It's All Good Bakery (first headquarters of the Black Panther Party)
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
In North Oakland, the It's All Good Bakery might appear to be an ordinary bake shop. But the building has a history not readily apparent from the outside. In the 1960s, the building was the original headquarters of the Black Panther Party.
Images
It's All Good Bakery today
Display commemorating the Panthers inside the bakery
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The building that now houses the It's All Good Bakery was the original headquarters of the Black Panther Party, founded in 1966. At the time, the group's office consisted of just that--they initially had no furniture until Sid Walton, a counselor at Merritt College, gave them some chairs.
The storefront office, on what was then named Grove Street, was roughly a block-and-a-half from Bobby Seale's house. They rented the space in January of 1967, shortly after the organization was formed in October of 1966. The Panthers held meetings in the office every Saturday to instruct new members on the Ten-Point Platform and the philosophy of the organization.
The headquarters was also where the organization printed its newspaper, The Black Panther Party. The newspaper's circulation was 125,000 a week, and its peak, it was close to 300,000 per week. The paper was distributed throughout the United States.
Kim Cloud, one of the owners of the bakery, participated in the free breakfast program as a child.
The storefront office, on what was then named Grove Street, was roughly a block-and-a-half from Bobby Seale's house. They rented the space in January of 1967, shortly after the organization was formed in October of 1966. The Panthers held meetings in the office every Saturday to instruct new members on the Ten-Point Platform and the philosophy of the organization.
The headquarters was also where the organization printed its newspaper, The Black Panther Party. The newspaper's circulation was 125,000 a week, and its peak, it was close to 300,000 per week. The paper was distributed throughout the United States.
Kim Cloud, one of the owners of the bakery, participated in the free breakfast program as a child.
Sources
Seale, Bobby. Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panthers and Huey P. Newton. pg. 79.