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Crack Cocaine and Corruption: the C.I.a's Involvement with the Fall of the Black Panther Party and Black Community

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Crack Cocaine and Corruption: the C.I.a's Involvement with the Fall of the Black Panther Party and Black Community
Crack Cocaine and Corruption: The C.I.A’s involvement with the fall of the Black Panther Party and the African American Community

LA Shelle E. Daisy

History 97E
Professor Hernandez
November 13, 2012

The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland, California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale on October 15, 1966, and was dissolved in 1982 due to a crack cocaine epidemic of the African American community. The Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) involvement with the smuggling of crack cocaine into poor communities with heavily populated African Americans helped to dissolve the Black Panther Organization. The C.I.A’s involvement illustrates the length to which an individual or group can exercise their first Amendment as well as the United States government’s corruption. What and who were the Black Panthers? The Black Panther Party arose in a time of civil rights, summer of love, the Vietnam War, and the Watts riots. The political party stood for “revolutionary inter-communalism” which consisted of: peace, equality for African Americans, better housing and health care for African Americans, against police brutality towards African Americans, and knowledge of the mass within the African American community by the African American community. The party spoke out against the government and questioned the government publicly on numerous occasions. The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale the party consisted of African American males when it originally started; shortly after the start African American females started to join the cause. The party grew all over the state from cities such as: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, and Los Angeles…… this caught the attention of many in political people and offices. The creation and spread of the party helped to keep the Federal Bureau’s Investigation (F.B.I) operation “counter intelligence program” (cointelpro)


Bibliography: 1. Banks, Sandy. ""The crack epidemic 's toxic legacy"." Los Angeles Times, August 07, 2010. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/07/local/la-me-banks-20100807 (accessed November 13, 2012). 2. "Cointelpro." West 's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (November 13, 2012).http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3437700921.html 3. Federal Bureau Investigation, "F.B.I Vault: COINTELPRO." Accessed November 13, 2012. http://vault.fbi.gov/cointel-pro . 4. "How the CIA Helped Create the Crack Epidemic." Posted September 07, 2011. Web, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFR3bj6-Ja0&noredirect=1 . 5. ""US concedes contras linked to drugs, but denies leadership involved"." Associated press, sec. Washington, April 17, 1986. http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1986/US-Concedes-Contras-Linked-to-Drugs-But-Denies-Leadership-Involved/id-bb7394e75625a363b8c0bf9b0d6cf969 (accessed November 13, 2012).
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