#theblackpanthersvanguardoftherevolution

Watching #theblackpanthersvanguardoftherevolution on @netflix 📺🤓✊🏽 (at St. Louis)

Met Ericka Huggins yesterday, former Black Panther Party leader, at a UCLA screening of The Black Panthers. Here's a woman that's been through countless trials and tribulations and really humbled me to what a revolutionary is. Escaping death time after time, being a political prisoner, witnessing the murders of loved ones including being widowed to Panther leader John Huggins--doing it all for an undying love of the people. However in hindsight, that's not what the revolutionary part was. Two points she said stuck out to me: 1. Her late husband John told her "A person can't make revolution in society, without making revolution in themselves" That's why self-care is important she said. You must have the self-freedom and internal independence, free from societal influences to have revolution. I suppose this is why when I talked to her before the Q&A she advised me "Take care of yourself, because people like us [activist] tend not to" 2. Referring to us young activist folk eager for change, she said: "I want you alive". That you don't need to do something pre-maturely and leave the planet early. She realized that after the "10th or 11th" time her friends were murdered. She stressed she needs us and our brilliant minds to be here for the long run. 2016 marks the 50th year anniversary of the founding of the Black Panther Party. Consequently, much respect to Ericka Huggins for her decades of dedication and being a living testament of what it means to be a revolutionary. "Revolution is already happening, it's always happening, we just have to hook up to it [inside]" -Ericka Huggins #ErickaHuggins #BlackPanthers #TheBlackPantherParty #Activist #Activism #Politics #revolutionary #UCLA #theblackpanthersvanguardoftherevolution #Justice #Race #BlackHistoryMonth #bpp50 (at UCLA)