The Panther 21 is a group of twenty-one Black Panther members who were arrested and accused of planned coordinated bombing and long-range rifle attacks on two police stations and an education office in New York City in 1969, who were all acquitted by a jury in May 1971, after revelations during the trial that police infiltrators played key organizing roles.
[1] Among the defendants were Afeni Shakur, Lumumba Shakur, Ali Bey Hassan, Michael Tabor, Dhoruba al-Mujahid bin Wahad, Jamal Joseph, Abayama Katara, Baba Odinga, Joan Bird, Robert Collier, Sundiata Acoli, Lonnie Epps, Curtis Powell, Kuwasi Balagoon, Richard Harris, Lee Berry, Lee Roper, and Kwando Kinshasa (William King), and Thomas Berry.
[8] During their incarceration, many people and organizations publicly supported the Panther 21 and raised money for their bail and legal expenses.
[11] The party took place on January 14, 1970 and had 90 guests show up to raise money to help fund the Panther 21's legal defense.
[13] The District Attorney read Chairman Mao Zedong's Little Red Book and showed the court the movie The Battle of Algiers.
[7] Shakur chose to represent herself in court despite not having attended law school and despite being pregnant while on trial, facing a 300-year prison sentence.
The following year, in 1972, Lesane Parish was renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur, which means "shining serpent" in Quechua.