The Diary of Sandra Washington: A Lens into the World of the Philadelphia Black Panthers

Abstract

This project is in the form of an “unessay” project about the Philadelphia chapter of the Black Panther Party during its most active years. Composed of five diary entries, the reader dives into life from the perspective of a fictional character named Sandra Washington. She is a 14–15-year-old girl from North Philadelphia during the years 1969-1971. Sandra, an aspiring writer, is fascinated with the Party because of their uncompromising commitment to social justice and fighting for equality.

There were initial concerns about finding sufficient articles specifically about the Philadelphia chapter to write the diary entries, due to COINTELPRO and lack of documentation of BPP activities from its members. Fortunately, the secondary sources used for these diary entries described Panther activities were well supported with sources and respected the legacy of the organization. This project hopes to shed light on an important part of Philadelphia’s history and celebrate important community programs developed by its Panthers.