Sisters of the Black Panther Party. Gendered Politics and Revolutionary Feminism in the Black Power Era

This research investigates the gender dynamics within the Black Panther Party, an African American paramilitary organization established in Oakland, California, in 1966. The first part of the research provides a historical framework that explores the origins of the double burden shaping African American women’s experiences, as well as the early feminist strategies of resistance. The second part focuses on the core subject of the thesis, drawing primarily on the movement’s official publications, autobiographical accounts, interviews, and visual materials. It shows that the Party’s gendered ideology exacerbated the oppression of its female members by exposing them to discrimination, violence, and sexual exploitation. At the same time, the study explores Panther women’s responses to internal male chauvinism, shedding light on their struggle for equality and recognition within the Party. The study concludes that “comrade sisters” managed to carve out their own space through daily practices of resistance, rooted in a revolutionary Black feminism, while drawing attention to their significant contributions to the movement.