Arm Yourself or Harm Yourself

Abstract

Over its sixteen-year (1966–1982) history, the Black Panther Party (BPP) established official links with local black communities throughout the United States. From its epicenter in Oakland, California, the party flourished into an international phenomenon with official units in twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia. In addition, the BPP opened an international chapter in Algiers, Algeria, initially under the leadership of Eldridge Cleaver. BPP chapters were set up by African Americans in many large urban centers and in sparsely black-populated cities such as Des Moines and Seattle. One of the BPP outposts was located in Houston, Texas. This chapter examines the origins, nature of membership, leadership, activities, and government response to the three BPP iterations in Houston between 1968 and 1974, and looks at People’s Party II, founded by Carl Hampton during the spring of 1970 and modeled on the BPP. It also discusses the broad geographical appeal of the Black Power concept, Houston’s sociopolitical landscape, and black protest antecedents to Panther activism in the city. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the Panther legacy in Houston.