Black Panther Party letter about OPERATION SHUT DOWN (text)
Black Panther Party 2407 Seventh Avenue New York, N.Y. August 20, 1966.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Last year, black people in Lowndes County, Alabama got together and formed the Black Panther Party. They make up 80% of the population and Lowndes County and they have as their goal nothing less than taking over the County and running it themselves. This is as it should be; for wherever our people comprise a majority of the population (like Harlem Watts, Hough, South Side, Lowndes county, etc.) they should control that area.
Originating in the South (Lowndes County), the Black Panther Party has spread to several cities in the North. In these northern urban centers most of our people live and, as a matter of fact, population experts predict that by 1970, we will constitute a majority in 50 of the nation’s largest cities.
To make a long story short—the Black Panther Party has arrived in Harlem. It is important to understand that the Party is not merely a vote-getting machine (like the Democrats and Republicans in Harlem and elsewhere), this is a social MOVEMENT of BLACK people addressing itself specifically to the problems faced by black people living in the midst of white America.
All of us agree that we as a people have a need for unity—a need for unifying our resources and our efforts. Everyone would also agree that our children are the future of our people. For, depending upon what is taught them and by whom it is taught, they will mature either to become instruments of the white power structure used to keep our people politically unaware and vulnerable, or to become proud black men and women with love and concern for their own kind. Realizing the political as well as social implications of education in Harlem, the Black Panther Party is seeking your support in executing OPERATION SHUTDOWN on September 12, 1966.
What exactly is OPERATION SHUTDOWN? OPERATION SHUTDOWN goes like this. Demands will be made to the Board of Education calling for quality education in Harlem. If the Board fails to comply with all of the demands, we will shut down the public schools in Harlem one by one and teach the children ourselves in “liberation schools” which will be established in churches throughout the community. The demands are to be as follows:
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African and African-American history and culture taught in all Central Harlem Public Schools.
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Black principals in all Central Harlem Public Schools.
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Change the names of the public schools so that they reflect the history and achievements of OUR PEOPLE.
These are essentially the three basic demands stated in a brief and oversimplified manner.
If you would like to find out more about OPERATION SHUTDOWN and begin working with us, come to a meeting which has been scheduled for Thursday, August 25 at the Black Panther Party office. 2407 Seventh Avenue, at 7:30 PM.
TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
Yours for unity, power, and self-determination,
George M. Miller.