops. Two of Frederick Douglass’s sons also fought in the Civil War and Harriet Tubman severed as a scout for the 2nd South Carolina Volunteers.

During World War I, Black soldiers were given full citizenship, although they still fought in segregated units. Many credit Black soldiers for bringing Jazz music to Europe and France.

In World War II, Black soldiers had an increased presence. The NAACP pushed for the War Department to form the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Corps, otherwise known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee airmen were the only U.S. unit to sink a German destroyer. Like the 54th Regiment, the Tuskegee Airmen were immortalized in a movie of the same name.

The Marines first opened themselves to Black volunteers in 1942. To the dismay of the Marines only 63 African Americans joined.

Black officer, Lieutenant Colonel Campbell C. Johnson, decided that he would actively recruit Black Marines. Due to his efforts African Americans began joining the Marines at a rate of more than 1,000 a month in 1943.

Despite the opposition to the Vietnam war from Black leaders and athletes like Martin Luther King and Muhammad Ali, many Black soldiers both volunteered and were drafted to fight in the Vietnam war. Colin Powell joined the ROTC at City College and would go on to be a Captain in Vietnam, later becoming a major. Powell would go on to be National Security Adviser (1987–1989), Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993) and eventually as Secretary of State for George W. Bush in 2001.

Another Black Vietnam veteran who would go on to success was Col. Charles F. Bolden. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy in 1968, he became a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps, flying over 100 sorties in Vietnam. Bolden’s flying skills made him an ideal candidate for NASA, which he joined as an astronaut in 1981. After a long and impressive career as an astronaut, President Barack Obama name Bolden the head of NASA.

As Black History Month begins to draw to a close, Fonzworth Bentley invites all of you to sit for a little “Fireside Chat.”

Built around a complete jack of UK producer Quantic’s “So Long” from 2004, the Cool Outrageous Lover Of Uniquely Raw Style (I didn’t come up with that), reflects on the journey from the Civil Rights movement to present day.

Spotted at NahRight.

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Ralph Bunche was an American diplomat and political scientist whose work on domestic policy and foreign affairs shaped the struggle for human rights. Bunche was the first African-American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. His consistent avowal of African rights gave American statesmen the example they needed to pursue civil rights during segregation.

Ralph Bunche was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 7th, 1904. His family later moved to Los Angeles, California where he would enroll in several schools during his peripatetic childhood. Bunche studied at the University of California, Southern Branch and graduated with high honors there at the age of 23. It was the second time he had served as class valedictorian, the first he held at Jefferson High School years prior. He set high standards for himself as a varsity basketball athlete and budding scholar. Upon graduation from college, Bunche took a job as a janitor and later a teacher to save money for his graduate studies. He received his Master’s in 1928 while working as a professor at Howard University; he would later move on to Harvard University to pursue a doctoral fellowship in International Relations. His forays into diplomatic affairs centered largely on the politics of the African continent during the heights of colonial rule. The Rosenwald Fellowship allowed him to examine the social institutions of Togoland and Dahomey. His work was so thorough that he was honored with the Toppan Prize for outstanding work in social studies.

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But Bunche’s career was not about winning awards; it was about defining the problem of race across the African diaspora and finding solutions to the nagging iniquities in the global conscience. In his quest to offer workable solutions, Bunche served as an educational leader on the New York City Board of Education, Professor Emeritus at Howard University, trustee at Oberlin College and several other posts where he could disseminate the information he collected. His first book <em>A World View of Race</em> was the premier sociological work to approach the issue of race from a wide-angled view. It solidified his place as a scholar, and challenged his home country’s political order by comparing the injustices abroad to the seething conflicts in America. His early academic work informed his civic duties as a member of Roosevelt’s esteemed Black Cabinet, preliminary planner for the United Nations and diplomat in the Arab-Israeli mediation process. As he accumulated experience with world issues, he was apt to challenge the segregationist policies of the South. He refused an appointment as assistant Secretary of State under Harry Truman because of his opposition to the unfair laws still practiced in parts of the country. Nevertheless, he pushed forward where he could to promote world peace.

Bunche was often criticized by new guard leaders of the Black Power Movement for his government loyalty. Although he was working within a broken system, he toppled some of the powerful biases that held Blacks in a lower position for so long.

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THE WOMAN’S WOMAN: Sojourner Truth

THE ACTIVIST: Fannie Lou Hamer

Even with slavery so deeply entrenched in the American psyche during the 19th century, it was difficult to ignore a voice as strong and as bold as the one of Sojourner Truth. An American slave who actively supported abolitionist movements and became a staunch women’s rights activist, Truth’s message of equality and freedom, of compassion and the power of civic activism spoke to legions of Blacks and Whites, alike. Her legacy of civic participation and grassroots organizing became a cornerstone of the philosophies that guided many of today’s Black leaders into lives of public service.

Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in 1797 in New York. Originally Isabella Baumfree, she grew up with a dozen siblings under the mastership of a Dutch colonel. After the colonel’s death and the subsequent property shuffling, Truth’s family was separated. Approximately 9 years old at the time, was sold to a man named John Neely who beat her with metal rods and raped her daily.

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Truth was sold a few more times before she finally escaped the tyranny of slavery in 1826. After changing her name to Sojourner Truth in 1843 she became a Methodist and began preaching about the need to abolish slavery.

The Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts was an organization founded by abolitionists that also worked on women’s rights, peace, and religious tolerance. In 1844, Truth joined their cause and learned about the virtues of pacifism and the importance of pursuing peace alongside fellow members Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison.

The powerful ideologies of equality and freedom that Truth had learned and internalized during her time with the Northampton Association manifested themselves in her now-famous 1851 speech, “Ain’t I A Woman?” in which she laid her rights as a woman in this country alongside her white counterparts at the Ohio Women’s Rights convention.

Her belief that Blacks and Whites in America had to work together to achieve peace and equality informed her strategies while working for the Union army during the Civil War. Truth recruited Black soldiers to fight in the war and while working in the Freedman’s Hospital in Washington D.C., she would lay the groundwork for the principles of desegregation espoused during the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th century.

Her fight for the dignity, humanity and self-respect of African-Americans allowed for the paradigm shift required to eventually bring us to the inauguration of America’s first Black president.

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THE LIBERATOR: Harriet Tubman

THE ACTIVIST: Fannie Lou Hamer

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GALLERY: Landmark Year In Modern Black History – 1977

GALLERY: Landmark Year In Modern Black History – 1968

The hours immediately following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr were understandably a very tense time across the United States.

The death of the Civil Rights leader left many people agitated and angry.  The city of Boston, in particular, was a ticking time bomb, and city leaders were worried about potential rioting.

The next day, helped arrived in the form of music legend James Brown.

Brown was already scheduled to perform a concert on April 5th, 1968 at Boston Gardens.  Boston’s then-mayor, Kevin White considered cancelling the show, but feared the cancellation would provoke riots.  White brokered a deal with Brown’s organization that White believed would keep people off of the streets and ease the tension in the city.

James Brown’s concert would be broadcast live on a local television station.

Filmmaker David Leaf put together an excellent documentary film in 2008 about this legendary concert, and how James Brown saved Boston featuring footage from the show as well as interviews from Brown’s band members, Reverend Al Sharpton, Dr Cornel West, and many others.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

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