In October 1966, in Oakland, California, following what they believed to be the teachings of Malcolm X with some militant socialism thrown-in, Huey Newton (Defense Minister) and Bobby Seale (Chairman), among others, founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. The Panthers preached black liberation and militant self-defense of minority communities against the U.S. government. They fought to establish revolutionary socialism through mass organizing and community based programs. The Panthers advocated armed resistance, which often resulted in open gun battles with the establishment authorities. Many Panther leaders died in such conflicts. (https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/)
In June 1967, H. ‘‘Rap’’ Brown was elected as SNCC’s new chair. Brown encouraged militancy among urban blacks. Brown arranged an alliance between SNCC and The Black Panther Party and served as its Minister of Justice. Stokley Charmichael became “Prime Minister” for the Black Panthers. Brown made news by urging blacks to “burn America down.” (Seeger and Reiser, Everybody Says Freedom, p.—) Brown made the FBI’s “most wanted” list for his militant activities, and wound up in New York’s Attica State Prison.
Symbolic of the militant attitude among blacks was the 1968 U.S. Summer Olympic black power protest. Two black American Olympic athletes won medals in the 200 meter sprint. Tommie Smith won the gold medal in a world record time and John Carlos won the bronze. When Smith and Carlos, both of whom are National Track and Field Hall of Famers, were on the medal stand with the national anthem playing, they each bowed their head and raised an arm with clenched fists wearing black gloves, in what was then widely known as a black power salute, although Smith described it as a “human rights salute.” Their protest, Smith said, “was a cry for freedom and for human rights. We had to be seen because we couldn’t be heard.” The two athletes were dismissed from the Olympic team for interjecting politics into the Olympics. (Doug Hartmann, Race, Culture, and the Revolt of the Black Athlete: The 1968 Olympic Protests and Their Aftermath.)
“Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud)” was written and recorded by James Brown in 1968. It was released as a two-part single which held the number one spot on the R&B singles chart for six weeks, and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song became an unofficial anthem of the Black Power movement. (https://youtu.be/2VRSAVDlpDI)
Uh, with your bad self
Say it louder (I got a mouth)
Say it louder (I got a mouth)Look a’here, some people say we got a lot of malice
Some say it’s a lotta nerve
I say we won’t quit moving
Til we get what we deserve
We’ve been ‘buked and we’ve been scorned
We’ve been treated bad, talked about
As just as sure as you’re born
But just as sure as it take
Two eyes to make a pair, huh
Brother, we can’t quit until we get our shareSay it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, one more time
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, huhI’ve worked on jobs with my feet and my hands
But all the work I did was for the other man
And now we demands a chance
To do things for ourselves
we tired of beating our heads against the wall
And working for someone elseSay it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, ooweeOoowee, ou’re killing me
Alright uh, you’re out of sight
Alright, so tough, you’re tough enough
Ooowee uh, you’re killing me, oowSay it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it louder,
I’m black and I’m proudNow we demand a chance to do things for ourselves
We tired of beating our heads against the wall
And working for someone else
A look a’here,
One thing more I got to say right here
Now, we’re people like the birds and the bees
We rather die on our feet,
Than keep living on our kneesSay it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, hu
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, hu
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, Lord’a Lord’a Lord’a
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, oooohUh, alright now, good Lord
You know we can do the boog-a-loo
Now we can say we do the Funky Broadway!
Now we can do, hu
Sometimes we dance, we sing and we talk
You know I do like to do the camel walk
Alright now, hu alright,
Alright now, ha
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it louder,
I’m black and I’m proud, let me hear ya
Say it louder,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it louder,
I’m black and I’m proudNow we’s demands a chance to do things for ourselves
We’re tired of beating our heads against the wall
And working for someone else, hu
Now we’re our people, too
We’re like the birds and the bees,
But we’d rather die on our feet,
Than keep a’living on our kneesSay it louder,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it louder,
I’m black and I’m proud, let me hear ha’, huh
Say it loud,
I’m black and I’m proud, hu
Say it louder,
I’m black and I’m proud
Say it louder,
I’m black and I’m proudOooow, oowee, you’re killing me, alright
Uh, outa sight, alright you’re outa sight
Ooowee, oh Lord,
Ooowee, you’re killing me
Ooowee, ooowee, ooowee, ooowee, ow
By 1972, the Black Panther Party had lost its influence and changed its tactics. Huey Newton stated in an interview “We’ve rejected the rhetoric of the gun….[I]t got about 40 of us killed and sent hundreds of us to prison. Our goal now is to organize the black communities politically.” (Carroll, It Seemed Like Nothing Happened: The Tragedy and Promise of America in the 1970s, p. 54.)