Introduction (Journal of African American Studies)

This special issue marks the 50th anniversary of the assassinations of Defense Captain Mark Clark and Deputy Chairman Fred Hampton of the Illinois State Chapter of the Black Panther Party as well as the murder of Manuel Ramos of the Young Lords and the brutal slayings of Rev. Bruce Johnson and his wife Eugenia Johnson of the Armitage Avenue United Methodist Church, also known as The People’s Church. By featuring the three organizations that comprised the “Original” Rainbow Coalition—the Black Panther Party, the Young Patriots, and the Young Lords Organization of Chicago, Illinois, this special issue is in remembrance of the five people cited above

Making Daddies into Fathers: Community-Based Fatherhood Programs and the Construction of Masculinity for Low-Income African American Men

In this analysis, we explore how low-income African American fathers build understandings of successful manhood in the context of community-based responsible fatherhood programs. Drawing on life history interviews with 75 men in Illinois and Indiana, we explore men’s attempts to fulfill normative expectations of fatherhood while living in communities with limited resources. We examine the efforts of community-based fatherhood programs to shape alternative African American masculinities through facilitation of personal turning points and “breaks with the past,” use of social support and institutional interventions, and the reframing of provision as a priority of successful fatherhood. We refer to Connell’s hegemonic masculinity framework (Connell in Masculinities, Polity Press, Cambridge, 1995) and discuss how both men and programs borrow from hegemonic and street masculinities to develop alternative approaches to paternal involvement for marginalized men

Tenuous Place in History

This study seeks to ascertain whether the Chicago Daily Defender’s coverage of the December 4, 1969 assassination of Mark Clark and Fred Hampton represents a prevailing pattern among black newspapers or an aberration in the black media’s treatment of the infamous event. Moreover, we wish to determine how the black press coverage differed from that of the mainstream media. The study proceeds with a brief synopsis of the police actions taken on that fateful December morning, after which the data and methodological design of the study are presented and followed by an analysis of the findings. We then offer a biographical capsule of Mark Clark’s life and activism; heretofore, largely overlooked in the scholarly narratives of the raid. Finally, the study concludes with a discussion of the sources contributing to Clark’s near erasure from the annals of history

Intergenerational Support and Reciprocity Between Low-Income African American Fathers and Their Aging Mothers

This chapter explores men's perceptions of a vital relationship in their lives: the one they have with their own mothers. It examines how men are socialized at early ages into parenting behavior, and the roles that their mothers play in “teaching” them to be fathers. It addresses: unfolding reciprocity between aging mothers and their adult sons, with a focus on shared residency and household responsibilities; kin work, through care offered by paternal grandmothers, which helps to secure involvement of nonresidential fathers; and exchange of financial, emotional, and social support. The chapter concludes with implications for family policies, and work with African American fathers in community-based programs and interventions

The Black Panther Party and the Black Church

Black churches have always played an integral role in black people’s fight against racial injustice and oppression. Many a freedom fighter has emerged from the black church. Henry Highland Garnett, a dynamic Presbyterian pastor, is one such example. Garnett gave a spellbinding oration at the 1843 National Negro Convention in Buffalo, New York, that came to be known as the “Call to Rebellion” speech

Don Cox: Just Another Nigger: My Life in the Black Panther Party Berkeley, CA [Book Review]

t first glance, a person perusing the aisles of a bookstore, archives of a library, and/or online book listing may do a double take after stumbling upon the memoir of the late Don Cox, aka DC. Similar to a moth that gravitates to a flame, the moment when the prospective reader fixes on the book cover, it is the word “nigger” that draws one’s attention. Cox probably figured that his choice of title was both risqué and brazen, but one that would foster a dialogue across cultural and social group differences. Just Another Nigger is Don Cox’s autobiography. It captures key moments in his upbringing in Appleton City, Missouri; his transition and acculturation to San Francisco, California; his growth as an activist and community organizer; his experiences within the Black Panther Party (BPP); and his life and reflections as a self-imposed exile in Algeria. Overall, Cox’s vantage point on the BPP serves as a sealant that fills many cracks left by other Panther testimonies and memoirs. Cox, an authentic revolutionary offers a raw, honest, and untethered perspective of life in the Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Jubilee

October 2016 marked the Golden Jubilee of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.In keeping with this precious milestone, the Journal of African American Studies has published a special issue on the organization about which many have written; unfortunately,little of which can be considered fresh or cutting-edge. This special issue does not have a specific genre; rather, it consists of many academics who employed varying methodological perspectives to tackle topics in several creative and original ways. In the end, our goal is to provide the academic community and reading public with a more nuanced perspective on the diversity and complexity of this militant group. Such perspectives will aid in continued dialog on the organization and provide a template to strategies/tactics that can be transferred and applied to other contexts. This collection of writers has produced reflections on the organization’s 50th anniversary, plowed new scholarly ground, provided insightful interviews of former Panthers, and offered their take on some of the most recent books on the Black Panther Party (BPP).The interviews and conversations with former Panthers are especially informative.Readers are treated to an up close and personal look at some of the men and women who comprised the Black Panther Party from California to Baltimore. These narratives are presented as stories in themselves, but when seamed together, create a part of the great international spectacle that was/is the Black Panther Party (BPP)

The Journey into an Unfamiliar and Uncomfortable Territory: Exploring the Role and Approaches of Race in PR Education

Race has been, and continues to be, one of those topics that is timely, current, and highly relevant in contemporary society; however, discussion and problematizing of race in public relations (PR) scholarship has been mostly absent (Edwards, Citation2010; Pompper, Citation2005). This study continues to address this void by exploring how some faculty perceive the role of race in PR, as well as how they approach race in their curriculum. This article, using a mixed-method design of the e-mail interview method (Hunt & McHale, Citation2007) and an autoethnographic analysis (Ellis & Bochner, Citation2000) of the first author's PR experiences, demonstrates the challenges that some faculty members face, as well as the opportunities that they have undertaken to integrate race into the PR curriculum in meaningful ways

Militancy Transcends Race: A Comparative Analysis of the American Indian Movement, the Black Panther Party, and the Young Lords

Often, when United States citizens think of “militants,” they tend to think of Blacks. This image of Black militancy is indelibly etched in the U.S. psyche as a result of, but not limited to, the public condemnations of Whites by Malcolm X, the urban rebellions of the mid- to late 1960s, the Black Panthers’ 1967 armed protest at the California statehouse, the raised, clenched fists of Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico City, and the militant student takeover of the administration building at Cornell University in 1969. For some, the sixties were a tumultuous yet exhilarating period in American history—an era both full of hope and excruciating pain. The decade began with the U.S. presidential election of John F. Kennedy, a Democrat, over Richard M. Nixon, a Republican. In his inauguration speech, Kennedy challenged America’s youth when he exclaimed, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Some answered the call by enlisting in the U.S. armed forces; others joined the Peace Corps; while some entered into electoral politics. Some of those who considered themselves nonconformists formed and/or joined organizations aimed at making America more democratic, pressuring the U.S. to live up to the ideals expressed in the country’s most sacrosanct documents—the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence. In Kennedy’s words, the 1960s represented a new frontier, a new generation of leadership. By the end of the decade, dissident groups had sprouted up all across the country

Rapping with Mr. Richard Reginald Schell

This interview was conducted with Mr. Richard R. Schell (aka Reggie Schell), former Defense Captain of the Philadelphia, PA, Branch of the Black Panther Party from its founding in late-1968 to early-1971. The interview highlights Mr. Schell’s family background, educational experiences, the Philadelphia community, his role in the development of the Philadelphia Branch, and the BPP’s legacy