Differences

Though the Black Panther Party and the National of Islam were not the sole groups that benefited African-Americans, they viewed themselves as different from the other groups. Unlike groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the National Urban League, both the BPP and NOI systematically recruited from the poorest segments of the black community and developed rhetoric that appealed to many poor blacks, particularly males. They also fully recognized the important role that culture played in popular movements yet developed drastically different interpretations of black culture.

The NOI vilified black popular culture. They felt that music, fashion and dance were ways for African-Americans to hold themselves down instead of building themselves up. Although it made overt appeals to the socially and economically displaced majority of the black community, the Nation made virulent attacks against black folk culture.

The BPP differed from other groups with its message of "revolutionary intercommunalism" - essentially a socialist way of approaching issues within a community, where all shared in the responsibility of building the community. They also developed survival programs, where social institutions were developed within the community itself to benefit the community without seeking relief from outside organizations or agencies. The Ten Point Program formed the foundation of ideology for the Black Panther Party; it became the list of demands of the party and the goals of the struggle to regain their Black communities.

The BPP not only celebrated black popular culture, but extolled some of the crudest elements of what they called "lumpenproletariat" culture. The Panthers simultaneously attacked cultural nationalists who insisted that a cultural renewal of black America was essential for black liberation.

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