The Poetry of the Black Panther Party

    The Black Panther Party was a product of the Black Power movement of the 1950s and -60s, uniting ideas of proactive racial protest with Marxist ideas of class struggle. The “10-Point Program” outlined the fundamental demands of the party and sets the tone for the goals of many members of the black power movement. The uniting theme of the “10-Point Program” was the idea that economic and educational equality was required to support black communities and provide true freedom. In addition, the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth points called for measures to protect black people from the exploitative and racist system of the United States by exposing the biased judicial, police, and military system.

     These principles of the Black Panther Party are not often directly mentioned throughout the poetry of the Black Arts Movement but are instead represented in many poems through the assertive, proud tone of the black poetry of this period. In “For Black Poets Who Think of Suicide”, Etheridge Knight distances himself and black people from white people by confronting the topic of suicide. Knight says that, unlike the white boys, black poets should never commit suicide “For Black Poets belong to Black People”. The poem shows discontentment with solely integrating and instead tells black readers to go beyond the goals and methods of the Civil Rights Movement into the self-deterministic motto of the Black Panther Party. In the poem, every mention of black people or elements representing black people are capitalized, reenforcing the idea of Black Pride.

    One poem, in which the ideas of the “10-Pont Program” are more directly mentioned is “Black Art” by Amiri Baraka. In the line: “Another negroleader/ On the steps of the white house one/ Kneeling between the sheriff's thighs/ Negotiating coolly for his people.” Baraka calls out the same systemic issues the Black Panther Party sought out to resolve. The previous attempts of striking deals with the white government by black leaders are seen as taking on a position of inferiority to invoke sympathy. Both Baraka and the Black Panther Party see the economic, governmental, societal system as inherently unjust. Any attempts at improving the system will not truly fix the fundamental issue, that black people live life as inferiors to the ruling class of white people. The Black Pride Movement and the Black Arts
Movement, which accompanied it, fight for black people to become equal in every facet of life and gain their rightful place in society.

The Early Years of Black American Expression - Zora Neale Hurston's "Characteristics of Negro Expression"

 

In Zora Neale Hurston’s “Characteristics of Negro Expression” she defines the black language as one of action and physicality. She says that African American speech, being more primitive, relies on description even to express abstract ideas. This, she believes, takes the form of metaphors, similes, and a continuous ceremony of acting and performance. This characterization can clearly be seen in Zora Neale Husrton’s The Gilded Six Bits, where Missie May and Joe put on a performance of exaggerated love and affection both at the beginning and end of the story, filled with the metaphors and physicality Zora Neale Hurston classifies as distinctly black. In addition to the physicality of black speech that Hurston describes, she also defines it as original, angular, and asymmetrical. According to Hurston, these qualities characterize African American artforms during the Harlem Renaissance and are the sources of cultural expressions such as folklore and dialect. In works by Zora Neale Hurston herself, such as the aforementioned short story, The Gilded Six Bits, these elements are all present to varying degrees, but the real question is if these features were consistent throughout black art of the time.

            Black poetry during the Harlem Renaissance was characterized by various different forms, from jazz poetry to primitivism. Jazz poetry is characterized by its rhythmic, syncopated, musical tone, elements of collage, and themes pertaining to jazz itself. In poems like Jazzonia and The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes, we can see the physicality and asymmetry that Hurston describes. These features are staples of jazz music as Hurston herself mentions and clearly fit the style she describes. In other poems, such as Cabaret by Sterling Brown, it is interesting to note that the writing style utilizes almost solely physical descriptions, even to convey more abstract ideas.

            In primitivist poems by black authors of this time period, this same physicality can be observed. In the poem Heritage by Gwendolyn Bennet, she describes a yearning for Africa by describing physical characteristics that she herself has never seen. The final stanza: “I want to feel the surging/ Of my sad people’s soul/ Hidden by minstrel-smile.” Utilizes metaphors grounded in the tangible actions of “surging” and being “hidden”. Both black primitivism and jazz poetry are clearly based in physical description and metaphors, but what is even more interesting is the concept of their originality. Hurston explains how black art can be both inherently descriptive and at the same time original. Jazz poetry and jazz itself are the epitome of this idea, with repetition and common themes, but the unique element of improvisation. Through the physical communication of emotions, black art becomes original. It is not just describing what one sees, but infusing the visible world with thoughts and ideas.

            Zora Neale Hurston’s characterization of black language and art as “primitive” can seem reductive, but what it truly describes is the early stages of a journey that black artists were only just starting during the Harlem Renaissance. Rather than primitive, I would describe black art and language of this time period as unprecedented. Viewing the evolution of black American art in the present, it is easy to see how unique and novel it was. Jazz has become the predecessor to many modern day forms of music, which continue to heavily utilize the asymmetry, physicality, and angularity that characterized art during the Harlem Renaissance.

Black Vernacular: An Evolving Form of Black Identity

 

The tradition of expressing black American identity through vernacular is one that has evolved and changed significance with the passing of time. It is present in written form from before the Civil War, throughout Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era, to the Civil Rights movement. On the surface, this literary device solely attempts to replicate the speech of black Americans, but in actuality, it is used by authors to convey messages about characters and black people in general. This is why, when viewing it in modern contexts, the line between truth, stereotypes, and racism can become unclear, especially when the goals of an author are equally political as they are for entertainment.

An example of this can be seen in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Linda Brent. In the story, the use of vernacular is only present when Linda speaks with specific people, seeming to imply a greater significance. On page 83 Linda speaks to a trusted friend informing her of her plan, and she responds in a clearly characterized tone: “When dey finds you is gone, dey won’t want de plague ob de chillern. But where is you going to hide? Dey know ebery inch ob dis house.” On the other hand, when Linda herself speaks, or even her grandmother, this shift in language is not used. Knowing that this book was written for a white Northern audience, the use of vernacular could be to distinguish more educated black people, such as Linda, from the average southern black person, possibly giving her more credibility.

A similar but more carefully controlled use of vernacular appears in Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington. Unlike the characters in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Washington rarely writes in heavy dialect himself. Instead, he maintains a formal narrative voice while occasionally referencing the speech patterns of Southern Black communities. This choice reflects his awareness of his audience and his desire to appear credible to white readers while still representing Black experience. By limiting vernacular, Washington presents himself as educated and disciplined, reinforcing his argument that progress is achieved through respectability, education, and hard work.

Overall, the vernacular tradition in African American literature functions as more than a stylistic choice, it is a way to communicate identity, social position, and historical reality. From Brent’s selective use of dialect to Washington’s restrained approach, vernacular becomes a tool shaped by audience and purpose. This is why, especially in a time where African American authors had to deeply consider the reactions of their predominantly white audiences, vernacular can seem insensitive and uncomfortable. This tradition has evolved and continues to be present in modern African American literature, including in the work of Toni Morrison, whose use of vernacular reflects community, memory, and emotional truth. Together, these writers show that everyday language carries cultural meaning and has the power to tell stories that formal language alone cannot fully express.