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On the prowl : a socio-historical examination of the Black Panther Party in Cleveland, Ohio

Nissim-Sabat, Ryan

Abstract Details

1999, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, African-American and African Studies.

The Black Panther Party (BPP) reenergized the civil rights movement during the later part of the 1960s, as they picked up the gun to confront the systematic subjugation of Black people particularly in Oakland, California and generally throughout the country. The dominant social order negatively categorized the Party as gun-toting thugs and legitimate enemies, taking advantage of the early pictures of Panthers patrolling their Black communities to defend law-abiding citizens against the State's police brutality. However, as the Party expanded its operations and incorporated more youths and working class people into its Ten Point Program, BPP advanced its agenda beyond the image of the gun. Panthers throughout the country began to implement community programs, such as serving free breakfast to children and distributing clothes in their local neighborhoods, all in the name of the Party.

The story of the BPP, however, has been narrowly confined around the Panther's bloody confrontations with the State and the activities of its national leaders. Little discussion has been devoted to the work of rank-and-file Panthers on the grassroots level and their significance within local communities. In an attempt to address these imbalances in the existing scholarship, this thesis will present a case study of the BPP in Cleveland, Ohio, assessing the particular social forces that contributed to the creation, development, and demise of the Cleveland Panthers. Particular attention will be given to the community programs instituted by the Cleveland Panthers and their relationships with established community organizations and leaders. Furthermore, this thesis will look at the unique political environment in Cleveland, which generated one of the stronger Black Nationalist communities in the country, as well as the 1967 election of Carl B. Stokes, the first Black mayor of a major industrial city. The Cleveland Panthers will be assessed within this context to confront the limited scope of research on the BPP and the accompanying demonic images of Party members.

William Nelson (Advisor)
125 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Nissim-Sabat, R. (1999). On the prowl : a socio-historical examination of the Black Panther Party in Cleveland, Ohio [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1184190361

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Nissim-Sabat, Ryan. On the prowl : a socio-historical examination of the Black Panther Party in Cleveland, Ohio. 1999. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1184190361.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Nissim-Sabat, Ryan. "On the prowl : a socio-historical examination of the Black Panther Party in Cleveland, Ohio." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 1999. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1184190361

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)