By the mid 1980s, with many of their members in jail or in exile, the BLA ceased to exist.     <br />

The Black Panther Party was formed in October 1966 in Oakland, California.  The organization, formed by Huey Percy Newton and Bobby Seale, supported black nationalism in the United States and criticized the U.S. as a racist, capitalist state.  The Black Panthers believed that the United States government and economic structure systematically oppressed black people.  Thus, the Black Panthers' "Ten Points," which detailed the group's beliefs and objectives, demanded freedom for all imprisoned blacks, exemption of black people from military service, and full employment of the black population.  The Ten Points also reflect the group's leanings towards communism.  <P><br /><br />While the Black Panthers always advocated self-defense (in fact, the group's original name was the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense), the group stepped up its aggressive tactics following the April 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.  The Black Panthers did not subscribe to King's belief in non-violent protest, and began to arm their group members and provide military training.  The Black Panthers gained support from some Americans due to their confrontational approach, as well as their programs for lower-class people such as the Free Breakfast for Children program.   Beyond the Black Panthers' militaristic speech, certain group members had criminal records and had even jumped bail.  This situation led to a series of confrontations with police, wherein both police officers and Black Panthers were killed.  The police confrontations and internal fractionalization severely limited the Black Panthers' operational capabilities. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Black Panthers leadership fled the country or went into hiding within the U.S.  There were a series of high-profile airline hijackings; Black Panthers forced planes to Cuba, Algeria and North Korea, where they requested political asylum.