Bobby Seale, co-founder and national chairman of the Black Panther Party, served as the keynote speaker for the 18th annual UTM Civil Rights Conference on Feb. 22, 7 p.m., in Watkins Auditorium of the Boling University Center. Seale’s keynote address titled, “From Dream to Woke,” transported listeners back in time to the 1960s.
The large crowd of students, faculty, staff, community members and leaders who attended, were treated to the sounds of the Voices of Harmony Gospel Choir before Seale’s presentation.
David Barber, associate professor in the Department of History and Philosophy at UTM, was instrumental in bringing Seale to UTM and spoke briefly about the importance of his work and other early civil rights leaders.
Seale, an American political activist, started the evening off with anecdotes from his childhood. He spoke about his upbringing, his mother and his education.
The Black Panthers organization was founded on Oct. 15, 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton. The “Ten-Point Platform and Program” is a set of guidelines for the organization based around, “What we want. What we believe,” objectives of the Black Panther Party.
Seale says, “The Black Panther Party wasn’t only about ‘black power,’” it was also about “All power to the people!” He stated that the Black Panthers not only fought for the liberation of black people, but for all people of color and the oppressed.
Seale addressed the misconceptions of the Black Panther party as they were often portrayed on television as violent, militant and radical. However, the part spent most of their energy on community outreach. The programs they initiated spawned chapters all across the United States, like the Free Breakfast for School Children Program, which was an early idea of Seale and Newton.
Seale closed his remarks by encouraging young people to band together and remember the fight of the civil rights leaders of the 1960s. He reminded students to be community leaders and advocate for those who cannot.
The conference events run through Feb. 24, and include a variety of speakers, discussion panels and performances to mark the 50-year anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
The conference winds down Saturday, Feb. 24, with a trip to the National Civil Rights Museum sponsored by Trinity Presbyterian. Admission to the museum is $10, and the group will meet at the Boling University Center in front of Watkins at 7:30 a.m.
