50 Years Ago A Shootout Happen Between Black Panthers And Law Enforcement And Why It Matters Today
In the early hours of Feb. 10, 1971, police surrounded a property in High Point, North Carolina, where members of the Black Panther Party lived and worked. In the ensuing shootout, a Panther and a police officer were both wounded.
Members of the Black Panther Party outside the High Point property raided by police.
Sonny Hedgecock/High Point Enterprise, CC BY-SA
The incident did not receive much national attention at the time – armed conflict of this type was relatively common during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
But 50 years on, as the U.S. reckons with a year that saw militarized police confront Black Lives Matter protesters and fail to prevent an attack on the U.S. Capitol, I believe the circumstances of this shootout are relevant today.
As a historian who has interviewed participan...