PBS Independent Lens
2015
115
 Min
DIRECTED BY 
Stanley Nelson

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution

The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is the first feature length documentary to explore the Black Panther Party, its significance to the broader American culture, its cultural and political awakening for Black people, and the painful lessons wrought when a movement derails.

Change was coming to America and the fault lines could no longer be ignored. Cities were burning, Vietnam was exploding, and disputes raged over equality and civil rights. A new revolutionary culture was emerging and it sought to drastically transform the system. The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense would, for a short time, put itself at the vanguard of that change.

Master documentarian Stanley Nelson goes straight to the source, weaving a treasure trove of rare archival footage with the voices of the people who were there: police, FBI informants, journalists, white supporters and detractors, and Black Panthers who remained loyal to the party and those who left it. Featuring Kathleen Cleaver, Jamal Joseph, and many others, The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution is an essential history and a vibrant chronicle of this pivotal movement that birthed a new revolutionary culture in America.

release

January 19, 2015

RUNTIME

115
 MIN

DISTRIBUTOR

PBS Independent Lens

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Director

Stanley Nelson

Executive Producer

Laurens Grant

Producer

Nicole London

Assistant Producer

Sam Aleshinloye

Editor

Aljernon Tunsil

Researcher

Sam Aleshinloye

Screenwriter

Stanley Nelson

Archival Research

Lewanne Jones