for the reproduction of the disparate class position of Black youth. Newton was illiterate until well after high school. He battled, often times with his fists, with teachers and students who ridiculed him at every possible moment.

“Newton imbued a generation of activists with the weapon of class analysis.”

Newton would go on to form the Black Panther Party amid a number of developments that created ripe conditions for class struggle. Black Americans had pressured the state to grant the Black polity concessions in the form of "civil rights." Yet despite newfound access to the voting booth and public accommodation, cities such as Watts, Harlem, and Detroit went up in the flames of Black rebellion. The reasons for this were many. Most Black Americans lived in poverty. Access to qualityhealthcare, housing, employment, and education was virtually non-existent. De facto discrimination continued in all institutions. And to make matters worse, the US government was engaged in a war in Vietnam that could not be justified to a community that experienced rampant police violence every day within US borders.

The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense arose from the need to defend Black Americans from police brutality and murder. Newton's aim was to empower Black Americans with the knowledge of their right to armed self-defense. This attracted a number of "brothers from the block," a euphemism for the Black poor. When the organization faced state repression, Newton shifted the attention of party members to the material needs of the Black community. Black Panther Party "survival programs" included food programs, health clinics,