The Black Panther Party and the Radical History of Self-Care
By Hope Talbot, 2nd Year History
Often thrown away as a fluffy term used by the wellness industry and aggressive marketing campaigns, self-care has strayed far from its origins. Whilst much has been done to promote self-care as a staple of good mental health, it is important to understand its origins as firmly grounded in Black female activism.
Whilst indeed the concept of self-care existed in medical communities prior to the Black Panther Party, it was popularised and politicised by the party in the wake of its immense struggles against racism in America. Inspired by various existing Black Power movements, the Black Panthers were unafraid of dangerous and, at times, violent practices to further their cause. Whilst these actions were deemed necessary to their activism; they also came to be highly emotionally taxing. In order to continue their work, intervention was necessary to provide adequate care and health support, not only to the group but also to the wider Black communities they were advocating for.
The beginnings of health activism
As awareness grew around medical racism, community care became a significant agenda for the party. Prior to the Black Panther Party's intervention, existing medical centres either excluded Black people or gave them highly segregated care.
A few years after its inception in 1966, the party created a national network of free health clinics. This element of its activism was such a staple that, by 1970, all new Black Panther party chapters were required to run a free health clinic.
Beyond purely advocating for the community's physical health, the Black Panthers also advocated for the mental health and emotional well-being of activism. In 1972, the party released their 10-point program on the importance of community care in their fight for social justice:
"We want completely free healthcare for all Black and oppressed people…health facilities which will not only treat our illnesses, most of which have come about as a result of our oppression but which will also develop preventive medical programs to guarantee our future survival."
This idea of caring for oneself and the admission of activism as emotionally taxing was a radical perspective at the time. Through engaging with both self-care and community care, Black activists could remain sustained and energised in their fight for social justice. Similarly, the idea of collective action on the medical well-being of Black activists and the community allowed for health to go beyond the personal to the politic, further fuelling the movement.
Black Panther Community Care Demonstration, 1972
Black LGBTQ+ influence in Radical Self-Care
Whilst LGBTQ+ influence usually falls at the waste side of contemporary conversations around self-care, queer ideology was essential at the inception of self-care.
An LGBTQ+ figure who often fails to be credited is Audre Lorde. A Black lesbian woman, Lorde remained adamant that self-care was essential, always stressing the need for daily self-reflection and health autonomy as a civic duty. Whilst she is now heralded as a critical Black academic voice, much of her influence was only recognised following her death.
For Lorde, she saw the very act of caring for oneself, as a Black lesbian woman who consistently faced state oppression, as a radical act. In 1988, Lorde expressed this, writing: "Caring for myself is not self-indulgent. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare."
Audre Lorde, next to one of her infamous quotes, “Women are powerful and dangerous”
Beyond Lorde, Black queer figures have consistently advocated for community care practices. Once a member of the Black Panther Party and now famed for her continuing contribution to gender, class and race studies, Angela Y. Davis has similarly advocated for self-care, stating: "(Practising radical self-care) means we're able to bring our entire selves into the movement. It means we incorporate into our work as activists ways of acknowledging and hopefully moving beyond trauma. It means a holistic approach."
Despite the cultural dominance that white, wealthy women such as Gwyneth Paltrow have over self-care, we must continually pay homage to self-care as a radical practice. In doing so, we should be keen to approach self-care as a key dimension of activism, and social change more broadly, rather than purely a marketing buzzword.