Black Panther Party Photo History-Commentary

The photo essay was the most enjoyable assignment to date. Not that writing an essay on the history of Valentine’s Day or reviewing the History Channel’s website were not fun but this assignment allowed for me to research and study a subject I thoroughly enjoy.

One of the first things I noticed when researching was the amount of sites that had the same pictures. For this assignment I chose to not only focus on the Black Panther Party but also on some of the most famous photos every taken of the Party. However, the goal in choosing popular photos was not to make it easy on myself but quite the opposite. I wanted to research all of the different sites that contained these pictures and compare what each person wrote about them. It was interesting to read the different captions and stories that accompanied these pictures. Even in small captions, points of view were evident. Of course, I too am guilty of this bias. However, I also believe that there is no such thing as an objective historian. Just in the topic I chose to research I am biased. In essence, I am arguing that the Black Panther Party is more important than another historical subject to research.

In addition to searching for the pictures and having the opportunity to view a variety of Black Panther Party photos another aspect I enjoyed was writing my own captions. As I wrote each caption I tried to think of someone looking at the photo and having no idea who the Panthers were and their historical significance. I wanted each picture and caption to intrigue the viewer to go out and research the Panthers on their own.

Perhaps the only frustrating part of the project was realizing after I completed it that the pictures were not in the order I so desired. I began researching in a certain order and when I published the photos they appeared backwards. In short, the top of the blog shows the last picture of the essay and so on down the line. I wanted viewers to see the last picture first. I attempted to reverse the order but to know avail.

In closing, while it may not seem like much, looking at my blog I realize just how much I have learned from this course and this assignment truly made me look forward to our final project.

Black Panther Party Photo History

Black Panthers line up at a Free Huey rally in DeFremery Park, Oakland, July 28, 1968. After a shootout with the police on October 28, 1967, Minister of Defense Huey P. Newton was arrested and convicted of voluntary manslaughter. His imprisonment and trial caused the Panthers and other activist groups to rally in his defense. In May 1970, Newton's conviction was overturned and following a series of mistrials, Newton was set free. The uniform of the Black Panther Party was black berets, powder blue shirts, black leather jackets, and black pants.
Source: Designer Magazine

Huey P. Newton, Minister of Defense of the Black Panther Party at the Black Panther Party National Headquarters in Oakland, California, August 12, 1968. This photo is perhaps the most famous picture of Newton. On the left side, Newton is holding a gun representing the militancy of the Party and on the other side, Newton is holding a spear representing cultural nationalism and the connection to the third world. The original photo was taken by Ruth-Marion Baruch.
Source: Africawithin.com

Fred Hampton founded the Chicago chapter of the Black Panther Party in November 1968. He started numerous community programs including the Free Breakfast Program for children and a free medical clinic for those without healthcare. Hampton also convinced Chicago's street gangs to cease fighting and announce a truce. Known for his charismatic speaking style and public speaking, Hampton became one of the most influential leaders in the Black Power Movement until his untimely death. Hampton and the Panthers had routninely been the targets of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his COINTELPRO (Counterintelligence Program). On the early morning of December 4, 1969, Hampton was murdered in his sleep by the FBI and local police in Chicago, Illinois. His death caused outrage throughout the country and only added to the already tense situation between the Black Panther Party and FBI.
Source: Injustice Busters

Co-founders of the Black Panther Party-Chairman Bobby Seale (left) and Minister of Defense Huey P. Newton (right). Behind Seale and Newton is the Oakland Povery Center, which became the Panthers first office in Oakland, California, 1966.
Source: Social Justice Movements Website/Columbia University

The Black Panther Party was started in October, 1966 in Oakland, California by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. This picture, taken in Oakland, California, November 1966, is of the original six members of the Black Panther Party. From top left to right: Elbert "Big Man" Howard, Huey P. Newton, Sherman Forte, Bobby Seale. Bottom: Reggie Forte and Little Bobby Hutton.
Source: Marxist Internet Archive

Malcolm X, like other popular historical figures, is the subject of numerous websites on the internet. There are sited devoted to Malcolm X’s life, death, and legacy. Along with Columbia University’s The Malcolm X Project, www.brothermalcolm.net is perhaps the most comprehensive, website dedicated to the life of Malcolm X. The site is run by the Africana Studies department at the University of Toledo and what the brothermalcolm.net lacks in presentation it certainly makes up for in content.

The homepage of brothermalcolm appears plain, lacking graphics and various search functions. There are no banners, advertisements, or multiple colors. To the user unfamiliar with Malcolm X, they may pass by this site because the homepage does not indicate all that the site has to offer. In short, brothermalcolm is like a house one passes by that does not look appealing on the outside. However, once inside, the user realizes all the wonderful aspects it has to offer. While there may not directly be any interactive or flash functions there is a section on the right side of the homepage which explains that various technological advances have allowed users to view and hear Malcolm X in a variety of ways. Moreover, the creators of the site provide links to Google, YouTube, and the Malcolm X Project. When the user clicks the sites they connect to numerous video clips of Malcolm X available on the internet. I was pleasantly surprised at this function. I did not know a number of these clips, videos, and interviews were available on the internet. On the left side of the homepage in white there are all the possible sections to search throughout the website. The background is black and contains a silhouette of Malcolm X. However, other than the silhouette, the homepage remains lacking in presentation.

The websites best attributes are the “Photographs” and “Speeches” sections. Upon entering each of these sections the background stays black and a smaller version of the homepage appears at the top listing the possible sections to explore and the silhouette of Malcolm X. In the “Speeches” section, there is a timeline of all of Malcolm’s X’s important speeches, interviews, and statements. However, rather than simply listing the speeches, there are links to each speech. The speeches are media files and to hear Malcolm X’s words rather than simply reading them provides an entirely different experience.

If anyone was looking for any picture of Malcolm X they will be able to find it on this site. The “Photograph” link of the site is divided up into four sections (Malcolm Little, Detroit Red, Malcolm X, and Malik Shabazz/Omowale). Each section contains hundreds of photos of Malcolm X. Using the arrow buttons to navigate the user can easily browse all of the images. In addition, music of the particular time period in which Malcolm X lived plays in the background if the user leaves the volume on while looking at photos.

One of the obvious weaknesses of the site is the inconsistency. Excluding the “Photograph” and “Speeches” sections all of the other areas in the site have different colored backgrounds, fonts, and text. There appears to be no rhyme or reason for the changes and every page is different. One could conclude that different people worked on various sections and no one consulted beforehand. For example, when clicking the “Chronology” section, the background changes to white. The font changes and the color of the text becomes light green. While the chronology is quite long and mentions all of the important events in Malcolm X’s life it does not seem to match with the rest of the site because of the color and font changes.

There are multiple sections that provide valuable resources for those interested in studying Malcolm X either from a scholarly standpoint or as a novice. The “Bibliography” section is very useful. Again though, the colors change to blue and white along with the font. Moreover, the links to other sections of the site now appear on the bottom of the page. While these changes add to the inconsistency, the site contains links to a wealth of scholarship on Malcolm X. The bibliography is divided into sections including books dedicated to speeches, dissertations, compact discs, and videos. The “Webliography” section, again shifts in colors to green and white but offers an enormous amount of hyperlinks to sites ranging from historian and scholars to conferences on Malcolm X and sites from around the world.

Another positive aspect of the website is the section labeled “What’s New.” This section shows the new conferences and debates, which focus on Malcolm X in the twenty first century. Along with the “Introduction,” the “What’s New” section is valuable in that they demonstrate that the website continues to build. The creators of the site explain that they are constantly updating and improving the site and include a section where users can email information and ideas. Often time sites have not been updated for ten years. This is not the case with brothermalcolm.

Overall for what this site lacks in consistency and presentation it makes up for in content. The website does not appear to put forth any particular argument except admiration for Malcolm X. Clearly Malcolm X’s ideology is a subject of debate. However, this site avoids the mistake of anointing Malcolm X into sainthood. Often times with biographical sites, the creators describe the subject in mythical proportions. The subject is either a hero or villain. This site avoids those pitfalls. This site is a benefit to either the scholar or the novice and shows that looks can be deceiving.

History of Valentine's Day Assignment-Commentary

The history of Valentine’s Day assignment, like the entire “Digital History” course, was a much bigger challenge than I originally envisioned. The biggest problem I had with the assignment was a result of my own background. As a trained historian I had trouble using only free sources on the internet. I am used to examining books, scholarly articles, primary documents, among others. Historians usually shy away from sources on the internet unless they are academic. However I had to rely on free sites through Google. I found myself uncomfortable citing general encyclopedia sites or from sources of whom I was not familiar with. Some of the sites did not state where they obtained their information or the creator of the site. I was unable to check the footnotes, bibliographies, and the author’s background like I normally would with books or articles.

I also had trouble finding sources with original information or any sources that added anything new to the existing narrative. Most of the sites I found basically explained the same story. While the history of Valentines’ Day comes largely from legend and myths I was unable to find pieces of evidence, which I could critically examine and form my own conclusion. In short, it was a challenge to find anything original on the subject.

Another problem was the process of citing sources. Again as a historian, I am trained to footnote or endnote all of my sources. I am constantly conscious of plagiarism and making sure every source is credited with the information that I use in my writing. However, with hyperlinks, online encyclopedias, and other websites I was unsure as to when and how to cite. I included a hyperlink to every source that I used in all of the paragraphs, but I still was not sure if I was citing correctly.

The last challenge of this project was the writing style. At the risk of sounding redundant, as an academic I am trained to write in a formal manner. However, with writing short papers for a blog I was unsure as to the proper writing style. Should I write in a more casual manner? Should I enter my opinion or write as if it were a scholarly article?

The obvious benefit of this assignment was I, like most others, had no idea about the history of Valentine’s Day. Therefore this assignment forced me to look at this piece of history as well as work on my researching skills using the web.

History of Valentine's Day

Most Valentine’s Day history often begins with the feast of Lupercalia. The story of Lupercalia begins in the wilderness in ancient Rome. As wolves roamed over the countryside, the Roman god, Lupercus watched over the shepherds and their flocks. In his honor the shepherds held a feast in February of each year and called it the Lupercalia. The Lupercalia festival came to represent the time when Rome consisted of shepherds that lived on a hill now known as Palantine.

One of the customs during the Lupercalia festival was a lottery. The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. On the eve of the festival the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man drew a girl's name from the jar making the two partners for the duration of the festival. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they fell in love and later married. In 494 Pope Gelasius I recast this festival as a Christian feast day, declaring February fourteenth to be Saint Valentine’s Day.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints named Valentine. One was a priest in Rome, another a bishop in Terni, and of a third Saint Valentine almost nothing is known except that he died in Africa. However, all three Valentines were said to have been martyred on February fourteenth.

Most scholars contend that Saint Valentine was a priest who attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius around 270. Claudius was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join the military and believed the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. Saint Valentine and Saint Marius aided the Christians and secretly married couples. Claudius had Valentine beaten and beheaded on February fourteenth in the year 270.

Another legend describes a story of Valentine imprisoned by Claudius. While in jail, Valentine fell in love with Claudius’s daughter. Before his execution, Valentine allegedly sent his lover a letter signed "from your Valentine."

However, the most realistic narrative of Saint Valentine focuses not on romance and love but religious persecution. Many historians argue that Valentine was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. It was not until the fourteenth century that Valentine’s Day became definitively associated with love. According to UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine, it was Chaucer who first linked Saint Valentine's Day with romance. In 1381, Chaucer composed a poem in honor of the engagement between England's Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. In "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and Saint Valentine's Day are linked:

For this was on St. Valentine's Day,
When every fowl cometh there to choose his mate.

Over the centuries, the holiday evolved, and by the 18th century, gift-giving and exchanging hand-made cards on Valentine's Day had become common in England. Hand-made Valentine cards made of lace, ribbons, and featuring cupids and hearts eventually spread to the American colonies. The tradition of Valentine's cards did not become widespread in the United States, however, until the 1850s, when Esther A. Howland, a Mount Holyoke graduate and native of Worcester, Massachusettes, began mass-producing them. Today, the holiday has become a commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are Valentines.

Week 4 Digital History Assignment

The Valley of the Shadow or The Valley Project is a digital archive of primary sources that documents the lives and people in August County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania during the era of the American Civil War. The creators of this website take a unique approach to examining the Civil War. Rather than create a site that covers the entire scope of the Civil War, the designers focus on microhistory. Examining Civil War history at the local level offers a fresh perspective on the War. Anyone interested in the Civil War can easily research the endless amount of books and websites dedicated to the subject. However, The Valley Project may be the only website, which analyzes the effects of the War on the citizens of these two counties. The benefit of taking this microhistory approach to history and the internet is that the user does not become overwhelmed with information and topics. Many times larger, more complex websites cover too many topics, which causes the user to get lost in the navigation and become sidetracked from the original reason for research. The Valley Project largely avoids the possibility of this occurring.

Similar to the subject of the website, The Valley Project homepage is simple and effective. With one graphic and a large box reading “Enter,” the homepage briefly describes the sites’ contents. The page explains the focus of the site, accessible materials, and the significance of studying the citizens of August and Franklin counties. The following webpage remains consistent with the homepage offering the user three diagrams to choose from. Within each octagon shaped diagram the user can click and view numerous pieces of evidence ranging from letters and diaries to census and tax records. This allows the user to embrace the more human element of the War or examine the economics of each county.

The Valley Project is not for someone new to the subject of the Civil War. The user should already possess knowledge of John Brown and the raid at Harper’s Ferry, as well as other specific incidents relating to the War. However, those interested in local history of ordinary citizens who have been largely forgotten in Civil War history will largely benefit from the Project. Perhaps the greatest attribute of this site is that it reminds the user of the amount of human beings affected by the Civil War.

While The Valley Project, created by the University of Virginia, appears largely academic, The History Channel website screams corporate America. However, while The History Channel may lack detail and variety it contains plenty of technological enhancements. As The Valley Project examines microhistory and the human element of the Civil War, The History Channel website takes a macrohistory approach focusing on popular themes, events, and individuals throughout history. Once the user types in the address www.historychannel.com, information and graphics appear in every corner of the website. Advertisements for films and insurance companies dominate half of the homepage. This immediately brings a commercial feel to the site.

One of the websites’ best features is the interactive and video component. Before navigating from the homepage users can view a variety of video clips. However, the focus on black history appears condescending and patronizing. Clearly after February The History Channel’s homepage will change focus. This raises another issue, which is the inconsistency of the site. Where The Valley Project remains dedicated to the citizens in August and Franklin counties, The History Channel constantly changes.

Another problem of The History Channel is the search function. For example, conducting a search on John Brown only produces encyclopedia entries, many of which have nothing to do with Brown or Harper’s Ferry. Moreover, searching for United States history results in a video clip of John F. Kennedy and links discussing his assassination. While the search function needs improvement The History Channel takes full advantage of new technology. The site offers podcasts, interactive timelines, audio, video, and broadband. In short, while The History Channel lacks the scholarly element and content of The Valley Project it embraces the interactive approach to history and provides the user a broad perspective on the subject of history.

DoHistory.org attempts to combine the best elements of The Valley Project and The History Channel. However the site falls short in both cases. DoHistory simply contains too many options and information with little direction and much confusion. DoHistory's creators explain that the goal of the site is to highlight the history of “ordinary” people and teach users how to interpret fragments that survive from any period in history. Like The Valley Project, DoHistory tries to focus on microhistory using interactive tools and a variety of search options. A benefit of DoHistory is rather than simply presenting evidence the user is shown the process of conducting research.

However DoHistory remains too confusing for most to enjoy. The historical experience of the user is not as important as the level of computer knowledge. The homepage contains thirty six hyperlinks. Absent from the homepage is any description as to the nature of the site. DoHistory is also a vague domain name. Therefore a user may never reach the inside of the site because there is nothing on the homepage explaining the sites’ focus and importance. The site never explains why the user should be interested in the subject, Martha Ballard, whereas The Valley Project connects the citizens of their study to the Civil War.

Clearly DoHistory is designed to demonstrate the value of thorough research. It is a teaching site for beginning historians or those simply interested in a fun project. However unless the user is computer savvy DoHistory is a missed opportunity for the creators. While the concept is inventive and a unique way to use the internet for history the creators may have benefited more by starting with less and creating a more advanced project as a compliment.

Whether micro or macro, John Brown or Martha Ballard, clearly there exists no one standard way to present history on the internet. History remains a broad topic and people will vary in their historical interests making it essential to have many options on the internet. The academic, the history buff, and the child may not visit the same sites. However, if all of the sites and their creators use the internet as a tool to promote, teach, and spread history while teaching users to remain critical and question sources then the internet will have a place in the history profession for a long time to come.

Harlem 1900-1940: An African American Community

Harlem 1900-1940: An African American Community is an online exhibit created and produced in 1991 by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library. Focusing on Harlem from 1900-1940 the exhibit contains graphic and photographic images from the Schomburg Center collection. Subjects include the Schomburg Center itself, political movements, education, sports, social organizations, religion, the Harlem Hospital, theater, business and music. The exhibit also highlights the life and times of a number of individuals including Marcus Garvey, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, among others. This site is useful for those interested in the Harlem Renaissance. It contains a wealth of information and hyperlinks to various individuals, organizations, and events. The exhibit also includes a section dedicated for teachers with a bibliography for young readers and curriculum ideas.

Greensboro Sit-Ins: Launch of a Civil Rights Movement

This interactive project is dedicated to the Greensboro Sit-Ins. Originally created in 1998 and updated in 2004 the site provides a wealth of primary sources for those looking to research the sit-ins. With nearly one hundred audio recordings with sit-in participants the site contains video clips and a photo gallery. The section on the media provides newspaper articles from the 1960s about the sit-ins. The news stories are primarily from the News & Record, which chronicled the participants' reactions as they walked from East Market Street to the store where they sat without service the first day and many other days. This website is unique in that the viewer can hear the participants tell the stories themselves. The site also contains a timeline, resources available on the sit-ins at the Greensboro Public Library, an electronic bulletin board, where visitors can write what they think or remember about the sit-ins, and links to other civil rights and black history sites.

Bobby Seale

BobbySeale.com is a website created by one of the original founders of the Black Panther Party, Bobby Seale. Most of the site is dedicated to Seale’s various projects including books, films, and speaking engagements. However, the site also provides a photo tour of the Black Panther Party. Included in the tour are many famous photos of various Panthers and events in Panther history with captions explaining their significance. The site also contains an archive of Panther newspapers and posters along with a section dedicated to the women of the Black Panther Party. Not only does this site provide primary documents, photos, and a history of the Panthers, but the site itself is a primary document. Since it is created by Seale, a co-founder of the Party, it provides an invaluable resource for those researching the history of the Black Panther Party.

The Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek

The Sojourner Truth Institute of Battle Creek was established as part of the Battle Creek Community Foundation in 1998 to shed light on the history of Sojourner Truth and her work. Using this site as a tool, the Battle Creek Foundation's goals are to educate and promote projects that represent the ideals and principles Truth stood for. The Institute is located in North Washington and houses one of the most extensive archives of Sojourner Truth artifacts and records in the United States. The site contains numerous photos, an in-depth timeline, library and bibliographies, archives section, virtual art gallery, and instructional aides for teachers. For those looking to incorporate the story of Sojourner Truth into their teaching curriculum of United States history this site is a good place to start.

Seattle Black Panther Party

History and Memory Project

The Seattle Black Panther Party History and Memory Project is part of the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project based at the University of Washington. This site contains the most extensive collection of materials dedicated to the Seattle chapter of the Black Panther Party and offers a different perspective than the archives and exhibits, which focus on the Party as a whole.By discussing only on the Seattle chapter, the project sheds light on African American history at the local level. Those interested in history specifically regarding the city of Seattle and the Black Power Movement would benefit greatly from this site. The archive includes oral histories (audio and video), photographs, documents, Black Panther Party publications, over one hundred newspaper articles, and the complete transcript and exhibits from the 1970 Congressional Hearings into the activities of the Chapter.

Voices of Civil Rights

Voices of Civil Rights started in 1994 as a joint venture of AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the Library of Congress. This site is part of a larger project called the Voices of Civil Rights National Bus Tour. A team of journalists traveled around the country (70 days, 39 cities) collecting civil rights oral histories from August to October 2004. Voices includes photos, video, and blogs from the journalists. Thousands of personal stories and oral histories of the Civil Rights Movement are available for research. The creators of the project explain that it is the world's largest archive of personal accounts of civil rights history and the entire collection will eventually be held at the Library of Congress. Other features of the site are an online archive of the oral histories, music video, photo gallery, and a timeline of the civil rights movement. Adding an interactive map, journals, and recordings, this site provides a new way to look at the civil rights movement and oral histories.

The Malcolm X Project

The Malcolm X Project was created in 2001 by Dr. Manning Marable and the Institute of African-American Studies at Columbia University. For those interested in the life of Malcolm X the website includes a multimedia version of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The Project presents The Autobiography text online with hyperlinks, audio, video, and images throughout. The website also includes an oral history section, which provides interviews with those who personally knew Malcolm X as well as historians of the period. The chronology section offers an in-depth timeline, which includes photos and summaries of various events throughout Malcolm X’s life. The section dedicated to the Government provides the user with several Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) documents. There is also a journal, published articles, and section where the user can hear, through audio, Malcolm's speaches and interviews. Clearly this site and project are a work in progress. However, Marable is perhaps the leading historian on the life of Malcolm X, so for those interested in Malcolm X specficially regarding new and fresh perspectives on his life this website may be of value.