As my Facebook feed blows up with various people voicing their opinions over Beyonce's Black Panther themed Superbowl half-time show, I'm sort of wondering what the big deal is. In particular is one post I saw of a local sheriff saying Beyonce's act would be akin to a white band coming out in hoods and white sheets. Yet when I think about it, I can't remember any one incident where the Black Panthers were actually convicted of murdering anybody. I quick internet search turns up a police raid that turned into a shootout, with two Black Panther members, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, being the only fatalities. I know the Panthers were vehemently anti-police, but I feel like people are stretching history to suit their opinions here. I'm just so tired of this ranting over a musical performance, help me understand what the real story is here.
Well it depends on what you mean by whether the Party ever murdered anyone. That is definitely not, but individuals did commit murders, for instance the killing of Alex Rackley by East Coast members of the Black Panther Party because they suspected him of being a police or FBI informant. As an aside, the FBI did plant informants and spied quite vigorously on the Black Panthers, but there is no credible evidence that Rackley was an informant.
Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were not killed in a shootout. Investigation into the FBI raid on Hampton's apartment found that the police had fired between ninety to ninety-nine shots while the Black Panthers in Hampton's apartment fired two, one of which was a shot fired by the death convulsions of Mr. Clark. After Mr. Clark was shot in the head with a shotgun in his lap as he was posted for guard duty.
...So did the Black Panthers ever kill anyone? I mean as a organized, planned act carried out by members? I'm noticing a distinct lack of answers to this question...