Building for Black Knowledge and Black Power: Contextualizing the Black Panther Party’s Space Making Critiques of Learning Institutions

MS REPORT

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is known for its giant learning institutions including multiple universities, art and science museums, and the Free Library of Philadelphia city-wide network. Despite such a large focus on education throughout the city, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) claimed these institutions were not welcoming to Black knowledge seekers. By diving into the pedagogical approaches of the Black Panther Party – particularly the many community programs such as free breakfast and health clinics – the difference between the BPP and existing learning institution’s design strategies are clearer. The physical locations of such institutions being far from Black communities and lack of Black authored content in the provided libraries drove the Philadelphia BPP chapter to create what we currently know to be the only People’s Free Library. The People’s Free Library was born from within existing Black hubs in Philadelphia and stocked with Black books, for Black learners, by Black folx. The Black Panther Party’s community-first pedagogical approach authorized their library creation and spatial acquisition techniques. These BPP troubleshooting design strategies could have significant impacts for designers today seeking spatial liberation techniques and historians seeking to uncover alternative archives of Black architectural contributions.

Jacobie Smith