The raised fist, or the clenched fist, is a long-standing image of activism, often a symbol of social revolution and political solidarity. It is also a common symbol of anarchism and communism, but can also be used as a salute to express unity, strength, or resistance. The origin of the raised fist as a symbol is unclear. Its use in trade unionism, anarchism, and the labor movement had begun by the 1910s. William "Big Bill" Haywood, a founding member of the Industrial Workers of the World, used the metaphor of a fist as something greater than the sum of its parts during a speech at the 1913 Paterson silk strike. The raised fist logo may represent unity or solidarity, generally with
… Read more oppressed peoples. The black fist is a variation of the logo generally associated with the Black Power movement. Its most widely known usage is by the Black Panther Party, a Black Marxist group in the 1960s.
The Black Panther Party (BPP) was a Black Power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in 1966. The party was active in the United States between 1966 and 1982, with chapters in numerous major cities, and international chapters in Britain and Algeria. Upon its inception, the Black Panther Party's core practice was its open carry armed citizens' patrols (cop watching) to monitor the behavior of police officers and challenge police brutality in the city. Influent members include Fred Hampton, Kathleen Cleaver, Angela Davis, Erika Huggins, Charles Barron, Nelson Malloy, Bobby Rush
Inspired by Robert F. Williams' armed resistance
… Read more to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and Williams' book Negroes with Guns, Newton decided to organize patrols to follow the police around to monitor for incidents of brutality. But with a crucial difference: his patrols would carry loaded guns. Black Panther Party members were involved in many fatal firefights with police. Huey Newton allegedly killed officer John Frey in 1967, and Eldridge Cleaver led an ambush, in which two officers were wounded and Panther Bobby Hutton was killed. In 1969, the FBI developed an extensive counterintelligence program (COINTELPRO) of surveillance, infiltration police harassment, and many other tactics, designed to undermine Panther leadership, incriminate and assassinate party members. The program was responsible for the assassination of Fred Hampton and is accused of assassinating other Black Panther members, including Mark Clark.
The Black Panther Party first publicized its original "What We Want Now!" Ten-Point program on May 15, 1967
1) We want freedom. We want the power to determine the destiny of our Black Community.
2) We want full employment for our people.
3) We want an end to the robbery by the Capitalists of our Black Community.
4) We want decent housing, fit for the shelter of human beings.
5) We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want an education that teaches us our true history and our role in present-day society.
6) We want all Black men to be exempt from military service.
7) We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of Black people.
8) We want freedom for all Black men held in federal, state, county, and city prisons and jails.
9) We want all Black people when brought to trial to be tried in court by a jury of their peer group or people from their Black Communities, as defined by the Constitution of the United States.
10) We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace.
"Power to the people" is a political slogan that has been used in a wide variety of contexts. The Black Panthers used the slogan "All Power to the People" to protest the rich, ruling class domination of society. Pro-democracy students used it to protest America's military campaign in Vietnam. During the Anti Apartheid struggle in South Africa, the terms Amandla and Matla were used frequently during speeches and rallies, this was followed by the crowd responding with Awethu or Kee A Rona, meaning "Power To the people". Today it is also a slogan associated with anarchism and direct democracy.