BLACK PANTHER PARTY COMMUNITY SURVIVAL PROGRAMS

1967 – 1982*
The Black Panther concept of « revolutionary intercommunalism » involved the strategy of building community service programs or « survival programs », programs meant to develop positive institutions within the community to help individuals meet their needs. The Panthers developed over 60 such community programs.

The concept centered on Black self-determination, Black people getting themselves organized together so that they could survive outside the municipal, state or federal systems, which were already under-servicing the Black community. It was not a new idea: minority communities across America had done this in previous decades to support new immigrants through communal associations and political machines.

A list of some of the 60 +
Black Panther Survival Programs:

1. Alameda County Volunteer 2. Benefit Counseling 3. Black Student Alliance 4. Child Development Center 5. Consumer Education Classes 6. Community Facility Use 7. Community Health Classes 8. East Oakland CIL (Center for Independent Living) Branch 9. Community Pantry (Free Food Program) 10. Disabled Persons Services/Transportation and Attendant 11. Drug/Alcohol Abuse Awareness Program 12. Drama Classes 13. Drill Team 14. Employment Referral Service 15. Free Ambulance Program 16. Free Breakfast for Children Programs 17. Free Bussing to Prisons Program 18. Free Clothing Program 19. Free Commissary for Prisoners Program 20. Free Dental Program 21. Free Employment Program 22. Free Food Program 23. Free Film Series 24. Free Furniture Program 25. Free Health Clinics 26. Free Housing Cooperative Program 27. Food Cooperative Program 28. Free Optometry Program 29. Community Forum

30. Free Pest Control Program 31. Free Plumbing and Maintenance Program 32. Free Shoe Program 33. GED Classes 34. Geriatric Health Center 35. GYN Clinic 36. Home SAFE Visits 37. Intercommunal Youth Institute (becomes OCS in 1975) 38. Junior High and High School Tutorial Program 39. Legal Aid and Education 40. Legal Clinic/Workshops 41. Laney Experimental College Extension Site 42. Legal Referral Service(s) 43. Liberation Schools 44. Martial Arts Program 45. Nutrition Classes 46. Oakland Community Learning Center 47. Outreach Preventative Care 48. Program Development 49. Pediatric Clinic 50. Police Patrols 51. Seniors Against a Fearful Environment 52. SAFE Club 53. Sickle Cell Anemia Research Foundation 54. Son of Man Temple (becomes Community Forum in 1976) 55. Sports Program 56. Senior Switchboard 57. The Black Panther Newspaper 58. Teen Council 59. Teen Program 60. U.C. Berkeley Students Health Program 61. STD Preventative Screening & Counseling 62. Visiting Nurses Program 63. WIC Program [govt cloned] (Women’s, Infants & Children) 64. Youth Diversion and Probation Site 65. Youth Training and Development