The Black Panther
The name Black Panthers was chosen by the original members who formulated the Party partly because of skin pigmentation, but that is only half the story. The other half is pure metaphor symbolizing the long history of America which forced its Black population to hide in the shadows, biding their time with great patience until the moment finally arrived to strike: “The black panther hides in the shadows and does not bother passerby, but if it is attacked it will not back down, instead, it lashes out.”
The Raised Fist
It may be difficult for some to recognize because of the highly stylized design of the Party logo, but the very first symbol one confronts with this book is right there on the cover. Between the name of the author and the title of the book on the front cover is a collage of photos which are designed and arranged to replicate a raised fist. This tightly clenched fist raised in purposely militant fashion was designed to symbolize the threat of violence which could potentially be exercised should their demands for equality continue to remain unmet.
The Black Berets
The Panthers rose to prominence in concordance with the expansion of America’s involvement in the war in Vietnam. It is no mere coincidence that John Wayne’s only movie about the Vietnam War—which he co-directed as well as starred in—was titled The Green Berets. That movie shares its title with a jingoistic song which became an enormous hit just a few years earlier. That headgear became synonymous with insanely patriotic views toward the controversial engagement in Southeast Asia. The Panthers’ adoption of the single most recognizable uniform accoutrement associated with soldiers in Vietnam was intended to transform the beret into yet another menacing symbol of their militancy while the color black symbolizes the very essence of their being, both literally and metaphorically.
“Pigs”
The refence to police officers as “pigs” traces at least as far back as the early 19th century, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Despite its robust history, however, the term really did not come to the forefront of American society until the 1960s. Whether or not it was the Black Panthers who can be credited is open for debate, but the term became part of the official lexicon of the Party as part of a concerted effort to symbolize how the perpetrators of systemic racism among law enforcement throughout America had become dehumanized. Keep in mind this was some time before it became clear that pigs are actually amongst the most intelligent of domesticated animals and were instead universally seen as filthy swine who take great pleasure in rolling in filth.
Earthquake
An earthquake is singled out as the defining symbol of the rise of the Black empowerment by the Black Panther Party. For most of the country—in particular for most of white America—sensationalized headlines screaming how members of the Party had “invaded” the California State Capitol was the moment that the earth shook because it was the moment that caught the country off guard. But, as the author points out, earthquakes don’t originate overnight, they are “born of eons of slightly shifting geologic plates.” Such is the symbolic equation of underground seismic activity as well as underground revolutionary movements.
