When the Black Panthers came to west Philadelphia, their boldness and courage struck a chord with my friends and me. I grew up in a predominantly black community of working-class people. There are stereotypes of the Black Panthers as people who ran around with guns, fighting the police day and night, but that’s far from the truth. Four years ago I founded an independent black political party, the New Afrikan Independence party. • Power To The People: The World Of The Black Panthers, by Bobby Seale and photographer Stephen Shames, is published by Abrams Books at £25.

Source: The Guardian November 25, 2016 15:56 UTC