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Historical Documents1960s94Legendary

Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program Broadside (Original Printing)

African American

Description

This rare original 1966 broadside prints the foundational “What We Want / What We Believe” Ten-Point Program of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Typically produced as a single-sheet poster on legal-size or larger paper (often 8.5" x 14" or similar), it features the complete ten-point platform in bold typewritten text, frequently accompanied by the iconic photograph of Huey P. Newton seated in a wicker chair holding a shotgun and spear, or the leaping black panther logo.

Significance

This is the seminal political manifesto of the Black Panther Party, one of the most influential and revolutionary documents in modern African American history. Articulating demands for freedom, full employment, decent housing, education, an end to police brutality, and Black self-determination, it crystallized the Party’s ideology of armed self-defense, community control, and international solidarity. As an original printing from the Party’s earliest days in Oakland, this broadside represents the birth of one of the most powerful grassroots political organizations of the 20th century and remains a primary source for understanding the Black Power movement.

Key Notes

  • One of the earliest printed versions of the Ten-Point Program, issued shortly after the Party’s founding and before its widespread distribution in The Black Panther newspaper. Visually striking design with bold typography and often the iconic Newton portrait or black panther emblem — intended for posting in neighborhoods, schools, and community centers. Extremely scarce in original form; most surviving examples show the wear of being tacked up, folded for distribution, or carried in activism. Cornerstone artifact for collections focused on the Black Power movement, civil rights, political ephemera, or African American radical history. Continues to inspire contemporary movements with its clear, uncompromising demands for justice and liberation.

Provenance

Generally preserved by activists, community groups, or underground press collectors, later authenticated by movement historians.

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