Here is a partial and ongoing list of Books & Films for research on African-American history, The Black Panther Party and U.S. social movements. Enjoy!
RESOURCES
Eyes on the Prize: last segment focuses on BPP (Produced by PBS)
Cointelpro 101: rise of Cointelpro and its actions to neutralize progressive social movements in the US (Directed by Freedom Archives)
Black Power Mixtape: Black Freedom Struggle: US (Directed by Goran Olssen)
Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners: Documentary of her life and court trial (Directed by Shola Lynch)
Palante: (film & book) regarding Young Lords Party Puerto Rican movement in US. (Directed by Iris Morales)
Aoki: Story of Richard Aoki-Japanese American Field Marshall of the BPP (Directed by Mike Cheng and Ben Wang)
Polynesian Panthers: About the creation of the BPP Chapter in Auckland, New Zealand. (Directed by Nevak Iloliha)
A Panther in Africa: BPP Member Pete O’Neal’s life in exile
Mama C: Urban Warrior in the Bush: Charlotte O’Neal’s life in the BPP and in Africa
Justice on Trial: Mumia Abu-Jamal’s life, court trials and incarceration (Produced by Big Noise Films & Educators for Mumia Abu-Jamal. Not for sale. Contact JusticeonTrialThe Movie@gmail.com
Beauty in Truth: The life of Alice Walker (Directed by Paraiba Parmar & Shaheen Shah)
The Black Panther Party—Vanguard of the Revolution: Chronicle of the BPP, includes interviews with BPP members and archival footage. (Directed by Stanley Nelson & Laurens Grant, Firelight Media). Airs on PBS
documentary films
American Violet: adaptation of true history of government orchestrated drug raids in early 2000s
North Country: adaptation of true story of the first class action [group] lawsuit against a corporation for sexual harassment and mistreatment of women factory workers, 1988-89
Bordertown: adaptation of true story of the unsolved murders of over 500 young women factory workers in the Maquiladores in Juarez, Mexico, across the border from Texas in the early late 1990s. Executive Producer: Jennifer Lopez.
The Color Purple: Fictional story of two African-American sisters, post-slavery in the US (adaptation of Alice Walker’s book, The Color Purple)
12 Years A Slave: based of the true story (and book of the same name) of Solomon Northrup, a freedman
Selma: film about the Voting Rights marches across Pettis Bridge. (Directed by Ava DuVernay)
Feature films
The Spirit of the Panther | by David Hilliard
​
The Huey P. Newton Reader | by Huey P. Newton
Revolutionary Suicide | by Huey P. Newton
A Taste of Power | by Elaine Brown
Seize the Time | by Bobby Seale
Black Panther: The Revolutionary Art of Emory Douglas | by Emory Douglas
Liberation, Imagination and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Black Panthers and their Legacy | by Kathleen Cleaver
My People Are Rising: Memoir of a Black Panther Party Captain | by Aaron Dixon
We Were Free for a While: Back to Back in the Black Panther Party | by Steve McCutchen
Living For The City-Migration, Education and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California | by Donna Murch
Black Against Empire | by Waldo Martin, Joshua Bloom
Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight against Medical Discrimination | by Alondra Nelson
Party Music: The Inside Story of the R&B band of the BPP | by Rickey Vincent
Assata: The autobiography of Assata Shakur | by Assata Shakur
The Rebellious Life of Ms. Rosa Parks | by Jeanne Theoharis
All of W.E.B. Dubois’ books
All of Frantz Fanon’s books (may be out of print)
All of Angela Davis’ books
All of Alice Walker’s books
All of Audre Lorde’s books
All of bell hooks’ books
All of Jonathan Kozol’s books
All of June Jordan’s books
Black Feminist Thought | by Patricia Hill-Collins
​
Palante: Young Lords Party | by Iris Morales
Passing It On | by Yuri Kochiyama
Twelve Years A Slave | Solomon Northrup
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks | by Rebecca Skloot
