A Peaceful Approach

Although I admit to not knowing much about the Black Panthers before going to see this exhibit, I thought I knew one thing about them. Whereas MLK, Jr. and other civil rights activists fought for rights through peaceful demonstrations, the Black Panthers were very aggressive in getting their message across.

After seeing one of the images in the exhibit, however, I found out that my previous assumptions weren’t completely true. In the photograph that I chose, Black Panther members are talking to students at Yale University in May of 1970. There are seven Black Panthers in the photo and three white students sitting in front of them, listening to them speak. The Black Panther in the middle of the photo is talking to the students with his hand extended towards them. The look on his face is one of determination; he doesn’t look like he’s hostile or dangerous, but he does look focused. Next to him is a Black Panther taking notes on a small pad of paper. There are three other Black Panthers with sunglasses on that are looking off in different directions, leading me to believe that they’re watching out for any attackers that may try to disrupt the speech. The other two Black Panthers also look like they’re guarding the speaker, but they’re carrying bundles of newspapers that they’ll likely hand out to the students after the speech.

While the Black Panthers certainly employed violence and fear in their fight for civil rights, this photo shows that they also used more peaceful methods. I think that this is a good example of the tactics used by any group attempting to change their culture; when forceful actions no longer work, peaceful measures can get the message across just as well.

- Joel