Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity
Encyclopedia
The Black Association for Nationalism Through Unity, or BANTU, was a youth activism
group focused on black power
and nationalism
in Omaha
, Nebraska
in the 1960s.
It was reportedly an arm of the Black Panthers Party. Efforts by some to start a chapter at Tech High School
were unsuccessful. According to extensive U.S. government surveillance records, Robert Griffo, a member of the Black Panthers, was appointed minister of student affairs at Tech. BANTU was credited with leading the protests that led to three days of rioting in June, 1969, after an Omaha police officer fatally shot teenager Vivian Strong in the Logan Fontenelle Public Housing Projects.
BANTU was also the target of a COINTELPRO
investigation by the FBI.
Youth activism
Youth activism is when the youth voice is engaged in community organizing for social change. Around the world, young people are engaged in activism as planners, researchers, teachers, evaluators, social workers, decision-makers, advocates and leading actors in the environmental movement, social...
group focused on black power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
and nationalism
Black nationalism
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
in Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
in the 1960s.
It was reportedly an arm of the Black Panthers Party. Efforts by some to start a chapter at Tech High School
Technical High School (Omaha, Nebraska)
Technical High School was a public high school that was located at 3215 Cuming Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Opened in 1923, the school was said to be the largest high school west of Chicago. It was the largest in the Omaha area before it was closed in 1984...
were unsuccessful. According to extensive U.S. government surveillance records, Robert Griffo, a member of the Black Panthers, was appointed minister of student affairs at Tech. BANTU was credited with leading the protests that led to three days of rioting in June, 1969, after an Omaha police officer fatally shot teenager Vivian Strong in the Logan Fontenelle Public Housing Projects.
BANTU was also the target of a COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO was a series of covert, and often illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.COINTELPRO tactics included discrediting targets through psychological...
investigation by the FBI.
See also
- List of riots and civil unrest in Omaha, Nebraska
- African Americans in Omaha, NebraskaAfrican Americans in Omaha, NebraskaAfrican Americans in Omaha, Nebraska are central to the development and growth of the 43rd largest city in the United States. The first free black settler in the city arrived in 1854, the year the city was incorporated....