“YOUTH MAKE THE REVOLUTION”
The Children’s House and the Intercommunal Youth Institute
Though Black Panther Party schools changed over time, innovative, revolutionary education was a constant. The party aimed not only to educate Black youth and prepare them to survive in the world but also to serve as a model of what education could look like. Children’s Houses initially served as the setting for educational efforts that focused on revolutionary history and practice. Party members who were off organizing, incarcerated, or feared that their political activity would have repercussions for family members enrolled in public schools placed their children in communal residences where they attended class, ate, and grew up together.
In January 1971, the party opened the Huey P Newton Youth Institute, which would quickly become known as the Samuel L Napier Intercommunal Youth Institute. The Panthers understood education as a key precursor to liberation, as well as a tool of the oppressor when controlled by those outside of the community. The Youth Institute aimed to provide an alternative to public schools, where standardized curriculum came from a largely white perspective and many Black students faced unfair treatment and low expectations. By recognizing students’ potential, treating them with respect, and giving them a voice in the curriculum, the IYI taught students that they deserved the agency and kindness lacking in public schools. The school also modeled the importance of community, and students learned, lived, and ate together. With their basic needs met, students were more equipped to engage in class. The IYI was a model not only for educational institutions but also for a more just and communal society.
The Youth Institute curriculum, which included math, language arts, science, group art, political education, and field trips, cultivated revolutionary identity in the student body. Students wore panther uniforms, wrote letters to jailed party members, sang the Black National Anthem, passed out flyers, and learned party history. Many felt a sense of pride associated with their identity as young revolutionaries. In an interview with the Intercommunal News Service, students discussed their newfound knowledge of the party and the importance of education. Many of these students had struggled in public schools where they acted out, questioned teachers, or felt unchallenged intellectually. At the IYI, with teachers they considered comrades and curriculum that was relevant to their lives, these same students flourished.
Classes were based upon two main principles. First, subject matter was not one-sided, but should be analyzed in its entirety. Rather than teaching the students what to believe, the school aimed to create critical thinkers who could analyze information and decide for themselves. The second principle was the importance of experiencing something in order to understand and change it. Experiential learning, such as field trips and letter writing, was a fundamental part of the curriculum and allowed students to apply what they learned in class to their lived reality.
In the first few years, the school continued growing and relocated to a larger space. In 1975, the name was changed to the Oakland Community School, representing a shift from a Party school to a general community one. Students who were not connected to the party could attend the school and no longer wore the Panther uniform. Expanding beyond party members, the school lost its overtly ideological appearance. But the school’s growth also meant that more Oakland children would receive high-quality education and break out of a cycle of oppression. Its success and expansion proved that the Panther’s teaching methods were sustainable and effective.
