June 25, 1969: The Black Panther Party's First Liberation School Program

June 25 1969, the Black Panther Party held the first Liberation School program at 9th and Hearst St in Berkeley. The party soon established at least nine schools, from Oakland to Omaha, Seattle to the Bronx. The model influenced dozens of schools across the country.

The first program was a huge success. Designed to meet the needs of the youth, “to guide them in their search for revolutionary truth,” school was in session Mon-Wed (with brunch and lunch served daily). Thursdays were film days and Fridays were spent doing community field trips.

By June 30, two new schools opened in East Oakland and Hunters Point. Over the following year, variations of the program had spread across local chapters. The Philadelphia chapter founded a People’s Free Library. The Brooklyn chapter focused heavily on African history and dance.

The most robust school was founded in January 1971 in Oakland, the Intercommunal Youth Institute (IYI). Lasting until 1982, it was lauded by then-Governor Jerry Brown as setting “the standard for the highest level of elementary education.” The first class of 28 graduated in 1974.

The IYI grouped classes by ability rather than age. The curriculum was largely developed by Erika Huggins, who led much of the programming from ‘73 to ‘81. Offering free elementary and middle school education, the party also provided free meals and martial arts classes.

The liberation schools were seen as an implementation of point five in the Ten Point Program: “We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches our true history and our role in the present-day society.”

Along with the free breakfast program, the bussing program, health clinics, and child-care centers run by the party, the liberation schools were another form of “survival pending revolution,” as put by Gwen Hodges, to meet the immediate needs of the people.