The Black Panther Party was a radical black nationalist group founded in Oakland, California in the 1960s. Formed by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the party drew heavily on the work of Mao, Marx, and Lenin and was dedicated to uplifting the African American community through education, economic reform, and community building. Because one of the central concerns of Oakland’s black community was police persecution and violence, the Black Panthers armed themselves and began to actively “police” the police. Identified as the most dangerous group in America by J. Edgar Hoover, the Panthers found themselves in numerous skirmishes with local law enforcement, and were also persecuted, imprisoned, and allegedly murdered, by the FBI. Black Panther Legacy Tours takes tourists to relevant historical sites in Oakland, including childhood homes of the key members, areas where shoot-outs with police occurred, and the location of founder Huey Newton’s murder.
