I’m HELLA mad I missed last night’s screening of the documentary about Oakland’s Richard Aoki at Grand Lake Theater. Aoki was with the Black Panther Party from its inception and was the only Asian American to hold an official leadership position with the BPP. I could have sworn the screening was tonight, but alas, I was wrong. In any case, read up about the late great Richard Aoki HERE and watch the trailer to the documentary below. Hopefully there will be another oportunity to check this flick out in the near future.

Also, for all those who are surprised that an Asian American was a Panther, don’t be, the BPP worked with folks of all races in some capacity. In efforts to demonize them as a nunreasonable terrorist sect, they were often portrayed as racist (among other things), but this was not the case. The BPP was an advocate for the liberation of all oppressed peoples, both domestically and abroad. Remember, their motto wasn’t “Black Power,” it was “Power to the People.”

My Uncle, and former Panther, Marty Price chooses to describe some folks he grew up with as “Oakland boys,” rather than anything race specific. He does so because he feels that Oakland can sometimes define a person more than their racial designation. I would suspect that Uncle Marty considers Richard Aoki an “Oakland Boy,” and as such, I would like to pay my respects.