Merritt College and the Black Panther Party

Built as University High School, a feeder school for the children of UC Berkeley faculty, this institution was originally called the Merritt School of Business in 1946. Then, in 1954, the Oakland Unified School District formed Oakland Junior College with Merritt College serving North Oakland and the Laney Trade and Technical School (later Laney College) downtown. Merritt drew students from all over Oakland, particularly the North and West Oakland communities. The Merritt campus soon became a hotbed of political activism.

The Afro-American Association (AAA), founded by a group of UC Berkeley law and graduate students, held political rallies on the campus. That group’s goal was to inform the Black community of their history which at the time was not being taught in schools. The Civil Rights Movement, liberation struggles in Africa, the Black Arts Movement, and the need for self-determination inspired Merritt students to activate for change. The AAA invited students to attend and participate in their forums and public debates.

Among the students attending these rallies, debates and forums were students Huey Newton and Bobby Seale who would go on to co-found the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense (BPP) in October 1966. It was at Merritt that the pair devised the 10-Point Plan that would be the foundation of the group’s activism. The Panthers dedicated themselves to free the Black community from poverty, housing insecurity, poor health, racial discrimination, and police brutality.

Merritt College students were in the vanguard of campus activism. They protested the lack of representation in their curriculum and petitioned the college administration to hire Black faculty. They formed the Soul Students Advisory Council (precursor to the Black Student Union) and forced the creation of the country’s first Black Studies curriculum. They also protested the planned relocation of Merritt College from the flatlands of North Oakland to the East Oakland hills in the early 1970s. The college’s original location in the heart of a Black neighborhood had not been taken for granted. Students and non-students benefited from the skills—both academic and political—that were taught at Merritt. It became known as the birthplace of the Black Panther Party.

The Panther’s connection to Merritt and legacy of supporting and uplifting the Black community is undeniable. Dr. Saturu Ned, a former BPP member, helped establish the local People’s Free Medical Clinic, one of the many survival programs that the group created. The clinics, staffed by health and medical professionals who volunteered their services, addressed the lack of available quality health care in the African American community. BPP chairman Bobby Seale directed all chapters to open a health clinic. Thirteen clinics (1968-1975) were opened throughout the country. At the clinics children could get vaccinations and be tested for sickle cell anemia. Adults could be screened for high blood pressure, diabetes, and tuberculosis. Families could get routine check-ups and learn about nutrition. Dr. Ned is a member of the Black Panther Party Alumni Legacy Network, a group of individuals who share the Panther legacy and continue to work toward its aim of community empowerment. 

Listen to an interview with Dr. Saturu Ned:

This stop is part of these tours:

• PBD