Background slide

In 1966, the Black Panther Party was founded to explicitly challenge state-sanctioned racism and violence against the black community. Unlike other civil rights organizations during this period, the BPP was far more radical and endorsed violence as a tactic of resistance. In 1972, the BPP added “completely free healthcare” to their platform and any new branch of the BPP was required to operate a Peoples’ Free Medical Clinic (PFMC) that provided medical services, legal counseling and political education. PMFCs generally operated on donations and volunteers. PFMCs were harassed by city health inspectors, local police, and the FBI. Later, federal grants were offered to PFMCs as a part of the War on Poverty.