Communities
Oakland marks 60 years since the Black Panther Party began with a conference and free community day
A four-day anniversary program runs through Sunday with workshops, a gala and a free gathering at DeFremery Park for the party's founding generation.
Sixty years after two Merritt College students started the Black Panther Party in Oakland, the city is honoring the movement with four days of events that began Thursday and end Sunday.
Two founders and two foundations
Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale founded the party in October 1966. For the anniversary the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation is teaming up with the Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation and a group of party veterans called It's About Time BPP. Organizers say the goal is to tell the party's history accurately and pass it to a younger generation.
The schedule
The program includes a conference with workshops led by former Panthers, scholars and organizers. A gala for party veterans is part of the weekend. The foundation is giving 1,000 high school students free access to the workshops.
Free events fill the calendar too. Thursday night a night market in Latham Square honored party members with live music. An exhibit on rank-and-file members is open at the Oakland Public Library through Jan. 9. On Friday evening the Oakland Museum of California hosts a garden party with hip-hop performers. The weekend closes with Community Day on Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at DeFremery Park in West Oakland, a site the party used for rallies in the 1960s and 1970s.
More than the famous images
Organizers point out that the party ran more than 65 community survival programs. They included the Free Breakfast for Children Program, health clinics, education programs and food distribution. Panther veterans will share stories of that work at the park on Sunday.
Fredrika Newton called the anniversary a kickoff for a new generation that will carry the lessons forward. The foundation's executive director said the history is something to learn from and build on.
