IT’S ABOUT TIME - WHO WE ARE
>>> OUR STORIES 1
Our Story, the place and pages where OUR STORIES 1
are what It's About Time has focused on providing the broken, unheard
of, misconceived, and finally the true stories from the community
workers, members, rank and file of the Black Panther Party. Perhaps
these accounts will help piece together the rest of the story of
the struggles we endured in the name of the revolution with our
sometimes-celebrated founders, and ranking members to serve the
people.
The "It’s About Time Committee" began in Sacramento,
CA, in 1995, when former Black Panther Party (BPP) members got together
to plan the 30th year reunion of the BPP. Over 400 former
BPP members, community workers, and interested youth from the United
States attended the three-day event.
The "It’s About Time Newsletter" began publication
after the reunion and has developed into a viable communication
source of progressive news and commentary. The newsletter
has grown to over 10,000 readers per issue. The It’s About
Time Newsletter is distributed free throughout the world. The
newsletter is free to prisoners around the country and is available
on line at www.itsabouttimebpp.com.
It’s About Time has also sponsored many community events. We
help organize "Geronimo Day" in Oakland, Ca, which brought
out thousands to celebrate his release from prison in 1997. We
reestablished Bobby Hutton Day in Oakland, which is held in April
every year. We have sponsored film showings and participated
in many activities of other progressive organizations.
It’s About Time maintains a network of hundreds of former BPP
members and supporters and is a clearinghouse for Panther information.
We are also developing an archive with a collection of Black
Panther Papers, posters, photographs, buttons, and other documents.
We hope to develop this into a traveling exhibit in the future.
The It’s About Time Committee also sponsors a "Books Behind
Bars" program which sends books, magazines and other educational
reading material to prisons across the U.S. Many prisoners
have organized political education study groups around the materials
they receive.
Statement of Purpose
The It’s About Time Committee is committed to preserving and
promoting the legacy of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and its programs
of community survival pending social change. We will commemorate
the historic legacies of the BPP as well as the many sacrifices
and constructive contributions that all of us made while serving
the people body and soul.
We have the responsibility to place our own experiences into
historical context; otherwise, the legacy of the Black Panther Party
will be ignored, dismissed, and distorted by today’s commentators
and tomorrow’s historians.
We will maintain a network of Black Panther Party alumni and
supporters to provide educational information to community groups
or the public at large regarding issues of social justice. This
will include publishing a newsletter and maintaining a speakers’
bureau. We also organize local community events and support
other community organizations that promote social justice issues.
We provide mentoring for urban youth groups to encourage positive
community activity and volunteerism.
We commemorate the sacrifices of those who fell in body and spirit
to the prevailing internal and external forces of those times. We
must continue to bring attention to the plight of the many political
prisoners and exiles that were victims of the government repression,
which contributed to the Party’s demise.
We need to reclaim our history and dispel the many myths about
the Party.
IT’S ABOUT TIME!
It’s About Time is a 501(c) 3 non profit corporation. Tax-deductible
donations can be made to
It’s About Time,
PO Box 221100,
Sacramento, CA 95822
Phone (916) 455-0908
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