Do You Believe Beyonce Is Racist?

Are you still mad at Beyoncé? Do you really believe she is racist? Did you post the meme that claimed supporting the Black Panthers is like supporting the KKK? If you did, maybe I can help you learn a bit about Black history this month to calm you down a bit.

Meet the gentleman on your left. That is Fred Hampton. He was a Black Panther leader killed by Chicago Police. For most whites, this seemed justified. If you are over the age of 60, you were let by our Government to believe it was justified. Let's delve a little deeper and learn about the Black Panther Party.

The height of the Black Panther Party was from 1966 - 1972. Largely formed to protest police violence in Oakland, the party was gaining popularity nationwide in the 1960s. Deemed a threat, J Edgar Hoover, then FBI Director target the Black Panther Party through COINTELPRO, which was a secret program that gave FBI agents the authority to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, neutralize or otherwise eliminate" the activities of the Black Panther party. Part of COINTELPRO's authority was to commit perjury in court and it was perfectly legal. The FBI and police abused the legal system to harass dissidents and make them appear to be criminals. Officers of the law gave perjured testimony and presented fabricated evidence as a pretext for false arrests and wrongful imprisonment. Think about that the next time you see a balance scale of lady justice. The scale might be balance, but our judicial system certainly was not.

The bottom line is comparing the KKK to the Black Panther party is skewed. Calling the BPK racist just like the KKK is a stretch. The KKK wanted to have an unjust system based on whites controlling power over non-whites under the theory whites are superior. The BPP wanted justice for those oppressed by the courts and the police and wanted justice for African-Americans.  Huge difference. It is easy to be misled with false information. Instead of tapping into ignorance and intolerance, try learning from our nation's past to understand who we are today.