Former Black Panther speaks

As part of Black History Month, Charles "Cappy" Pinderhughes, a former member of the Black Panther Party and GA&S '06, spoke Monday night regarding the history of the party and its involvement in student protests. A former lieutenant of information in the party's New Haven chapter, he spent much time devoted to periodizing the movement's history from 1966-1982.

"This periodization was developed to show the political lessons we can learn from its existence, when people want to borrow and learn from it," he said.

Pinderhughes opened with a dedication to the fighters of the movement.

"I do these talks in the spirit of support of all those who have gone before," he said. "People have died, and it's important to keep those people foremost in mind. I'm not looking to say we were perfect, and this is the way we ought to be. I want people to learn about the good things we did back then and what should we have done differently."

He began by tracing the history of the Black Panther Party to 1965 and the development of the black panther as a needed symbol to get the movement rolling. One of the first programs was patrolling the police. The Oakland Police Department had a policy which intentionally recruited from the Deep South, he said, so the Black Panthers researched specific laws and then watched the police to ensure the laws were upheld.

Pinderhughes focused on the split of the party in 1970 and the lessons to learn from it.

"The Panthers grew so fast that they didn't pay attention to democracies as much as they should have," he said. "It went from 500 to 5,000 people in two years, and it got so crazy we had to split. The Panther Party was not a unified organization. If you don't have a democratic process then a split is essentially inevitable."

He then transitioned into student protests and campus-led movements, which the audience seemed particularly interested in. Pinderhughes is currently writing his dissertation on black student protests in the 1990s.

Pinderhughes referenced a struggle that occurred on Boston College's campus 10 years ago this month, when a racist slogan was propounded during UGBC elections. The College Republicans leaked their support of the candidate, he said, and a demonstration ensued at the president's house.

"The students said, 'We're going to deal with this another way,' and they intentionally modeled themselves after the Black Panther Party," he said. "They marched around campus single file. They were so militant, it was like a slice from the '60s."

Pinderhughes recalled another protest where students gathered in the Quad. Armed with a loudspeaker, they delivered their message from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day.

"They would harrang, harrang, harrang the mostly white tourists. If you look at the acceptance numbers (for black students), they declined that particular year. When you're carrying out protests, you need to find out the political and economic consequences."

Robert Cathcart, CSOM '08, appreciated the emphasis Pinderhughes put on coalition building.

"He set a platform of what should be done. He said, 'Remember, you can't do it alone. Make sure you have people behind your back willing to work with you,'" said Cathcart.

Another point Pinderhughes harped upon was prioritizing goals. "You have to decide what's most important and what is really realistic to gain," he said. "You can have a laundry list, but you need to be clear that you're not going to be able to get everything. And don't let negotiations carrying over to the summer. The administration wants to negotiate you to death."

He also warned against overacting to opposing movements.

"Don't overact, because that reaction gets used against us," he said. "Don't protest against free speech. That is a tactical error on out part. We lose people that way."

"It is extremely important to sum up your experiences," added Pinderhughers. "A lot of people have burned out, so you have to learn from your mistakes and move on."