Racism, in itself, is a belief that a person holds; it forces another being to be placed at a lower status within one's mind and in the society as a whole. Keeping Blacks and other minorities at a lower level was the principal state of mind for many of the whites during the early part of the twentieth century. This kind of mentality exists in our society till this day among certain groups of

One big difference between the Black Panther Party and the gangs of today is that the Panthers originated with certain survival goals in mind. There were a total of ten points involved in the program that the Party initially worked for, ranging from freedom, to employment, to education, to military exemptions, all the way to equality in housing (Newton 31). In working towards these goals it was essential to pay close attention to the Panthers' primary job, which was "to provide leadership for the people" (Meier 46). Leadership lessons had to be taught to the followers in order to gain a larger following through study, observation, and experience (Newton 14). The duties and goals that the Black Panther Party had sat forth for itself to pursue were overwhelming and "for a time the Black panther Party lost its vision and defected from the community" (Newton 45). Despite the fact that a giant step had been taken away from unity and away from the movement towards change and integration, the organization was still able to stay together. The Ten-Point Program was said to be the reason that the group was able to have survived those times and also "because it (served) the true interests of oppressed people and administer(ed) to their needs" (Newton 46).

public safety." Trial. V34, n3 (1998):12-16.

The Black Panther Party was founded in 1966, it was one of the first organized Black "gangs". This organization was created to help in the efforts towards the survival of the black race (Meier 23). Despite the changes made as a result of the Civil Rights Movement and all its court cases very little was done to change the way in which the Blacks were seen. It was therefore up to the Black community to either continue being oppressed or to come together and help one another to fight back for equality and their rights. "Emerging in the Fall of 1966 from the most depressed sections of the white police-ridden Black ghetto of Oakland, California, the Black Panther Party for Self-defense (had) in a remarkable short time been raised by its leadership to be an extremely significant force in the political battles against the American reaction" (Newton 163). The soon to be Black Panther Party was formed from the people who were basically given no choice but to band together using the neighborhood that they were being restricted to as their only shelter.

to close off entire neighborhoods to Black youths who have done nothing more than dress in blue or black clothing or associate with others who do so; they would authorize criminal penalties for ordinary, non-disruptive acts of walking or driving through a residential neighborhood with a relative or a friend (Shoop, Gang Warfare 12).

Some common words found in the essay are:
Panther Party, Shoop Image, African Americans, Los Angeles, Rights Movement, , Gang Warfare, Keeping Blacks, Civil Rights, Image Fear, black panther, black panther party, panther party, civil rights, blacks minorities, image fear, black people, gang warfare, black community, shoop image, shoop image fear, image fear 12, shoop gang warfare, taking action, civil rights movement,
Approximate Word count = 2686
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)