Black Against Empire

About “Black Against Empire”

This book, Black against Empire, by Joshua Bloom and Waldo Martin, offers the first comprehensive overview of the Black Panther Party. Published in 2013, it examines the Party's history and politics, focusing on its founding in 1966 in Oakland, California, by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. The Black Panther Party rejected the legitimacy of the U.S. government and positioned itself as part of a global struggle against American imperialism, unlike the Civil Rights Movement, which sought full citizenship rights within the U.S. The book analyzes why the Party grew rapidly despite repression and why it eventually declined. It draws on twelve years of archival research and interviews with former leaders and members. A special edition, published on the fiftieth anniversary of the Party's founding, includes a new preface connecting the Black Panther Party to contemporary movements like Black Lives Matter.