BLACK PANTHER WOMEN: ARMED WITH POLITICS AND GUNS IN THE WINSTON-SALEM, PHILADELPHIA, AND BALTIMORE BRANCHES
Date
Authors
Worthington, Leah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Through an exploration of women in the Winston-Salem, Philadelphia, and Baltimore branches of the Black Panther Party (BPP), this thesis asserts that women were integral to the Party’s success by making up a large degree of membership, bringing with them their organizing and activism skills, and contributing to the political education and development of the BPP. Women in the Black Panther Party are largely ignored in the historiography, which lacks sophisticated gender analysis. The daily work, politics, and experiences leading the women of these three branches to join the BPP lacks in-depth analysis in both early and recent historical scholarship. With the experiences of women in the Party’s often reduced to a narrative of sexism and sexual violence, this work analyzes all aspects of Black Panther women’ experiences emerging from the sources. Through use of primary sources, including oral histories and interviews of Black Panther women, this thesis provides evidence which not only dismantles the false claims of the Black Panthers as a criminal hate group, but also disproves the validity of the BPP’s hypermasculine image.