The Birthplace of the Black Panther Party symbol
How A Small Rural Lowndes County in Alabama Helped Spark a National Movement
I stumbled across this while visiting Oakland again recently.
The Black Panther Party symbol has become a powerful image in the lexicon of the civil rights movement. I didn't know much about the Black Panther symbol's origins until I watched an excellent documentary by Henry Louis Gates called "Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise." I enjoy his storytelling style and deeper dive into lesser-known facts. This one blew my mind, and I wanted to share it with my readers.
The Black Panther Party symbol's inception can be traced back to a small, rural area in Alabama known as Lowndes County. Under Jim Crow laws and segregation, this predominantly Black and oppressed county became the birthplace of a grassroots revolution that later influenced the national organization - The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense.
Lowndes County, Alabama, was a place of stark inequality and extreme racial discrimination in the 1960s. The county was overwhelmingly Black in population, yet not a single Black person was registered to vote. The existing power structures ensured that Black voices were suppressed, perpetuating poverty and disenfranchisement. The climate was so racially charged that the county was often referred to as "Bloody Lowndes."
Civil rights activists, including Stokely Carmichael and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), stepped into this climate. Their primary mission was to register Black voters, but they soon realized that accomplishing this task required more than just signing people up; it demanded a grassroots organizational structure that could rival the existing, oppressive Democratic Party machine. The LCFO was formed because of this.
The story of why the Lowndes County Freedom Organization (LCFO) chose the Black Panther as their symbol is deeply rooted in this history of racial inequality, voter disenfranchisement, and the need for potent imagery to rally a marginalized community.
In Alabama, each political organization was required to have a visual symbol that would appear on the ballot next to the party's name, largely because literacy rates were low. The symbols allowed voters to identify their preferred candidates. The Democratic Party's symbol was a white rooster with the phrase "White Supremacy for the Right." Clearly, this symbol was a political emblem and a statement of racial prejudice. The LCFO needed a symbol that could convey the strength and resilience of the Black community, a symbol that could serve as a counterpoint to the white rooster.
The Black Panther was chosen for its evocative imagery and symbolism. The animal is traditionally seen as fierce, fearless, and dignified; it doesn't strike first but will defend itself when provoked. These traits were aligned with the spirit of the LCFO, which sought to empower the Black community to defend their rights and take control of their political future. The Panther symbol was intended to galvanize people, offering a sense of pride and a call to action.
The choice of the Black Panther as the LCFO's symbol was not arbitrary but carefully considered. It was a political and cultural statement, a counter-narrative to the existing racial stereotypes, and a beacon for change. The symbol transcended its immediate context, leaving a lasting imprint on the broader civil rights movement.
The Black Panther symbol and the political strategies developed in Lowndes County did not stay localized. They caught the attention of two young activists in Oakland, California—Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Inspired by the grassroots mobilization in Lowndes County, they founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in 1966. The party adopted the Black Panther symbol, quickly becoming a national emblem for Black resistance and empowerment.
Lowndes County may have been a small, rural area, but its impact on the civil rights movement and Black empowerment was monumental. Here, the Black Panther symbol was born, nurtured, and then catapulted onto the national stage, where it continues to serve as an enduring icon of resistance and empowerment.
Watch the video below for more.
Clayton is the founder and publisher of the social and political commentary newsletter Think Things Through and the host of the Think Things Through Podcast.