The New Black Panther Party Case: A Timeline
Tina Korbe /
To clarify the issues at stake in the New Black Panther case, The Heritage Foundation has compiled two timelines from news reports — including The Washington Times’ timeline of events — and government documents, especially those from the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Both timelines are posted here. The first reviews highlights from the case, concluding with the case’s dismissal on May 19th, 2009. The second, more comprehensive timeline details more meetings between the Department of Justice and the White House and extends through July 2010.
Highlight Timeline:
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008
The New Black Panther Party, which is recognized as a violent, racial hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, announces on its website that more than 350 of its members will be “deployed” in 15 cities across the country to “ensure that people of color … are ensured their right to vote” and to “provide security protecting our people in the face of real and confirmed” white supremacist group threats. Outside a Philadelphia polling place, two New Black Panthers dressed in paramilitary garb—Jerry Jackson and Minister King Samir Shabazz—stand in front of the door. Shabazz uses racial epithets and brandishes a two-foot-long nightstick. The two are caught on tape, and multiple witnesses, including poll watchers Michael Mauro, Chris Hull, and Bartle Bull, say voters, poll watchers, and others were intimidated.