In 1966 the Black Panther Party was formed by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland California. The party was originally formed to protect colored civilians from police brutality and monitor police activity. They called for blacks to work together to achieve equality obtain their civil rights, and they welcomed alliances with white activists such as the students for a democratic society (CDS)
The Black Panther Party started to change when Matthew Johnson was shot by a police. Matthew and another Panther stole a car. They were caught by the police but at that time the responding officer didn't know that they stole a car. The boy was unarmed
After Matthew Johnson was shot and killed by white patrol officer in San Francisco California, there was an intense riot because the officer shot an unarmed teen.
On October 28, 1967 Huey P Newton was charge with murdering John Frey. John Frey was an Oakland police officer. He was sentenced to jail but was released after 3 years.
This is a picture of Bobby Hutton, an 18 year old boy that was murdered by police during a shootout after the assassination of Martin Luther King.
The Black Panther party was very important to the civil rights movement because they stood for self defense and strength in the black communities.