Jackson State University

Items

• Invite to Schomburg Center Event on November 9, 1995, Postcard.
  Postcard serving as an invitation for an event at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The event is a members preview exhibition opening and book signing on November 9, 1995 at 7:00pm for Tom Feelings' "Middle Passage," which would go on to be the author and cartoonist’s most famous work.
• Black Panther Newspaper Committee Proposed Income Statement and Budget.
  A proposed budget and income statement prepared for the Black Panther Newspaper Committee. The budget totals $221,750 and covers everything needed to operate the paper for a year: salaries, equipment and supplies, communication, printing, travel expenses, attorney and accountant fees, and office rental.
• Memo to Archives Support Committee: Notes for Committee Report to General Body.
  A memo from W. Paul Coates of the Black Panther Foundation to the Archives Support Committee about a proposed upcoming trip to Howard University's Moorland-Spingard Research Center. Coates writes that the role of the foundation is to acquire records from individual members and then get those records into the archive at the research center.
• Letter from Ericka Huggins to John Huggins, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther. This is the publication of a letter from Ericka Huggins to her late husband John Huggins (February 11, 1945-January 17, 1969) before he was killed in a gun battle in Los Angeles by rival Black Nationalist group the US organization. She writes that she believes they were destined to die for liberation.
• The Role of Culture and its Relationship to African Women, Essay.
  Photocopy of a handwritten essay by Jolynn Brooks of the Role of Women Task Force. The author uses examples of revolutionary women in Algeria, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe to argue that culture must be understood for its revolutionary potential in organizing African people, specifically women.
• We Want Freedom, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther (unknown date) explaining the Black Panther Party's Ten Point Program. The article is credited to the Ministry of Information, Belinda, Oakland, California. The author gives a detailed explanation of each of the points of the Ten Point Program that lies at the core of Black Panther ideology.
• "Nigger!" That's What They Call You When You Can't Vote, Bumper Sticker.
  A bumper sticker encouraging people to register to vote on September 30 and October 3-5 (year unknown).
• On Lumpen Ideology by Eldridge Cleaver, Journal Article.
  A journal article originally published in The Black Scholar in 1972. In the article, former Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver writes about Black liberation and the lumpenproletariat. Marx and Engels identified the lumpen as the underclass devoid of class consciousness. Cleaver, however, argues that the class can be organized and used in the movement.
• Invite to Schomburg Center Event on November 5, 1995, Postcard.
  A postcard serving as an invitation for an event at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City. The event on November 5, 1995, is a celebration and concert in honor of Kathryn Talalay's book “Composition in Black and White: The Life of Phillipa Schuyler.”
• The Role of the Afrikan Woman in the Liberation Struggle, Essay.
  Black liberation activist Miaisha Mitchell writes about the role of women in the Black liberation struggle. arguing that the men and women in the movement need to be disciplined in their personal relationships with each other as the divisions those can cause can have an effect on the greater movement.
• July 11, 1980 Sundiata’s Resignation, Letter.
  A letter from New Afrikan Women’s Organization (NAWO) leadership to Ibidun Sundiata (aka Dorothy Morrow) inquiring about her sudden resignation from the organization. Ibidun Sundiata was a well-respected and regarded activist and the members of the NAWO want clarification on why she resigned without a conversation with the group.
• An outline of a proposal of objectives for a national conference submitted by Ahadi Tyhimbe of the Los Angeles New Afrikan Women’s Organization.
  An outline of a proposal of objectives for a national conference submitted by Ahadi Tyhimbe of the Los Angeles New Afrikan Women’s Organization for the consideration of the New York New Afrikan Women’s Organization. Objectives include development of goals and objectives, outlining of projects, and selecting a city to host a national conference.
• Minutes From a Meeting of the New Afrikan Women’s Organization.
  Minutes from a meeting of the New Afrikan Women’s Organization. Organizational plans to move forward with the new organization are discussed, especially in light of the vacuum left since 1971 in radical movements. Finances, future conferences, and methods of operation were also discussed in the meeting.
• Workers World Interview With Safiya Asya Bukhari, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from Workers World. The writer interviews Safiya Asya Bukhari about her work in the community and with the Black Panthers and how that work brought police attention to her. At the time she was imprisoned at the Virginia Correctional Center for Women after being convicted in 1975 on weapons, murder, and robbery charges.
• Statement by Huey P. Newton Minister of Defense of the Black Panther Party and Servant of the People, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther. Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton lays out the philosophy of the Black Panther party through a Marxist lens. He highlights the unique ways the Black Panther Party serves the specific needs of colonized Black people in the United States and that the party is constantly adapting.
• The Masses Must Never Allow Angela Davis to Be Extradited, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther. Lois Newton, a member of the Black Panther Party, was beaten and arrested by New York police causing the loss of her unborn baby on November 28, 1970. This is her report on her meeting in jail with Angela Davis who was arrested in October 1970 on charges of kidnapping and murder; she was later acquitted.
• To Our Sisters In Arms From Joan Bird and Afeni Shakur, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther detailing the importance of women in the Black Panther Party and calling on other women to find their strength to fight for liberation. The article was written by Joan Byrd and Afeni Shakur, two of the New York 21 who were arrested in 1969 for allegedly planning the bombing of buildings in New York City.
• We Have No Hangups About Revolutionary Violence, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther by Moak Teba of the Chicago Black Panther Party. The article describes acts of violence against the people in Chicago and argues for taking that same violence to the oppressors. The story centers on the Panthers’ support of the Black P. Stone Nation, one of Chicago’s most notorious street gangs.
• Who Respects the Black Man's Rights?, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther. Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver ponders the idea of Black people's rights and how white people react to them. She wonders if revolutionary whites are just pretending to be revolutionary as a way to divide Black people.
• Whence Cometh Transformation?, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther. Communications Secretary Kathleen Cleaver argues that unity amongst Black people is necessary to fight oppression and that the use of violence in the service of freedom, justice, and peace is the only way to put an end to the violence of racism against “the Black colony of Afro-America.”
• All Power to the People, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther written by party member and wife of Black Panther founder Bobby Seale. The article explains the psychological warfare committed on Black people as a way to divide and conquer the movement. The author states that the Black Panther party will act as a liberation army for the oppressed people.
• The Ultimate Power of the People, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther by Deputy Communications Secretary Judi Douglass recounting instances from around the country where workers successfully organized and participated in strikes, showing that the power does lie in the hands of the people.
• Rent a Pig Beats Two Pregnant Sisters, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther describing an incident in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where two pregnant women suffered injuries after a run-in with a grocery store security guard who was notorious for harassing Black customers. The women were subsequently arrested by the police and calls were made for firing the security guard.
• Black Panther Tells It Like It Is U.F.A.F Panel: Roberta Alexander at Conference, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther. This is a transcript of the address Roberta Alexander gave at the Black Panthers’ United Front Against Fascism (UFAF) conference in August of 1969 in Oakland, California. Alexander, a Black Panther Party member, talks about the role of women in the party and in the larger struggle against oppression.
• Capitalism + Racism Breed Fascism, Newspaper Article.
  A newspaper article from The Black Panther arguing that the greed inherent in capitalism leads to racism which leads to a fascist state defined by police brutality on Black people. The author writes that capitalism is “a parasitic growth that devours whole countries,” and therefore police brutality is a form of genocidal extermination.