Black against Empire
The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party
by Joshua Bloom; Waldo E. Martin
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Pub Date Oct 25 2016 | Archive Date Nov 17 2016
Description
This timely special edition, published on the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party, features a new preface by the authors that places the Party in a contemporary political landscape, especially as it relates to Black Lives Matter and other struggles to fight police brutality against black communities.
In Oakland, California, in 1966, community college students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton armed themselves, began patrolling the police, and promised to prevent police brutality. Unlike the Civil Rights Movement that called for full citizenship rights for blacks within the United States, the Black Panther Party rejected the legitimacy of the U.S. government and positioned itself as part of a global struggle against American imperialism. In the face of intense repression, the Party flourished, becoming the center of a revolutionary movement with offices in sixty-eight U.S. cities and powerful allies around the world.
Black against Empire is the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the history and politics of the Black Panther Party. The authors analyze key political questions, such as why so many young black people across the country risked their lives for the revolution, why the Party grew most rapidly during the height of repression, and why allies abandoned the Party at its peak of influence. Bold, engrossing, and richly detailed, this book cuts through the mythology and obfuscation, revealing the political dynamics that drove the explosive growth of this revolutionary movement and its disastrous unraveling. Informed by twelve years of meticulous archival research, as well as familiarity with most of the former Party leadership and many rank-and-file members, this book is the definitive history of one of the greatest challenges ever posed to American state power.
In Oakland, California, in 1966, community college students Bobby Seale and Huey Newton armed themselves, began patrolling the police, and promised to prevent police brutality. Unlike the Civil Rights Movement that called for full citizenship rights for blacks within the United States, the Black Panther Party rejected the legitimacy of the U.S. government and positioned itself as part of a global struggle against American imperialism. In the face of intense repression, the Party flourished, becoming the center of a revolutionary movement with offices in sixty-eight U.S. cities and powerful allies around the world.
Black against Empire is the first comprehensive overview and analysis of the history and politics of the Black Panther Party. The authors analyze key political questions, such as why so many young black people across the country risked their lives for the revolution, why the Party grew most rapidly during the height of repression, and why allies abandoned the Party at its peak of influence. Bold, engrossing, and richly detailed, this book cuts through the mythology and obfuscation, revealing the political dynamics that drove the explosive growth of this revolutionary movement and its disastrous unraveling. Informed by twelve years of meticulous archival research, as well as familiarity with most of the former Party leadership and many rank-and-file members, this book is the definitive history of one of the greatest challenges ever posed to American state power.
Advance Praise
“There have been at least a half dozen books and films by former Panthers, or about them, over the last decade. Black Against Empire, however, is unique among them in the scope and depth of its scholarship.”—Hector Tobar, Los Angeles Times Book Review
“Vivid renderings of scene make this scholarly tome thoroughly accessible; a “you are there” tone adds immediacy to the ideological concerns underpinning Black Panther Party history. . . . While the authors conclude that ‘there is no movement like the Panthers in the United State today because the political context is so different from that in the late 1960s,’ they make comprehensible both the movement and the times.”— Publishers Weekly
“A comprehensive and compelling history of the Black Panther Party. As close to complete as one text can possibly be, it is the book I would recommend to anyone wanting to read just one book about the Black Panthers.”—Ron Jacobs, Counterpunch
“Twelve years of archival research helped the authors produce this first comprehensive book on the Black Panther Party, its members, its leaders, and its resistance to the politics of the American government.”— Los Angeles Magazine
“Lets you understand what happened—and why.”— American History
“An account that should be called, above everything else, ‘definitive.’ . . . Black Against Empire, even for those generally familiar with the Black Panther legacy, can be an engaging study of the outer limits of Panther knowledge. What’s more, the book’s honest attempt to understand the intricacies of the movement is underscored by its commitment to nonpartisanship: While Bloom and Martin take great care not to vilify the Panthers as armed thugs, neither do they romanticize them simply as a misunderstood civil rights group. The result is a downright scientific analysis of a subject that leaves most readers understandably unable to stay neutral.”—Cord, Jefferson Bookforum
Read more reviews at the UC Press website.
“Vivid renderings of scene make this scholarly tome thoroughly accessible; a “you are there” tone adds immediacy to the ideological concerns underpinning Black Panther Party history. . . . While the authors conclude that ‘there is no movement like the Panthers in the United State today because the political context is so different from that in the late 1960s,’ they make comprehensible both the movement and the times.”— Publishers Weekly
“A comprehensive and compelling history of the Black Panther Party. As close to complete as one text can possibly be, it is the book I would recommend to anyone wanting to read just one book about the Black Panthers.”—Ron Jacobs, Counterpunch
“Twelve years of archival research helped the authors produce this first comprehensive book on the Black Panther Party, its members, its leaders, and its resistance to the politics of the American government.”— Los Angeles Magazine
“Lets you understand what happened—and why.”— American History
“An account that should be called, above everything else, ‘definitive.’ . . . Black Against Empire, even for those generally familiar with the Black Panther legacy, can be an engaging study of the outer limits of Panther knowledge. What’s more, the book’s honest attempt to understand the intricacies of the movement is underscored by its commitment to nonpartisanship: While Bloom and Martin take great care not to vilify the Panthers as armed thugs, neither do they romanticize them simply as a misunderstood civil rights group. The result is a downright scientific analysis of a subject that leaves most readers understandably unable to stay neutral.”—Cord, Jefferson Bookforum
Read more reviews at the UC Press website.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780520293281 |
| PRICE | $27.95 (USD) |
