The Black Panther Party and the Parallels of Today

This is a Black History Month like no other. At least not one that I’ve ever seen. I am currently sitting here in front of my television watching PBS as they air The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. I am watching this 10 days post-Super Bowl and White folks learning of Beyonce’s Blackness. I am watching this 24 hours post Kendrick Lamar unapologetically taking over The Grammys and making every viewer, in person and at home, consume both visually and auditorily the post-traumatic stress of today’s Black America. Never have I seen a Black History Month full of such raw displays of Blackness. Untamed, unafraid, proud, and critical statements made during America’s prime-time viewing; honestly, during two of the whitest nights of television in America. Now, I am watching a raw, untamed history of The Black Panther Party being told on a channel easily accessed by anyone with a television, cable or not… during prime time. This is not easy to watch. This is not easy to digest. I’m taking it all in and knowing far too well how life as a Black woman, a Black person, a marginalized and targeted people is not easy to watch/digest/process/live. I’ve always known of the Black Panther Party. I was taught about the Panthers at home and don’t remember a time of not knowing who they were and who they stood for. I am lucky, no, I am privileged and honored to have had a family who educated me at home before I ever went to school; as it should be. I am a teacher. I am teacher that ha…