Opening with a montage of four hundred years of race injustice in America, this powerful documentary provides the historical context for the establishment of the 60's civil rights movement.
Rare clips of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Fred Hampton and other activists transport one back to those tumultuous times.
Organized by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, the Black Panther Party embodied every major element of the civil rights movement which preceded it and inspired the black, brown, yellow, Native American and women's power movements which followed
The party struck fear in the hearts of the "establishment" which viewed it as a terrorist group.
Interviews with former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, CIA officer Philip Agee, and FBI agents Wes Swearingen and Bill Turner shockingly detail a "secret domestic war" of assassination, imprisonment and torture as the weapons of repression. Yet, the documentary is not a paean to the Panthers, for while it praises their early courage and moral idealism.
It exposes their collapse due to megalomania, corruption, drugs, and narcissism
Broadcast in 19 countries abroad and winner of 9 awards, the film is an important look at the turmoils of the 60's and its leading players.
"This video is highly recommended for middle school through adult audiences."
Run Time 1 hour, 56 minutes
Color
1996