Up Against the Wall
Violence in the Making and the Unmaking of the Black Panther Party
Curtis J. Austin
The University of Arkansas Press Fayetteville
ISBN: 1-55728-875-5
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File Under: Non-Fiction, Power to the People

Everyone who knows me knows I have a fascination with the Black Panther Party. One of my most cherished possessions is a photo of me with Bobby Seale. So I was very excited to read this book.

Most books about the Panthers focus on only Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton and are written one of two ways. First there are the books that paint them as nothing but misunderstood saints persecuted by the FBI and the government. Any mistakes made are only the fault of the Cointel Pro programs. The second way they are shown in books is foolish, too violent and responsible for the end of the civil rights movement. Like most people, the founding members of the Black Panthers are imperfect people with conflicting ideas. These usual one dimensional portrayals are not complete characterizations of the people who made up the Black Panther Party.

In this book Austin is clearly sympathetic to the Panthers and their cause. His non-academic tone is welcome in a book from a university press. He shows us their path to national recognition and the problems we have all heard explained in every other book. A focus that is in this book that makes it worth reading is the discussion of the rivalry within the party between those like Huey P. Newton that wants to focus on the survival programs like breakfast for kids and those like Eldridge Cleaver that want to focus on self-defense and armed revolution. This is all explained through interviews with former Black Panthers. Austin does a good job of not rounding up the usual suspects and talking to some Panther voices that you might not have heard before. So, even for those who have read a lot of books about the Panthers, like myself, are going to find some new information.

A piece I like about this book is that it doesn't just focus on the Panthers in Oakland. Being from Illinois, I of course am very curious about the murder of Fred Hampton. Many pages are dedicated to him and other Panthers outside of the Oakland organization.

This book has an interesting take. If it is your first book on the Black Panthers, it will give you some great insight of why and how they formed. If you are looking for more information, this book has a different take that will add to your knowledge of the Black Panthers.