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This weekend the Black Panther Party is celebrating its 47th anniversary.. We caught up with one of its original members Elbert Big Man Howard to talk about the Panther’s legacy and why after 47 years we still have the US Government hunting Panthers down..

We talked to Big man about the recent passing of fellow Panther Herman Wallace who was a member of the Angola 3 and locked away in solitary confinement for over 40 years.. We talked about Wallace’s legacy and what the mood was like within the Panther community..We also talked about Cointel Pro and how it impacted the Black Panthers..

We talked to Big Man about the image of the Panthers and why so many focus on the Panthers holding guns and not them feeding school kids, running schools and putting together free health clinics..

Big Man noted that there were all out attempts to try and undermine the community work Panthers were doing. It was what made them most threatening..

Lastly we talked to Big Man about the workshops, panels and other activities going on this weekend at the Arlene Francis Center in Santa Rosa. One of the big highlights will be Rickey Vincent keynoting about his new book Party Music which talks about the Panther’s soul band the Lumpen

HKR-Intv w/ Elbert Big Man Howard