Media Manipulation Through the Lens of Tupac: Reflections by Former Black Panther Bro Shep Shakur
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Posted By: Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr. on July 05, 2024 The media has always negatively depicted the iconic Black Panther party, so I had to figure out who the Black Panthers were. On February 21, 2024, I attended the event “Coöperism 10/13: The Black Panther Party and Cooperation” at Columbia University. The event featured speakers Flores Forbes, Jamal Joseph, Suzanne Cope, and Bernard E. Harcourt, among others. In my opinion, the conversation was taking place to raise the question: who is the future activist in America? And what must future activists in America do to challenge the status quo? During the conversation, the speakers traced the historical origins of the Panther Party, which began in Oakland, California, in 1966 under the leadership of Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. But more importantly, the conversation focused on the blueprint that the party followed, such as the 10-Point Black Panther Program, a set of guidelines for the Black Panther Party that states their ideals and ways of operating, a combination of the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. The speakers pointed out this information as a means of stating what the next generation should consider when challenging the government and political hierarchy in the United States. The conversation also centered on the survival programs that the Black Panther Party developed: the Breakfast Program, the Free Clinic Program, the Ambulance Program, and the Prison Pipeline Program. As much as I felt I discovered, I also believed I needed to learn more, so I interviewed Bro. Shep Shakur [pronounced Bruh Shep Shakur], a former Black Panther Party member or, as he would say, current comrade. Bro Shep educated me further while also giving me a firsthand account of prolific cultural and political figures such as Tupac Shakur and Reverend Al Sharpton, both of whom have a history with the Black Panther Party. I expected to learn one thing in this interview, but I wound up learning so much about being Black, and about myself being a New Jersey-born, Black, “whitewashed” man in America. Bro Shep insisted on a closed-door interview at City College in the Assata Shakur Room in the NAC Building, which is where the Black Panthers would gather during Assata Shakur’s college days (Assata was a student at CCNY). Once inside the room, I was checked for wiring and forced to watch hours of VCR tapes and view archival documents and photos. I read the rules and was shown Mao’s Red Book to read from the Marxist doctrine of the Black Panther Party. It was an initiation and I passed. Click Below To Read Full Interview https://www.tumblr.com/blackownersseekings... If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Levi Wise Kenneth Catoe Jr.
Entrepreneur, Journalist, Editor, Lecturer, Writer, Poet, Playwright, Dramatist, HR CUNY, Center for Black Literature, Self Employed CUNY -The Medgar Evers College class of 2025 Member Since May 2012 |
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