The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland by Robyn C. Spencer (review)

The timing of Robyn C. Spencer’s The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland is pertinent to the political climate of the world today. With Black nationalist and radical organizations on the rise, such as Black Lives Matter, the Black Women’s Defense League, and the Afrikan Black Coalition, this book’s historical analysis of the Black Panther Party (BPP) can be advantageous for understanding what went right and what went wrong with this notorious group. The release of the book shortly followed the BPP’s celebration of their 50th anniversary this past October.

Spencer takes us through a history of the BPP by discussing the most well-known members of the group, like Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Bobby Hutton, Eldridge Cleaver, and others. She also provides us with an alternative account of the BPP by including the stories of lesser known members, specifically women that ultimately ended up being defenders, revolutionaries, and preservers of the organization. Spencer criticizes the masculinist and patriarchal structure of the organization, attempting to add to the literature that seeks to render the women of the BPP visible.

Her storytelling produces a quick read that gives readers a concise overview of the BPP’s Oakland chapter. The events discussed in the book showcase the struggles that the BPP as an organization suffered, especially as gun-bearing second amendment espousing Black youth. The BPP sought to fill a gap within the many organizations cropping up in the Bay Area, such as Mark Comfort’s Oakland Direct Action Committee (ODAC) and the Revolutionary Action Movement (RAM) to the White liberal students of the University of California, Berkeley, protesting the Vietnam War. However, Seale and Newton wished to “create a political vehicle that would raise political consciousness in the black colony and forward the struggle for black determination” (p. 29). The organizations in place did not leave space or accommodate the needs of the average Black resident. Newton and Seale sought to rectify this with the creation of the BPP. Heavily influenced by Malcolm X’s teachings, the BPP began to advocate for communal self-defense against police brutality and took their weaponry to the streets.

The book also chronologically documents challenges the organization faced, eventually concluding with the decline of the BPP. After Huey Newton’s arrest for the murder of an officer in 1967 and Bobby Hutton’s murder by the Oakland Police in 1968, things became increasingly difficult for the organization, as the BPP became a target of the FBI’s COINTELPRO. Spencer illustrates the parallels of Newton’s decline with the BPP’s decline, as members became increasingly uncomfortable with his new and unfamiliar tactics to acquire funds for the organization. Newton’s desire to sell drugs and use force to get businesses to donate resulted in his once close friend and cofounder Seale being pushed out of the organization for openly disagreeing with Newton.

Spencer also displays the sexism within the BPP structure through the shift in leadership from men to women after Newton fled to Cuba to avoid murder charges. It is described that these women took on their new leadership roles with grace, but this did not mean that the patriarchal structure ebbed in any way. Women such as Janice Garrett-Forte, Brenda Presley, Ericka Huggins, and Roberta Alexander, just to name a few, explained the difficulties they faced in the organization. They told stories of feeling invisible, always serving in background administrative roles, being sexually objectified, and sometimes verbally and physically abused. Yet, although these issues are mentioned, Spencer does not probe more for the readers to be able to grasp a full understanding of what the difficulties meant for these women’s lives. Instead of asking for personal anecdotes about the negative experiences faced, Spencer does her best to showcase the consequences of male dominance through projects...