Oakland will mark the Black Panther Party’s 60th anniversary with free public events featuring live music, film screenings, art, and storytelling, alongside a four-day conference and gala and an honorary renaming of three downtown blocks of Broadway.
The Oakland City Council voted unanimously last month to designate three blocks of Broadway, between 14th and 17th streets, as Black Panther Party Boulevard. As Bay Area News Group reports, a ceremony marking the honorary renaming will take place this Saturday.
The honorary designation recognizes the downtown streets where Panthers distributed their newspaper, registered voters, and campaigned for public office. Broadway’s official name will remain unchanged for mailing addresses, maps, and emergency services, with a commemorative plaque marking the designation.
“To have the Black Panther Party’s name recognized on Broadway, on streets where Panthers organized and worked directly with the people, brings this history home,” said Fredrika Newton, president and co-founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and Black Panther Party Museum.
According to Oaklandside, Oakland will mark the Black Panther Party’s 60th anniversary with a series of public events, including live music, film screenings, and storytelling at the Oakland Museum of California on Friday, followed by a community gathering with party veterans at Lil' Bobby Hutton Memorial Park (also called DeFremery Park) on Sunday.
On Thursday, the Oakland Public Library will host a panel discussion and screening of Lords of the Revolution alongside the exhibit, Honoring the Black Panther Party Rank & File Members, curated by historian and former Panther Billy Jennings and featuring photographs, books, newspaper archives, and other memorabilia documenting members who ran community programs and fought racism and police brutality, which runs through January 9.
Also Thursday, Oaktown Thursdays hosts a free night market at Latham Square from 5 to 9 pm, with performances by Okey McFly, The Vixen, La Russell, and other artists.
On Friday, the Oakland Museum of California hosts a free evening of music, film, and storytelling from 5 to 9 pm. MacArthur Maze, Loove Moore, DJ Kream, and DJ BlackWoman will perform, while a screening of Memories in Motion: Selected Stories of Mildred Howard will be followed by a discussion with the director and Howard’s grandson, Lamar “MYL3Z” Brown.
Saturday, a free pop-up gallery featuring local Black artists takes place at Akoma Oakland from 8 to 11 pm.
The celebration concludes Sunday, October 18, with a free Community Day at Lil’ Bobby Hutton Memorial Park from noon to 4 pm. Panthers veterans will share their experiences, with speakers, food vendors, and other activities.
The anniversary also includes a four-day conference and gala organized by the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and Bobby Seale Legacy Foundation, featuring discussions on reparations, women in the party, community education, free health clinics, and AI. The gala takes place Saturday at the Oakland Scottish Rite Center.
Bay Area News Group notes that the foundations’ collaboration is notable given past divisions between co-founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Organizers attribute some of the party’s internal conflicts to the FBI’s COINTELPRO operations, which targeted the Panthers and other civil rights and countercultural groups.
Related: City Council Considers Renaming West Oakland Intersection After Former Black Panther Elaine Brown
Join the conversation
Comments
Comments load automatically as this section approaches.