Formed in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the Black Panther Party was formed to address the police brutality that had been occurring in Oakland, CA and to demand black social issues to be solved promptly. They made these demands through their 10-point platform.

To address police brutality they were known for carrying arms as it was legal in California. They did this to monitor police confrontations while being at a legal distance. This made their approach of using law an influential response to racism in the U.S. However, due to soon government intervention and poor media portrayal the white public had already construed them as anti-white, violent, black people. Which was despite their standing alliances with multiple white organizations and their actual goals.

Being based on black empowerment, they were also very involved with their community and had made programs for the black urban impoverished neighborhoods across the country. These neighborhoods had been neglected by the government as their main priority was white communities. The party eventually began to make America see the racial biases and continued to educate their communities'.