OAKLAND \u2014 To mark the 60th anniversary of when two Merritt College students, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, launched the Black Panther Party, party veterans, scholars and activists from around the country will gather for what\u2019s been called a historic four-day conference and gala in downtown Oakland, Oct. 15-18.<\/p>\n
The City of Oakland also recognizes the anniversary by voting unanimously this week to rename three blocks of Broadway, running through the heart of downtown, \u201cBlack Panther Party Boulevard.\u201d A renaming ceremony for the three blocks, between 14th to 17th Streets, will take place during the conference on Oct. 17 at a time yet to be specified.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo have the Black Panther Party\u2019s name recognized on Broadway, on streets where Panthers organized and worked directly with the people, brings this history home,\u201d Fredrika Newton, president and co-founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation, said in a news release. Along these blocks, Panthers distributed their newspaper, registered voters and ran for public office. She said, \u201cFuture generations will be able to stand here and understand that something extraordinary happened in this place.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for the conference, Newton said it will \u201ckick-off to a new generation of revolutionaries who will take the legacy and lessons of the Black Panther Party forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conference opens Oct. 15, then features two full days of lectures, workshops, panel discussions, film exhibits and other events on Oct. 16 and 17. Topics include the need for community-based education, the case for reparations, the historic role of women in the party, the global impact of Black Panthers\u2019 free health clinics, \u201cpower to the people in the age of AI\u201d and \u201creclaiming health sovereignty in Black hair care.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oakland Museum of California hosts an evening of live music, DJs, film and storytelling featuring Oakland hip-hop crew MacArthur Maze on Oct. 16, and the gala takes place at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center on Oct. 17. It wraps up with a Community Day at Lil\u2019 Bobby Hutton Park, with live entertainment and Black Panther Party veterans sharing their stories.<\/p>\n
The Black Panther Party started in Oakland in October 1966 by challenging police brutality before it became an international revolutionary movement advocating for racial justice, human rights and equal access to education, healthcare and housing, according to a news release from the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and the Black Panther Party Museum.\n<\/p>\n
The conference is co-hosted by the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and the Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation. Organizers say this collaboration is notable because of internal conflicts within the party, including between Newton and Seale, which they blame on the FBI\u2019s counter-intelligence operations. The COINTLEPRO operations worked to undermine, discredit and destabilize the Black Panther Party, along with other Civil Rights and countercultural organizations.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor 60 years, people have interpreted, debated and too often distorted the history of the Black Panther Party,\u201d said Courtney S. Parker and Marcus King, co-founders of the Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation. \u201cThere is tremendous power in (these two organizations) coming together around a shared responsibility: preserving this history and making sure future generations have the opportunity to learn directly from it.\u201d<\/p>\n