Medical Self Defense and the Black Panther Party
--An interview with Alondra Nelson
By Angola 3 News
Alondra Nelson, a
professor of sociology and gender studies at Columbia University, is the author
of a new book released last month, entitled Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination. By documenting the multifaceted health activism
of the Black Panther Party (BPP) and critically assessing the BPP’s strategy
and tactics in a respectful and appreciative manner, Body and Soul presents an analysis that is rare and badly needed in
US colleges and universities today. In this interview, Nelson discusses how the
Panthers’ legacy can both inspire and provide important strategic lessons for
today’s new generation of political activists
In her book, Nelson writes
that “the Party’s focus on health care was both practical and ideological.” On
a practical level, the BPP provided free community health care services,
including preventative education. Simultaneously, the BPP railed against the
medical-industrial complex, declaring that health care was “a right and not a
privilege.” Ronald “Doc” Satchel, the minister of health for the Chicago BPP,
wrote in the BPP newspaper that “the medical profession within this capitalist
society…is composed generally of people working for their own benefit and
advancement rather than the humane aspects of medical care.” A newsletter
published by the Southern California chapter argued that “poor people in
general and black people in particular are not given the best care available.
Our people are treated like animals, experimented on and made to wait long hours
in waiting rooms."
