About the Program
Jamal Joseph recounts his life as a member of the Black Panther Party in New York City in the 1960s and 70s. The author recalls his introduction to the Panthers his senior year of high school and reports a year later he was sentenced to prison for conspiracy as one of the Panther 21. Upon being exonerated, he participated in the Revolutionary Black Underground, where his involvement sent him back to prison. Mr. Joseph recounts his time served and his procurement of two colleges degrees during his second prison sentence. He is now a professor and chair of Columbia University's Graduate Film Division, the same institution he once urged students to set afire during one of his speeches as a Panther. Jamal Joseph speaks at the Free Library of Philadelphia.