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by Tiffany Caesar
Last month, I shared the opening of the Black Panther Party Museum in Oakland. The newly opened cultural heritage institution continues to provide hope for the community.
On Saturday, Feb. 17, California Assemblymember Mia Bonta donated $1.25 million to support the Black Panther Party Museum. The check was presented by Rowena Brown, director of the office of District 18 Assemblymember Mia Bonta, at The Happy Birthday Huey! event that honored Dr. Huey P. Newton’s 82nd birthday. It was hosted by Dr. Xavier Buck and included three short films and discussions featuring Dr. Huey P. Newton, Fredrika Newton, Melvin Newton, David Newton, Dana King, Calvin Gaskin, Edreece Arghandiwal and more. The press release shared prior provided commentary from both Fredrika Newton and Dr. Xavier Buck about the event.
Fredrika Newton expressed, “I am extremely grateful to Assemblymember Bonta and her team for making this important funding available for us to provide better access to the rich history of the Black Panther Party.” She continues, “In the short time since the museum has been opened, the community has embraced us and shared their hunger for exploring the full breadth of this legacy.”
“I’m looking forward to sharing this special occasion in our museum with our community,” added Xavier Buck, co-founder of the Black Panther Party Museum and executive director of the
foundation. “In particular, I am grateful that we will have the opportunity to sit down with our very special guests for intimate discussions about the profound impact Huey’s life had during his leadership of the Black Panther Party.”
Uncle Bobby X, co-founder of Love Not Blood Campaign and uncle of Oscar Grant, who attended Happy Birthday Huey! stated, “I received the Black Panther Community award for my activism concerning police violence around the murder of my nephew Oscar Grant and others … To see this museum come into reality means everything to me.”
The Black Panther Party Museum, located on 1427 Broadway, Oakland, is currently open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and by appointment. You can get more information about the Black Panther Party Museum or book the space for a community event by emailing info@hueypnewton.org. You can follow their main social media handle @hueypnewtonfoundation on Instagram, and the newly launched handle @blackpantherpartymuseum. In addition, visit their website, hueypnewtonfoundation.org. Dr. Tiffany Caesar is an Oakland-based scholar and activist. Her work emphasizes Black cultural heritage institutions, Africana women, pan-African political movements, reparations and self-care. She is currently an assistant professor of Africana Studies at San Francisco State University, where she teaches African American History and Black Lives Matter: Race and Social Justice Movements. She calls herself a “Black Woman’s Archivist” due to her research and writing about the lives of Queen Mother Moore, Margaret Walker and Phyllis Ntantala. Dr. Caesar is also the current chair of the Black Student Union/Third World Liberation Front commemoration efforts at San Francisco State University. Dr. Caesar can be reached at tiffanycaesar@gmail.com.
