Shootout Between Black Panther Party Members and the Oakland Police
Black Panther Party Launches Free Breakfast Program
Bobby Seale Arrested for Chicago 7 Trial
Oakland Police ambushed a car full of Black Panther Party members on April 6, 1986. A shootout occurred between the two for an hour and a half. Bobby Hutton stripped down to his underwear to prove he wasn't armed but was still shot 12 times. Hutton died from the altercation and the remaining members on the scene were arrested. The death was a major event for the Black Panther Party and overall made them stronger.
Black Panther Party is Dismantled
The Black Panther Party started a Free Breakfast Program for school kids in January of 1969. This was the most effective social program for the Black Panther Party. Members and volunteer went to grocery stores for donations, spoke with nutritionists for healthy breakfast options for kids, and prepared and served the free meals. Principals of schools told members of the positive effects the free breakfast had on the children and their productivity. The program was popular nationwide and expanded to feeding thousands of children per day with at least 45 programs.
The End
On August 19, 1969, Bobby Seale and other defendants were arrested and charged with conspiracy to cross state lines with the intent to cause a riot during the violent anti war demonstrations in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. During his trial, Judge Julis Hoffman ordered Seale to be gagged and chained to his chair after he repeatedly shouted accusations at the judge and prosecutions. He served 48 months in prison for 16 acts of contempt which eventually were dismissed. Seale later was charged with the murder of a Black Panther Party informant in New Haven, Connecticut and ended with a hung jury.
Multiple factors played a role in the downfall of the Black Panther Party. Over the years, the party was suffering from party factionalism and infighting, drug abuse, and several police raids. J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI continued to attack and discredit the organization. Both Bobby Seale and Huey Newton were out of the picture with Seale drained from his failed mayoral run and Newton being arrested for embezzlement funds. The Black Panther declined as a result of internal conflict, deadly shootouts, and FBI counterintelligence actives aimed to weakening the organization.