| New Black Panther Party | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Malik Zulu Shabazz |
| Founded | 1989, Dallas, Texas, by Aaron Michaels |
| Headquarters | Dallas, Texas |
| Ideology | Black nationalism, Pan-Africanism, Anti-capitalism, Anti-Zionism, Anti-imperialism |
| Website | |
| newblackpanther.com | |
| Politics of the United States Political parties Elections |
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The New Black Panther Party (NBPP), whose formal name is the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, is a U.S.-based black political organization founded in Dallas, Texas in 1989. Despite its name, NBPP is not an official successor to the Black Panther Party.[1] Members of the original Black Panther Party have insisted that the newer party is illegitimate and have strongly objected that there "is no new Black Panther Party".[1] The Anti-Defamation League, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights consider the New Black Panthers to be a hate group.[2][3][4]
When former Nation of Islam (NOI) minister Khalid Abdul Muhammad became the national chairman of the NBPP from the late 1990s until his death in 2001, the group attracted many breakaway members of the NOI. The NBPP is currently led by Malik Zulu Shabazz; it upholds Khalid Abdul Muhammad as the de facto father of the movement.
In April 2010, Malik Zulu Shabazz appointed French Black leader Stellio Capo Chichi as the representative of the movement in France.[5] Capo Chichi has been holding the position of head of the francophone branch of NBPP.[6]
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In 1987 Michael McGee, an alderman in Milwaukee, threatened to disrupt white events throughout the city unless more jobs were created for black people. He held a "state of the inner city" press conference in 1990 at City Hall to announce the creation of the Black Panther Militia. Aaron Michaels, a community activist and radio producer, was inspired 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 in Philadelphia to protest against the chairman of a school board who had been taped calling black students "little niggers."[7] In 1998, the attorney 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.
The New Black Panther Party identifies with the original Black Panther Party and claims to uphold its legacy. It also says that many others see the organization similarly. The NBPP is largely seen by both the general public and by prominent members of the original party[1] as illegitimate. Huey Newton Foundation members, containing a significant number of the original party's leaders, once successfully sued the group; 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."[8]
Although the NBPP 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, it promotes the Kawaida theory of Maulana Karenga, which includes black unity, collective action, and cooperative economics.[9] 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 notes that not all its members are NOI, though the group acknowledges universal "spirituality" practices within the organization.[10]
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 Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the NBPP as a "black racist" hate group. Even the mildest critics of the organization have said that the NBPP's provocative brand of black supremacy undermines other civil rights efforts.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a NBPP critic, has noted Muhammad's statement that "there are no good crackers, and if you find one, kill him before he changes."[11][12][13]
The New Black Panther Party provoked a melee outside 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 he physically attacked reporters, calling them "Jews" and insisting that they must focus on Hank Johnson rather than on McKinney, since Johnson, he alleged, was a "Tom".[14] In a subsequent appearance on the Fox News Channel program Hannity & Colmes, Nzinga defended these actions. He accused his interviewers of being part of a Zionist media complex bent on defaming African Americans and, by extension, the New Black Panthers.[15]
In 2006, the New Black Panther Party regained the media spotlight by intervening in the 2006 Duke University lacrosse team scandal, organizing marches outside Duke University and making numerous media appearances to demand that the jury organized by District Attorney Nifong convict the accused lacrosse players.[16] 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. He refused to 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." Malkin said, "The only whore present is you." Shabazz replied, "You should be ashamed of yourself for defending and being a spokesman for Bill O'Reilly."
Calling the NBPP extremist, critics have cited Muhammad's "Million Youth March" in Harlem, a youth equivalent of the Million Man March, in which the protest against police brutality included 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 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. The Million Youth March was made an annual event, but popularity dropped rapidly.
King Samir Shabazz, a former Nation of Islam member and head of the New Black Panther Party's Philadelphia chapter, has a long history of confrontational racist behavior. He advocated racial separation and made incendiary racial statements while promoting anti-police messages in the media and on the streets of Philadelphia. He publicly announced "I hate white people. All of them." He also suggested the killing of white babies.[17][18][19][20][21]
During the 2008 presidential election, poll watchers found two New Black Panther militia members shouting racial slurs outside a polling place in Philadelphia.[22] 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. A University of Pennsylvania student, Stephen Robert Morse, was hired by the local Republican Party on behalf of the John McCain presidential campaign to film the incident.[23] His video aired on several news outlets throughout the country. 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.[24] The New Black Panther with the nightstick was escorted away by the police.[25]
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 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 said "that Shabazz repeatedly brandished a police-style baton weapon.[26] 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. On July 6, 2010, J. Christian Adams, a former lawyer for the Justice Department, testified before the Commission on Civil Rights and alleged that the case was dropped because the Justice Department did not want to protect the civil rights of white people.[27] Former Civil Rights Division Voting Section Chief Christopher Coates testified on September 24, 2010, that the case was dismissed because of "deep seated hostility to the equal enforcement of the Voting Rights Act against racial minorities."[28] Abigail Thernstrom, the Republican-appointed vice chairwoman of the Commission who has "recently voted consistently with the Democrats" on the Commission,[29] dismissed Adam's allegations and said the Department's resources were better spent elsewhere, given that the evidence did not meet the "very high" legal standards to support voter intimidation: "After months of hearing, testimony and investigation, no one has produced any actual evidence that any voters were too scared to cast their ballots."[30]
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 May 2007, 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 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.[32] But, a spokeperson for the RSU later stated that support for the event was given "before they knew that Shabazz was the speaker."[32]
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, the Ontario Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister, Monte Kwinter, justified the barring of Shabazz.[33] Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty expressed concern about Shabazz.[34] The press reported that Shabazz was denied entry to Canada because of a minor criminal record.[35] Shabazz flew back to Buffalo, New York, and attempted to cross the border by car, but he was spotted by border agents and prevented from entering Canada.[36]
The rally at Queen's Park went ahead without Shabazz, with approximately 100 people, plus at least two dozen journalists. Ryerson University canceled the planned lecture.[34][36] The university administration alerted the RSU that they had received e-mails of threats of violent disruption of the event. The RSU canceled Shabazz's lecture due to safety concerns. Heather Kere, RSU's Vice-President of Education, said, "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, "He deflected attention away from the main point of the campaign. We still strongly believe in the campaign."[32]
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 Defense 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."[33] Nkem Anizor, president of the BYTA, also blamed the "Jewish lobby" for the government's decision to deny Shabazz entry to Canada,[33][36][37] Shabazz later said, "Canada is on Malik alert," and "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."[36]
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.[38] | ” |
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....[39] | ” |
Reacting to a video of two representatives of the NBPP positioned outside of a polling place on Election Day in 2008 in Philadelphia, who called themselves "security",[13] he referred to their actions as voter intimidation. He also noted the major differences between the original Black Panthers and the New Black Panthers, particularly the differences in their 10 Point Plans.[10] 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.[40]
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