Written by Naima Small

_{Members of Black Panther Party of Philadelphia distribute free lunches.}

The Black Panther Party of Philadelphia, founded in 1968, was active into the early 1970s. Founding and early members of the chapter included Mumia Abu Jamal, Reggie Shell, Terry Macarius, Clarence Peterson, John Pickett, and Craig Williams. From their main headquarters on 1935 Columbia Avenue in North Philadelphia, the Panthers sponsored breakfast programs, health clinics, political education classes, and a library, and even created a community protection patrol to battle police brutality. 

The Black Panther Party, nationally, challenged white supremacy and white violence by advocating for Black empowerment and education through their Ten Point Program. The ten points read:

• “We want freedom. We want power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.
• We want full employment for our people.
• We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community.
• We want decent housing, fit for shelter of human beings.
• We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present day society.
• We want all Black men to be exempt from military service.
• We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people.
• We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.
• We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black Communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.
• We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace.”

This revolutionary, pro–Black ideology made the Panthers a constant target for state–sanctioned violence and invasive federal surveillance, and the Philadelphia chapter was no exception. 

_{August 1970 police raid on the Black Panther Party headquarters.}

Party membership declined in the 1970s after numerous incidents of intense police violence. On August 31, 1970, police raided three Black Panther Party centers, including the headquarters at Columbia Avenue, after an unrelated shooting of a police officer by a Black man. The Black Panther Party had been planning the Revolutionary People’s Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia for September. During the raids, police used tear gas to force people out of the centers, held Panthers at gunpoint, and strip–searched them. Fourteen members were ultimately arraigned on charges of assault with intent to kill, with a bail set at $100,000. The constitutional convention took place as planned despite the raids, drawing over 14,000 participants. Even after the Philadelphia chapter formally disbanded, local former Panthers started the Black United Liberation Front to continue their vital Black power activism. 

The Columbia Avenue neighborhood, now renamed Cecil B. Moore Avenue, where the Panthers were located, has been predominantly Black since the 1950s. However, in recent years, Columbia Ave and its surrounding area have been harmed by gentrification. Temple University, for example, has pushed its campus further into North Philadelphia, displacing local residents and closing down community areas. The location of the headquarters itself is now a vacant lot, with no formal statues or plaques commemorating the work the Panthers did in Philadelphia, or their positive influence on the Columbia Avenue community. The situation surrounding the Black Panther Party’s former headquarters reflects the realities of gentrification felt by many Black Philadelphians. 

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Bibliography

Canton, Trevor, Porcher, Cheyenne, and Zhang, Laura. “The Black Panther Party: History and Theory.” NYU. 2021.

“Columbia Avenue.” Temple University Libraries.

Genovese, Holly. “Black Power.” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. 2017.

Hermida, Arianne. “Mapping the Black Panther Party in Key Cities.” Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium. 2015.

Jewett, Marilyn Kai. “Commentary: North Philadelphia Residents Fight for its Future, Call to Stop Gentrification and Displacement.” Generosity. 2021.

“Members of the Black Panther Party, Stripped, Handcuffed, and Arrested After Philadelphia Police Raided the Panther Headquarters, August, 1970.” ExplorePAHistory.com.

“Panthers Raided in Philadelphia.” The New York Times. 1970.

Peterson, Clarence E. “Brief History of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Black Panther Party.” Freedom Archives. 2009.

“The Black Panther Party.” National Archives.

“The Black Panther Party: Challenging Policy and Promoting Social Change.” National Museum of African American History and Culture.