EBONY MAGAZINE, AUGUST, 1969: HUEY P NEWTON

Black Panther founder-leader Huey Newton has become a rallying symbol for dissenting black youths within and without the Black Panther movement since his jailing on a charge of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting of any white Oakland, Calif., police officer. While his trial has projected Newton's name and that of his organization to national prominence, relatively little is known about the objectives and ideological underpinnings of the Black Panther organization. In keeping with the policy of presenting diverse shades of opinion found in the black community, Ebony presents in these pages a current article by Newton, in which he sets forth the purpose, methods and philosophy of his controversial organization.

— THE EDITOR (Click)

The Black Panthers HUEY P. NEWTON / Ebony August 1969 1aug69

Imprisoned founder of ultra-militant group sets forth purpose, methods and political ideology of his controversial organization [More on the Black Panther Party]

The Black Panther Party is the People's party. We are fundamentally interested in one thing, that is, freeing all people from all forms of slavery in order that every man will be his own master. At present men are engaged in a struggle for self-determination on both an ethnic and an international level. People everywhere want to eliminate the slave master in order to gain sacred freedom. People must be involved in this struggle so as to control the decisions that affect them. A basic tenet of this struggle and its object also, is the principle that things we all commonly use and commonly need should be commonly owned. In other words, the people should collectively decide exactly what they need and they should share fully in the wealth they produce. To this end the whole administration of the government should be subject to the dictates of the people, something that doesn't occur in presents capitalistic society. If the needs of the people are neither being met by the present form of government administration nor by the present economic philosophy we call capitalism, both should be replaced...