Published 23 January 200923 January 2009 · Main Posts The Black Panthers on Palestine Maxine Beneba Clarke At the moment I’m re-working two chapters of a novel which is partly set in Panthers-era Black London. It’s funny, I’ve been thinking for several years of the ground-breaking and revolutionary work of Panthers the world over, and of their solidarity and identification with the world’s indigenous and oppressed peoples. The word ‘terrorist’ carries such different connotations today, and how easily we forget how much a mobilised, and yes, when necessary, forceful mass of likeminded revolutionaries accomplished against such goliath-like odds…and in their time, as supposed ‘terrorists.’ Here’s Panther’s Founder Huey Newton on Palestine: “We have respect for all people, and we have respect for the right of any people to exist. So we want the Palestinian people and the Jewish people to live in harmony together. We support the Palestinian’s just struggle for liberation one hundred percent. We will go on doing this, and we would like for all of the progressive people of the world to join our ranks in order to make a world in which all people can live.” In the midst of trying to craft these ‘Black Panther’ chapters for my book, I discovered a new blogsite dedicated to reviving the memory of the London Panthers. Inspiring to see some fists are still in the fight. Maxine Beneba Clarke Maxine Beneba Clarke is an Australian author and slam poet of Afro- Caribbean descent. Her short fiction collection Foreign Soil won the 2015 ABIA Award for Best Literary Fiction and the 2015 Indie Award for Best Debut Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Stella Prize. Her memoir, The Hate Race, her poetry collection Carrying the World, and her first children’s book, The Patchwork Bike, will be published by Hachette in late 2016. More by Maxine Beneba Clarke › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 8 November 20248 November 2024 · Poetry Announcing the final results of the 2024 Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers Editorial Team After careful consideration, judges Karen Wyld and Eugenia Flynn have selected first place and two runners-up to form the final results of this year’s Nakata Brophy Prize! 4 October 202418 October 2024 · Main Posts Announcing the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers 2024 longlist Editorial Team Sponsored by Trinity College at the University of Melbourne and supporters, the Nakata Brophy Prize for Young Indigenous Writers, established in 2014 and now in its ninth year, recognises the talent of young Indigenous writers across Australia.
