Process Paper

When we started researching topics for History Day, we knew we wanted to stick with a topic in
the United States, specifically in California, since wed have more access to resources. We
narrowed down our interests to the Civil Rights Movement, and began looking into groups that
impacted the movement but were also close to home. After researching other activists of the
time, we finally settled on the Black Panther Party. We had never heard of the Panthers, even
though they made national headlines often during the late 60s and 70s. Knowing the
significance they had to their community in Oakland and to the Civil Rights movement, and their
relevance to the headlines of today, we were intrigued by the Partys approach to taking a stand
and their prominence in California history.

We started our research with learning the basic information on the Black Panthers, so we had a
simple understanding of the Party and its ideals. Then, we started reading novels written by
former Panthers and their families, in order to comprehend the vastness of the Party, like how
they affected the black community, what methods they utilized to take a stand in Oakland, and
their insight into the life of a Panther. We reached out to former Panthers and professors at
Merritt College and Berkeley, where the Panthers studied and protested. The pinnacle of our
research was traveling to Oakland to be a part of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Black
Panther Party, where we met a founding member of the Party and listened to the lecture of a
former Panther.

Because both of us have experience in the website category, we chose to present our topic as a
website. We liked that there is much room for creativity on a website, and that the format of a
website is user friendly, allowing us to add interactive features to the website. We started out by
deciding what aspect of the Party we wanted to focus on, and narrowed down on three main
places where the Party took a stand--police brutality, media, and community service. We then
outlined the website tabs and decided on what information would be included in each. Finally,
we wrote and finalized our tabs and began adding the photos and interactive features to give our
website a visual touch.

The Black Panther Party fits the NHD theme because they took a stand for the freedom of the
black community in Oakland through their actions against police brutality, for the community,
and their media outlets. The Panthers stood for the rights of the African American and helped
discourage racism among the police by trailing police officers and monitoring their activities in
the black community. The Panthers stood for freedom of expression in their various media
outlets, including the Party newspaper, music, and propaganda art. The Party stood for the people
by providing breakfast, education, and various services to Oakland families, allowing the
Panthers to make their stand on a citywide and eventual national level.