AUTUMN RITTER
Minnesota State University - Mankato, Class of 2022

During the spring of 2021, I took GWS 330, which was a class based around feminist activism. A large portion of the class was based on discussion of feminist issues, which was then utilized within a research project at the conclusion of the semester. This research could be presented in any format and could be on any topic that we'd like, as long as it directly related to feminism or activism - or even better, the two in combination. This was also a group project, where most of the research was done individually and then communicated and discussed within the group to decide the validity and necessity of the information.

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My group decided to do a research report on the Black Panther Party (BPP). Specifically, our goal was to examine the activism tactics of the BPP, whether or not these tactics were effective for the time period they were utilized, and how feminism was represented within the movement. Prior to this class, I had never been educated on the Black Panther Party, so I was extremely eager to dive into this project and learn more. Because of this, I did a lot more surface-level research to get a better understanding of the BPP and the role they played in the black power movement prior to starting the actual research. I even attended a showing of Judas and the Black Messiah at the theater, as that movie coincidentally had been released just prior to the start of the project. When I had solidified a solid foundational knowledge, I began to look into the library databases for primary sources that showcased a level of examination deeper than what I would find from a Google search. As I was looking, I also noticed that none of the articles I found examine the Black Panther Party from the lens my group was trying to present, so it was apparent that this was indeed a very original piece of research.

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My group utilized not only primary sources from the library, but also direct testimonials from members of the BPP. As this was a feminism-based class, we wanted to include as many female voices from the group as possible, so we specifically focused on identifying prominent women from the movement to include in our research. It was also very important that we utilized sources that both supported and negated the idea that the Black Panther Party used successful activism tactics. In order to provide a truly objective and complete piece of research, it was necessary to examine all options. This also allowed us to provide an overview of how the general public perceives the Black Panther Party based on all the context we had accumulated from our research.

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Especially with a topic as complicated as this one, my group could have easily continued this research for months and even years after the class ended. There was so much information available that would have been extremely time-consuming to sort through it all, so we had to be very intentional and specific with what sources we read and used. Despite this, I was extremely satisfied with our final result. For the amount of time we were given, I believe we were able to put together a detailed and well-rounded product of research, and it was one that I enjoyed participating in. I learned much more from this project than I ever learned in high school (or even college) about the Black Panther Party and the complexities of the black power movement.

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Not only was the topic of this project powerful for me, but the research skills I gained were as well. This was the first truly original piece of research I participated in. There were very few guidelines provided, and there was no pre-identified end goal we were trying to achieve. This project extended even further past any knowledge within my discipline and allowed me the chance to examine a topic that I, along with many other people, are uneducated on. This research on the Black Panther Party positively contributes to cultural conversations about groups from history and the impacts they have had on the groups that follow them. It was especially impactful for me to conduct a research project of this scope, but especially one with such a powerful discussion behind it.

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Attached is an embedded document showcasing our final research paper for GWS 330, titled "A Feminist Analysis of the Black Panther Party."