It’s Civil Rights Month, and I think it’s important to acknowledge the brilliance of The Black Panther Party. In regards to their free breakfast program, it was such a success that not only was the FBI director J. Edgar Hoover threatened by it and considered The Black Panther Party to be the “greatest national security threat,” but it also garnered attention and donations from both the white liberals and the moderate blacks of the nation. The Black Panther Party has often been cited as a violent black nationalist organization, but in actuality, their focus was on helping to protect the African Americans of the nation due to the fact that they were often being brutalized by the police and government. In addition, The Black Panther Party provided community programs to low-income neighborhoods throughout America, and some of their community programs inspired several official programs that are continuously available today in the nation. Article Recommendation: “BLACK PANTHER PARTY’S FREE BREAKFAST PROGRAM (1969-1980)” at BlackPast.org. Also “Black Panthers’ free breakfasts, 50 years on” at TheGuardian.com. [Photo Source: TheGuardian.com]