Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla MaGoon (review)

The Black Panthers are too often a footnote in the whitewashed retelling of the civil rights movement, but fortunately Magoon, writing with clarity and accessibility, gives a full picture of an organization based in Black power, how it came to be, and how it has been purposely misrepresented in history books for decades. The book opens with the morning of May 2, 1967, when thirty members of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, including its chairman Bobby Seale, arrived armed at the California statehouse to read out a statement condemning police brutality and demanding equal treatment for Black Americans. From there, Magoon zooms out, devoting her first section to tracking the Black experience from slavery through the Civil War to the ’60s, and then getting into the specifics of the formation of the Black Panthers, the group’s larger goals and day-to-day organizing, their community work, and the movement’s eventual dispersal. Particularly effective here is Magoon’s emphasis on the entirety of the party itself, keeping the Panthers’ objectives at the forefront and highlighting how their direct actions were guided by their mission—and how those actions were pushed back against, often violently, by systematic oppression from police and law enforcement. It’s a compelling portrait, too, of how complex a social movement can be, as readers see how progressive and intersectional politics bring in competing views that all adhere to the Panthers’ ideals but eventually strain the organization to the breaking point. Readers attuned to the news will certainly see the similarities to the BLM movement, particularly in both groups’ organizing around police brutality, and young social activists will find a model to make big change with local action. Back matter includes a list of key people, a timeline, glossary, further reading, source notes, and a compelling author’s note about building on history for a more equitable future.