Know Your History: Bryant Gumbel.

The Black Panther Party for Self Defense was formed in Oakland, Calif., by Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Bryant L’Anthony Gumble in 1966. A spirited speaker and eloquent writer, Gumbel penned the Panther’s Ten-Point Program manifesto and spearheaded the group’s breakfast program for neighborhood children. After concern was raised about the power that Gumbel was amassing, and the number of children’s breakfasts he was eating every morning, Newton and Seale put Gumbel on a special assignment to infiltrate the white man’s world and “learn his gameplan” to give them a leg-up in The Struggle. The monitoring project went well until Gumbel, in an effort to blend in, consumed a mayonnaise and bean sprout sandwhich, the a blow that severely weakened his blackness almost beyond recognition. Among those who know, he is considered not a sellout — but a martyr, a casualty of war.

Know Your History.

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G.D.

G.D.

Gene "G.D." Demby is the founder and editor of PostBourgie. In his day job, he blogs and reports on race and ethnicity for NPR's Code Switch team.
G.D.
  • lol, B Gumbel is certainly no undercover brotha

  • I think Gumbel is a quadruple agent, but each agency is only aware of the other three. Nobody knows what the fuck he is.