Up Against the Wall: Violence in the Making and Unmaking of the Black Panther Party / Edition 1

by Curtis J. Austin, Elbert "Big Man" Howard

Overview

Curtis J. Austin’s Up Against the Wall chronicles how violence brought about the founding of the Black Panther Party in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, dominated its policies, and finally destroyed the party as one member after another—Eldridge Cleaver, Fred Hampton, Alex Rackley—left the party, was killed, or was imprisoned. Austin shows how the party’s early emphasis in the 1960s on self-defense, though sorely needed in black communities at the time, left it open to mischaracterization, infiltration, and devastation by local, state, and federal police forces and government agencies. Austin carefully highlights the internal tension between advocates of a more radical position than the Panthers took, who insisted on military confrontation with the state, and those such as Newton and David Hilliard, who believed in community organizing and alliance building as first priorities. Austin interviewed a number of party members who had heretofore remained silent. With the help of these stories, Austin is able to put the violent history of the party in perspective and show that the “survival” programs, such as the Free Breakfast for Children program and Free Health Clinics, helped the black communities they served to recognize their own bases of power and ability to save themselves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781557288752
Publisher:	University of Arkansas Press
Publication date:	02/01/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Elbert “Big Man” Howard was a founding member of the Black Panther Party and the editor of the party's newspaper.

Table of Contents

Foreword   Elbert "Big Man" Howard     ix
Introduction     xi
Chronology of the Black Panther Party     xxv
Civil Wrongs and the Rise of Black Power     1
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense     49
Speaking of Violence     89
Publicizing the Party     113
Growth and Transformation     159
Unjustifiable Homicides     189
Southern Discomfort     249
To the East ... and Back     273
The Rift     297
Conclusion     335
Acknowledgments     349
Ten Point Program: What We Want, What We Believe     353
Rules of the Black Panther Party     356
Partial Listing of BPP Chapters and Affiliates     359
Notes     361
Bibliographical Essay     397
Bibliography     431
Index     439

What People are Saying About This

Tim Tyson

"We desperately need good historical scholarship about the Black Panther Party, and this strong history is a good place to start. Austin's focus on violence is a shrewd decision."
— author of Blood Done Sign My Name and Radio Free Dixie

Waldo Martin

"This book powerfully demonstrates the centrality of violence in the historical trajectory and our historical memory of the Party. . . . A serious, sober, and probing contribution to the ongoing project of historicizing and understanding the Party and its importance."
—Civil Rights in the United States: An Encyclopedia and The Mind of Frederick Douglass

Editorial Reviews

Choice Outstanding Academic Book “[Austin’s] energetically researched, deeply passionate book will be indispensable for students and scholars of the era.” “We desperately need good historical scholarship about the Black Panther Party, and this strong history is a good place to start. Austin’s focus on violence is a shrewd decision.” —Tim Tyson, author of Blood Done Sign My Name and Radio Free Dixie “This book powerfully demonstrates the centrality of violence in the historical trajectory and our historical memory of the Party . . . a serious, sober, and probing contribution to the ongoing project of historicizing and understanding the Party and its importance.” —Waldo Martin, author of Civil Rights in the United States: An Encyclopedia and The Mind of Frederick Douglas

From the Publisher