Beto: "Wake the fuck up America!"

[tulipsandroses]

28. We have seen that already. We got the Mulford Act and a number of arrests

In order to voice their opposition to the bill and raise awareness of the brutality that African Americans faced at the hands of law enforcement, the BPP decided to travel to the state capitol in Sacramento. The family of Denzil Dowell, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by a California police officer, had approached the BPP for aid earlier that month. In response, the BPP met with the county district attorney and appealed to the sheriff’s department for further investigation into the shooting. Having exhausted the appropriate legal channels with no success, the BPP decided to use the trip to Sacramento to publicize the issue. The threat posed by the Mulford Act resonated even more within the context of the Dowell shooting. Members of the BPP traveled to the capitol on May 2, 1967, and boldly entered the building armed (Figure 1). Seale delivered a passionate executive mandate to legislators and the media, declaring that “the time has come for Black people to arm themselves against this terror before it is too late” and that “the pending Mulford Act brings the hour of doom one step nearer.”7

Seale’s statement highlighted the importance of self-defense in the lives of African Americans and underlined the fact that the Mulford Act did not only pose a threat to the BPP but entire communities. The demonstration in Sacramento was legal, but upon departure, BPP members failed to remove the ammunition from their firearms, violating an obscure fish and game code.8 This mistake furnished an opportunity for authorities to arrest twenty-four members of the group. Even before the Mulford Act had taken effect, the authorities pursued legislation as a means to suppress BPP activities.
[link:https://www.explorationsinteractive.com/picking-up-the-gun-the-black-panther-party-and-the-mulford-act.html|