Written October 15, 1966, the Black Panther Party Ten-Point Program outlines a clear set of demands aimed at achieving justice, equality, and self-determination for Black communities. Framed as a response to systemic racism and economic exploitation, the document calls for structural change and community empowerment through education, housing, employment, and protection from state violence.
1. We Want Freedom. We Want Power to Determine the Destiny of Our Black Community.
2. We Want Full Employment for Our People.
3. We Want An End to the Robbery By the Capitalists of Our Black Community.
4. We Want Decent Housing Fit For The Shelter of Human Beings.
5. We Want Education for Our People That Exposes The True Nature Of This Decadent American Society. We Want Education That Teaches Us Our True History And Our Role in the Present-Day Society.
6. We Want All Black Men To Be Exempt From Military Service.
“Just thinking about it brings back good nostalgia,” said Min. Henry Muhammad.
“The Million Man March didn’t happen in a vacuum,” Min. Muhammad said. “This was over a ten-year period of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan doing tours of ‘Stop the Killing’ messages to our people in the late ‘80’s after he had come to Madison Square Garden in ‘85. A couple of years after that he had been doing “Stop the Killing” tours because of the fratricidal homicides that was taking place so much in different areas where our Black youth were around America. That was around the time of the crack epidemic.”