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National Committee to Combat Fascism (NCCF)

Founded:

1969

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The National Committee to Combat Fascism (NCCF) was a multi-racial, civic-focused group formed and led by the Black Panther Party (BPP). The NCCF was formed to promote legislative initiatives and provide resources in low-income areas of cities. While espousing and promoting beneficial community services, NCCF members allegedly engaged in violence with police around the country.

History

In July 1969, the Black Panther Party (BPP) shifted focus from paramilitary tactics to civic initiatives. It sponsored a conference calling for a United Front Against Fascism, a multiracial, inclusive network against capitalism, racism, and “imperialism.” 1 2 The conference consisted of participants of various races (80 percent were white) and resulted in the formation of the National Committee to Combat Fascism under the guidance of the Black Panther Party leadership. 3 4 During the conference, Bobby Seale, the leader of the Black Panther Party, warned fascism had to be defeated before concentration camps open in the U.S. 5

NCCF chapters opened in Salt Lake City, Utah; Albany, New York; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toledo, Ohio; Sunflower, Mississippi; Keatchie, Louisiana; Erie, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; St. Louis, Missouri; and Austin, Texas. 6 By April 1970, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recorded 18-22 NCCF chapters around the country. 7 Later in 1970, Black Panther Party leader Huey Newton changed the name of NCCF to the Intercommunal Survival Committees to Combat Fascism (ISCCF). 8

Programs

The initial goal of the National Committee to Combat Fascism was to advocate for de-centralized policing and move to a  neighborhood self-sufficient model by which Black and white communities would police their own neighborhoods. 9 A referendum for de-centralized policing was progressing in Oakland and later Berkeley, California. 10 11 In New Orleans, NCCF provided free programs, sickle-cell anemia testing, and educational classes in lower-income communities. 12

In Omaha, Nebraska, NCCF provided free breakfast programs, summer education classes, clothing drives, and other social activities. 13 By 1970 in Berkeley, the ISCCF/NCCF opened a community center with programs that included free first aid classes, a medical first aid station, a poison control program, free plumbing and maintenance services, free child care, and free weekly films. 14

FBI and Police Activity

Beginning in 1956, the Federal Bureau of Investigation operated a Counterintelligence Program (COINTELRPO) to monitor and disrupt the activities of communists, the Ku Klux Klan, the Socialist Workers Party, and the Black Panther Party. 15 The FBI used paid informants, worked with the Internal Revenue Service to harass National Committee to Combat Fascism and BPP organizations, and spread disinformation. 16 From the 1960s to1971, several BPP/NCCF members were involved in violence with police. 17 18

In 1970, Ed Poindexter, a leader with the Omaha chapter of NCCF, was arrested and convicted of murder after a suitcase bomb exploded killing a police officer. 19

In 1968, in New Orleans, two police officers infiltrated the BPP (later the NCCF) at the housing project where NCCF had its headquarters. 20 The officers were eventually outed by members of the National Committee to Combat Fascism that held a “people’s trial” against the officers but the people in the housing building went after the officers to beat them. 21 This subsequently led to the eviction of NCCF from the building after a 30 minute shootout with the police that resulted in the arrests of 16 members of NCCF with 12 charged with five counts of attempted murder against the police. 22 After the altercation, NCCF attempted to re-establish a headquarters at a nearby abandoned building. 23 Police attempted to raid this building when they were met by over 400 angry people confronting the police. 24 After a trial, all 12 NCCF members charged with attempted murder were found not guilty. 25

All COINTELPRO operations ceased in 1971 after criticism by Congress and Americans concerned about the violations of constitutional rights. 26 By 1972, after a split in the Black Panther Party, most Intercommunal Survival Committees to Combat Fascism ceased operating. 27

References

  1. Litvin, Yoav. “The Black Panther Party’s Multiracial Anti-Fascism.” Foundation for Autonomous Media. Roar Magazine. August 27, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://roarmag.org/essays/black-panther-multiracial-antifascism/
  2. Mullen, Bill V. and Christopher Vials, eds. “The U.S. Antifascism Reader.” Verso Books blog. June 3, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4735-black-panthers-united-front-against-fascism-conference.
  3. Litvin, Yoav. “The Black Panther Party’s Multiracial Anti-Fascism.” Foundation for Autonomous Media. Roar Magazine. August 27, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://roarmag.org/essays/black-panther-multiracial-antifascism/
  4. Mullen, Bill V. and Christopher Vials, eds. “The U.S. Antifascism Reader.” Verso Books blog. June 3, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4735-black-panthers-united-front-against-fascism-conference.
  5.  Mullen, Bill V. and Christopher Vials, eds. “The U.S. Antifascism Reader.” Verso Books blog. June 3, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4735-black-panthers-united-front-against-fascism-conference.
  6.  Spencer, Robyn C. “The Black Panther Party and Black Anti-Fascism in the United States.” Duke University Press blog. January 26, 2017. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/the-black-panther-party-and-black-anti-fascism-in-the-united-states/.
  7. Spencer, Robyn C. “The Black Panther Party and Black Anti-Fascism in the United States.” Duke University Press blog. January 26, 2017. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/the-black-panther-party-and-black-anti-fascism-in-the-united-states/.
  8. Litvin, Yoav. “The Black Panther Party’s Multiracial Anti-Fascism.” Foundation for Autonomous Media. Roar Magazine. August 27, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://roarmag.org/essays/black-panther-multiracial-antifascism/.
  9. Mullen, Bill V. and Christopher Vials, eds. “The U.S. Antifascism Reader.” Verso Books blog. June 3, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4735-black-panthers-united-front-against-fascism-conference.
  10. Mullen, Bill V. and Christopher Vials, eds. “The U.S. Antifascism Reader.” Verso Books blog. June 3, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4735-black-panthers-united-front-against-fascism-conference
  11. Spencer, Robyn C. “The Black Panther Party and Black Anti-Fascism in the United States.” Duke University Press blog. January 26, 2017. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://dukeupress.wordpress.com/2017/01/26/the-black-panther-party-and-black-anti-fascism-in-the-united-states/.
  12. Gibson, Charisse, and Adam Copus. “50 Years Ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police Had a Major Standoff in Desire.” 4WWL-TV. September 22, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-the-standoff-the-black-panthers-confrontation-with-new-orleans-police-50-years-ago/289-8a5cdb18-a331-4ec4-bcaf-16778cdfda80.
  13. North Omaha History website. “A History of the Omaha Black Panthers.” November 28, 2016. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://northomahahistory.com/2016/11/28/omaha-black-panthers/.
  14. Black Panther Party alumni website. www.itsabouttimebpp.com. Accessed August 22, 2022. http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/our_stories/chapter1/The_iccf.html.
  15. Federal Bureau of Investigations website. “COINTELPRO.” Accessed August 21, 2022. https://vault.fbi.gov/cointel-pro.
  16. Bloom, Joshua, and Waldo E. Martin Jr. “Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party.” University of California Press. 2013. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520293281/black-against-empire.
  17. Bloom, Joshua, and Waldo E. Martin Jr. “Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party.” University of California Press. 2013. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520293281/black-against-empire
  18. Pearson, Hugh. “The Shadow of the Panther: Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America.” Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. 1994. https://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Panther-Newton-Price-America/dp/0201483416.
  19.  Prisoner Solidarity website. www.prisonersolidarity.com. Accessed August 18, 2022. https://prisonersolidarity.com/prisoner/edward-poindexter.
  20.  Gibson, Charisse, and Adam Copus. “50 Years Ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police Had a Major Standoff in Desire.” 4WWL-TV. September 22, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-the-standoff-the-black-panthers-confrontation-with-new-orleans-police-50-years-ago/289-8a5cdb18-a331-4ec4-bcaf-16778cdfda80.
  21. Gibson, Charisse, and Adam Copus. “50 Years Ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police Had a Major Standoff in Desire.” 4WWL-TV. September 22, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-the-standoff-the-black-panthers-confrontation-with-new-orleans-police-50-years-ago/289-8a5cdb18-a331-4ec4-bcaf-16778cdfda80.
  22. Gibson, Charisse, and Adam Copus. “50 Years Ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police Had a Major Standoff in Desire.” 4WWL-TV. September 22, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-the-standoff-the-black-panthers-confrontation-with-new-orleans-police-50-years-ago/289-8a5cdb18-a331-4ec4-bcaf-16778cdfda80.
  23. Gibson, Charisse, and Adam Copus. “50 Years Ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police Had a Major Standoff in Desire.” 4WWL-TV. September 22, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-the-standoff-the-black-panthers-confrontation-with-new-orleans-police-50-years-ago/289-8a5cdb18-a331-4ec4-bcaf-16778cdfda80.
  24.  Gibson, Charisse, and Adam Copus. “50 Years Ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police Had a Major Standoff in Desire.” 4WWL-TV. September 22, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-the-standoff-the-black-panthers-confrontation-with-new-orleans-police-50-years-ago/289-8a5cdb18-a331-4ec4-bcaf-16778cdfda80.
  25. Gibson, Charisse, and Adam Copus. “50 Years Ago the Black Panthers and New Orleans Police Had a Major Standoff in Desire.” 4WWL-TV. September 22, 2020. Accessed August 21, 2022. https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/local/black-history/the-story-behind-the-standoff-the-black-panthers-confrontation-with-new-orleans-police-50-years-ago/289-8a5cdb18-a331-4ec4-bcaf-16778cdfda80.
  26. Federal Bureau of Investigations website. “COINTELPRO.” Accessed August 21, 2022. https://vault.fbi.gov/cointel-pro.
  27. [1] Lazerow, Jama, and Yohuru Williams. “In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement.” Duke University Press.2006. https://www.amazon.com/Search-Black-Panther-Party-Revolutionary/dp/0822338904/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=9780822338901&linkCode=qs&qid=1661201447&s=books&sr=1-1.
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