Former members of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense gathered in Leimert Park for a March 21 screening at the Lucy Florence Coffeehouse and Cultural Center. Kathleen Cleaver, now a law professor at the Emory School of Law in Atlanta, served as the Communications Secretary of the Black Panther Party beginning in 1967 and was the wife of Black Panther Eldridge Cleaver who was the Minister of Information.

“41st & Central: The Untold Story of the L.A. Black Panthers” is a two part documentary that follows the Southern California Chapter of the Black Panther Party from its glorious Black Power beginnings through to its tragic demise. The film explores the Party’s conflict with the L.A.P.D. and the US Organization, the killings of Party Members Alprentice “Bunchy” Carter and John Huggins at U.C.L.A. in 1968, as well as the shootout between the L.A.P.D. and the Black Panthers on 41st Street and Central in 1969. The film contains new interviews with former Black Panther Party members along with archival footage detailing the history of racism in Los Angeles from the perspective of the participants who lived to tell about it.

For more, visit http://41central.com/