Williams dispels Black Panther myths, misconceptions

Jakobi Williams said he educates to end misconceptions of the Black Panther Party at IU.

At a round table discussion Tuesday at the Poynter Center at IU, Williams, a history professor at IU, discussed racial coalitions and his new book, “From the Bullet to the Ballot,” which delves into the history of the Black Panther Party in Chicago.

His message related to the stereotype that the BPP is the Klu Klux Klan for black people.

“It’s important to recognize that the Panthers didn’t hate white people, and their legacies live on today,” Williams said. “Aside from the election of the first black president, they helped establish the Child Nutrition Act, and free liberation schools and awareness of sickle cell.”

Williams gave examples of how the Rainbow Coalition, a group composed of BPP members, worked with all races by bringing people together with common socioeconomic backgrounds.

That included photos of Black Panthers working with Young Patriots, a group of white southerners who often wore the confederate flag.

He also dispelled the idea of the BPP being violent for reasons beyond self-defense by explaining the idea of black power.

“Black power is not that the BPP hate white people or think blacks are supreme,” Williams said. “It’s about economic and political control of your own community. It gets confused when it’s juxtaposed with the idea of white power.”

Williams went into detail about how the Rainbow Coalition became involved in Chicago politics and contributed to the eventual rise of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

“I didn’t know the history at all and how it related to Barack Obama’s election,” said Emma Young, the Poynter Center’s administrative office coordinator. “It was really interesting to hear those connections.”

Williams said he thinks studying the BPP is important, given the state the U.S. economy is in today.

“Honestly, with our economic conditions today, I think we need these kinds of coalition efforts that you see with the Rainbow Coalition,” Williams said. “However, there’s a new BPP today and I tell people to stay the hell away from it. They have internalized the propaganda and stereotypes about the BPP and are hating white people.”

The Poynter Center played host to the event in concordance with their mission to talk about ethical issues across all disciplines, Young said.

The BPP’s grassroots tactics were what interested her most from William’s talk, she said.

“I was really impressed to learn more about BPP methods,” Young said. “It’s something I’d want to use here in community organizing.”

Williams gave several examples of this community organizing, such as setting up free health clinics without government help.

The event drew a smaller crowd than usual, Glenda Murray, the program coordinator said.

“I had really high hopes,” Murray said. “In the future I’d love to have more people here, but I guess the nice weather kept them outside.”

Usually the round table discussions at the Poynter Center bring in a dozen or so people Murray said, but this event brought in six.

Despite the small crowd, Williams said he still plans to bring in members from the Rainbow Coalition, including two BPP members to IU March 28.

He said he believes the message of racial coalitions for a common cause is needed today and hopes bringing in BPP members will help encourage it.

“America is more polarized than it’s ever been in history,” he said. “In my opinion, these political trends demonstrate how we have a lot more in common than we think we do. If Appalachian Whites and Panthers can come together, than we can too.”