The Black Panther Party (BPP), initially known as the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was an American Marxist–Leninist and black power political and militant organization founded on October 15, 1966, by college students Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland, California. It emerged during the civil rights movement as a response to systemic racism, police brutality, and socioeconomic inequalities faced by African American communities. The party's initial focus was on armed self-defense against police misconduct, with members openly carrying firearms while conducting 'copwatching' or police patrols to monitor law enforcement activity. This approach drew national attention, particularly after their protest against gun control legislation at the California State Capitol in Sacramento on May 2, 1967, and led to the establishment of chapters in major U.S. cities (including San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia) between 1968 and 1971, as well as international chapters in the United Kingdom and Algeria. The BPP also emphasized community empowerment through social programs, known as 'survival programs pending revolution,' advocating for decent housing, community control of education and police, exemption from military service, and implementing the 'Free Breakfast for School Children Program' that served thousands, alongside over 60 other community initiatives like free health clinics and legal aid. Its Ten-Point Program, originally titled 'What We Want, What We Believe,' outlined demands for economic justice, an end to police brutality, and self-determination for Black communities. The organization faced intense government scrutiny, with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover declaring the BPP the 'greatest threat to the internal security of the country.' This included extensive FBI infiltration via COINTELPRO, which led to surveillance, harassment, internal conflicts, fatal firefights with police, arrests of leaders, and the assassination of key figures like Fred Hampton, chairman of the Illinois chapter, in 1969. The party declined significantly by the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the last active chapter in Oakland formally dissolved its structure by 1982, though its legacy endures in discussions of Black liberation and social justice movements.