Formed in the US in 1966 originally as The Black Panther Party for Self-Defence, this was an African-American revolutionary socialist organization. It achieved both national & international notoriety with it’s’ involvement in the Black Power movement in US politics in the 1960s & 70s. It was founded in California by Huey Newton & Bobby Seale as a pro-Marxist militia for the protection of African-American neighbor-hoods from police brutality. Although the leaders espoused Marxist doctrines, the Party attracted a diverse membership which often made achieving a consistent party-consensus difficult. It’s most positive effect was to create a focus on changing the racist status-quo, becoming an iconic symbol of the 1960s counterculture.