Black Panthers vs. the FBI.

• Author: Brown, Elizabeth Nolan
• Position: Briefly Noted - The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution - Movie review - Brief article

In the new documentary The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, director Stanley Nelson captures the calculated destruction of the radical Black Panther Party by federal officials, including the literal destruction of its members under a barrage of police bullets. The film illuminates the racist roots of gun control laws, the early militarization of cops, and how the FBI manipulated local police departments (and media) to see the Panthers as nothing but violent thugs.

The documentary doesn't discount the party's flaws, from disorganization to its founder's "maniac" side (as...