(music bed throughout)
Oakland, California - 10 February 2021
1. Muralist climbs through window next to Black Panther newspaper
2. Muralist climbs onto roof
3. Close up of spray painting
4. Various mural close up montage
5. Wide shot of early stage mural
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6. SOUNDBITE (English) Jilchristina Vest, Homeowner:
"I purchased my house here in West Oakland because of the history of the Black Panther Party, and I wanted to be close to that. I wanted to be around that. Their headquarters were set up here in West Oakland, which was right around the corner from me on Peralta (Street). They lived in this neighborhood. The first breakfast program was in West Oakland. So a lot of the activities and a lot of their survival programs were based specifically in West Oakland. Seventy percent of the Panther Party was made up of women and at the height of their membership, you had chapters that were three-to-one women and five-to-one women. Chapters were led by women. Chapters were opened by women."
Oakland, California - 17 February 2021
7. Wide shot of home in back of Black Panther Co-founder Dr. Huey P. Newton street sign
8. Close up of Dr. Huey P. Newton street sign
9. Various free food program portion of mural
ARCHIVE: Oakland, California - 30 December 1969
10. Black Panthers flag, pull out to headquarters exterior
Oakland, California - 10 February 2021
11. "Women of the Black Panther Party" informational booklets
12. Mural advertisement with photo of women of the Black Panther Party
13. Various muralist painting
14. Various Vest talking to muralist
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15. SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith, Muralist:
"So we have one woman protesting. She'll have buttons that are relevant to all of the stuff that was going on then and now. And then we have the woman with the rifle kind of watching over everything. And then I wanted to bring that all together with the woman who is in her medical outfit and holding her child and have that love mother child relationship at the forefront of this."
16. Various close ups of women on mural
17. "Serve the People" written on mural
ARCHIVE: Oakland, California - 30 December 1970
18.Various of Black Panthers marching, militant chants
19. Black Panthers standing in row, holding flags
Oakland, California - 10 February 2021
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20. SOUNDBITE (English) Jilchristina Vest, Homeowner:
"I really want to make sure that I do everything I can for people to understand that the Black Panther Party wasn't a group of terrorists and it wasn't a bunch of men holding guns. They picked up guns when guns were drawn on them. They were protecting themselves or protecting their families. They're protecting their children and protecting their community from police brutality, which is still relevant today."
21. Woman clenching fist and shouting on mural
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22. SOUNDBITE (English) Rachel Wolfe-Goldsmith, Muralist:
"Like who wouldn't defend their family and their community when they're being murdered, when they're being oppressed, when they can't get jobs or housing, you know what I mean? So I think that the rest of America is ready to look at the complexities and the depth of the struggle on a systematic level."
23. Muralist painting near roof
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24. SOUNDBITE (English) Jilchristina Vest, Homeowner:
"The Panthers were in the past. Everything that they did, everything that they fought for, everything that they believed in and everything that they were hoping to change, we're still doing that. We're still hoping to change that."
25. Muralist lowers herself from lift machine
Oakland, California - 17 February 2021
26. Wide shot of near-complete mural
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4312363
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover once called them "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country."
After a year of protests and calls for racial justice, a renewed appreciation for the Black Panther Party has emerged.
The political organization founded in Oakland, California, in 1966 and active into the 1980s, fought police brutality and advocated for Black empowerment while being labeled as enemies of the state by the U.S. government.
Now, a homeowner in Oakland whose house is located across the street from where Black Panther founder Huey P. Newton was murdered, offered up her house as a canvas for a mural paying homage to the women of the party in honor of Black History Month.
Homeowner Jilchristina Vest said she bought the house back in 2000 because she wanted to live in the historic district.
She said she came up with the idea of the mural after last year's George Floyd protests and the lack of protests she saw for Breonna Taylor, also killed by police.
She decided to focus on the women of the Black Panther Party, who she said, despite being the backbone of the movement, don't receive the same attention as the more famous male icons of the party.
Vest hired Bay Area Muralist Rachel Wolfe for the project who said she used iconic photographs of the Black Panthers as inspiration for her work.
Vest said the women represented on her home were instrumental in creating groundbreaking programs like free breakfasts for children and the opening of health clinics in underserved communities.
For decades the Black Panther Party also spoke out against police brutality, which is still being addressed today by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Hollywood is also helping to bring attention to the Black Panther Party, with the recent release of critically acclaimed films such as "Judas and the Black Messiah" and "The Trail of the Chicago 7."
