by C. A. Haywood

(NNPA)—“So the concept is this basically: The whole Black nation has to be put together as a Black army. And we gon’ walk on this nation. We gon’ walk on the racist power structure. And we gone say to the government: “Stick em’ up motherf****r, this is a holdup. We’ve come for what’s ours”—an excerpt from the 1995 DVD “What We Want, What We Believe: the Black Panther Party Library.”

ANGELA DAVIS

It’s been more than three decades since the collapse of the Black Panther Party (for Self Defense), as it was originally titled. After a historic campaign of militant demonstration and persisting community activism, the grassroots alliance that was, as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover described, “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country,” finally crumbled under the relentless pressure of external opposition in 1970.

by Zinie Chen Sampson

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)—Charles Reed Jr. skipped his college graduation ceremony to do something much more significant to him: retracing the original 1961 Freedom Ride and paying tribute to those who helped win the civil rights that his generation enjoys.

FREEDOM RIDERS—These 1961 file photos released by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History shows the booking photos of Reginald Green and Joan Trumpauer Mulholland taken after their arrest in Jackson, Miss., as part of the original Freedom Ride. (AP Photo/Mississippi Department of Archives and History)

Reed says missing graduation doesn’t compare to the sacrifices the original Freedom Riders made when they challenged the South’s segregation laws: quitting jobs, dropping out of college, and ultimately, risking their lives.

“What the Freedom Rides did 50 years ago paved the way for what I have today as an African-American,” said Reed, a 21-year-old business administration major at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg. Reed was one of 40 college students who joined a handful of the original Freedom Riders on an eight-day journey from Washington, D.C., through the South.

Week of May 21-27

May 21

1862—Mary Patterson becomes the first Black woman in U.S. History to be awarded a master’s degree. She earned it from Oberlin College in Ohio.

2009—NFL star quarterback Michael Vick is released from federal prison after serving 19 months of a 23 month sentence for financing a dog fighting ring. Formerly with the Atlanta Falcons, Vick is now with the Philadelphia Eagles.

JAMES YOUNG and BLANCHE KELSO BRUCE

2009—A Black man—James Young—is elected mayor of Philadelphia, Miss.,—a town which during the 1960s had the nation’s most racist reputation. Ku Klux Klan members dominated the town and it was known for the mistreatment and unpunished killings of Blacks. One of the most brutal events in the city was the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers. In his 2009 election victory, Young captured 30 percent of the White vote.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP)—First lady Michelle Obama said Saturday that the U.S. military specialists who killed terrorist leader Osama bin Laden showed “the very essence” of public service.

Mrs. Obama made her first public remarks about bin Laden’s death during the commencement address at University of Northern Iowa. U.S. officials have said Navy SEALs shot and killed bin Laden and four others May 2 at his luxury compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

CALL FOR PUBLIC SERVICE—First lady Michelle Obama gives the commencement address at the University of Northern Iowa graduation May 7, at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)