As the Black Panthers turn 60, a new exhibit spotlights their Berkeley ties

"The Black Panther Party is indelibly linked to Oakland, where it was founded. But when the Panthers' North Oakland headquarters was badly damaged by a hail of gunfire, the party relocated to Berkeley in September of 1968. The Panthers' radical agenda found a deep vein of support in Berkeley from the beginning, and those ties expanded when they moved into a house at 3106 Shattuck Ave., near Prince Street."

"The downstairs was our office and the upstairs was where we laid out the paper, recalled Billy X. Jennings, the exhibit's curator, who will be on hand for an opening reception March 21. Most of the staffing came directly from Berkeley High School and UC Berkeley, and some people from the community. Barbara Lee was a student at Mills College and came by the office three days a week to work for me."

"The party's move to its South Berkeley headquarters came at a pivotal moment for the Panthers. Huey Newton, the organization's minister of defense and co-founder, had spent the summer facing charges stemming from a 1967 gun battle that led to the death of Oakland police Officer John Frey, an altercation in which Newton was also shot. The Black Panther Party organized sickle cell anemia testing in San Pablo Park during the Black Community Survival Conference in 1972."

The Black Panther Party moved its headquarters to Berkeley in September 1968 after its North Oakland office was severely damaged by gunfire. The organization operated from a house at 3106 Shattuck Ave., near Prince Street, serving as headquarters from 1968 to 1970. Downstairs served as the office and upstairs as the paper-layout space, with staffing drawn from Berkeley High School, UC Berkeley, and community members; Barbara Lee worked there while a student at Mills College. Huey Newton faced charges related to a 1967 gun battle that killed an Oakland police officer. The Panthers also organized community health efforts, including sickle cell testing in 1972. An archival exhibit on the second floor of Berkeley's Central Library displays photographs, newspapers, art, and ephemera through May 29, curated by Billy X. Jennings.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org