Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People

The Black Panthers were in existence between 1966 and 1982. They waged a battle for civil and human rights. Their history has been misunderstood, as the establishment saw them as a malevolent force. African Americans viewed them as a force for change. They rose to prominence as “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.” Their members responded to the abusive practices of law enforcement by observing the police on their beat. In the 1960s, the campaign for civil rights had been heightened by the freedom rides and sit-ins and by the March on Washington in 1963.

Yet every positive (Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act) was countered by negatives, including various political assassinations. The days of non-violent protest were becoming a distant memory. Passivity would not do in this fiery period. The men and women who oversaw the day-to-day operations of the party reached out to the community and looked to improve it one step at a time. Their obstacle would be the paranoid machinations of the federal government.

Revolution in Our Time adeptly documents the rise of a revolutionary organization that sought immediate changes in a broken system. Kekla Magoon writes an excellent account of the Panthers’ rise and fall, making this book a must read for 2022 and beyond.