workingclasshistory:

On this day, 25 September 1968, the Seattle city council brought in a gun-control law at the behest of Republican mayor, James Braman to prevent self-defence patrols by the Black Panthers. Authorities around the US were panicked by the sight of African-Americans defending themselves from violence by white racists and police. In particular they were alarmed in Seattle when armed Panthers appeared at Rainier Beach high school to defend Black students who had been attacked and threatened by whites. The city passed an emergency measure to prohibit the display of a “dangerous weapon” to “intimidate others”. It was just one of many laws introduced around this time, often by Republicans, and often with the support of the National Rifle Association, to disarm Black people.
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