| This thesis examines the Black Panther Party's survival programs---community service projects such as patrols to monitor police, free breakfasts for children, health care and sickle cell anemia testing, liberation schools, and protecting senior citizens from street crime. The BPP grew out of the need for community action in Oakland, California, as President Johnson's War on Poverty failed to provide what it promised. Combining militant tactics with a commitment to "serve the people," the Panthers in Oakland and, later, other cities provided for their communities in unique and uniquely helpful ways. The thesis draws on archival material as well as published sources to analyze the survival programs' origins, purposes, finances, successes and shortcomings. |
