It’s Aquarius season, and there’s no better way to celebrate than highlighting an incredible air sign, Huey P. Newton. Considering current events, it’s important more than ever to explore and refresh the strategy of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense — from Huey P. Newton’s intellectual roots and the Party’s legal self-defense philosophy to their groundbreaking community survival programs that fed children, offered healthcare, taught legal rights, and organized neighborhoods under siege.

We trace how the U.S. state responded — through targeted repression like COINTELPRO, legal harassment, and strategic misinformation — and how the Panthers adapted, survived, and influenced generations of organizers.

Then we turn to the present: how communities in Minnesota and across the U.S. are organizing in real time to resist federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations that have devastated immigrant neighborhoods, disrupted everyday life, and sparked massive protests and rapid response networks.

If you’d like to donate to these networks, here are a few organizations I’ve verified myself below:

* Twin Cities Food Bank

* Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid

* Southeastern Minnesota Interfaith Legal Defense

Other ways to get involved:

* Train to become a legal observer.

* Contact Your Representatives.

* VOTE IN MIDTERMS.

Citations:

Seale, Bobby. Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton. Random House, 1970.

Black Panther Party. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2026, www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

Free Breakfast for Children. Wikipedia, 2026, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Breakfast_for_Children. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

Minnesota ICE Resistance & Protests

Greene, Connor. “Minnesotans Shutter Businesses and Call Off Work in Economic Blackout Day to Protest ICE.” TIME, 30 Jan. 2026, time.com/7357523/minnesota-ice-protest-business-immigration-minneapolis/. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

“Timberwolves Call for Unity after Fatal ICE Shootings in Minneapolis.” Reuters, 30 Jan. 2026, www.reuters.com/world/us/timberwolves-call-unity-after-fatal-ice-shootings-minneapolis-2026-01-30/. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

“Immigration Raids in Minnesota Fuel Grassroots Somali Activism.” Reuters, 24 Jan. 2026, www.reuters.com/world/us/immigration-raids-minnesota-fuel-grassroots-somali-activism-2026-01-24/. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

“Protesters Take to Streets Nationwide to Decry ICE Tactics in Minneapolis.” The Washington Post, 30 Jan. 2026, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/01/30/minneapolis-protests-ice/. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

“America’s Largest Labor Movement Calls for ICE to Leave Minnesota before ‘Anyone Else Is Hurt or Killed.’” Business Insider, 5 days ago, www.businessinsider.com/afl-cio-ice-shooting-alex-pretti-minneapolis-border-patrol-immigration-2026-1. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

“National Shutdown: Anti-ICE Protests Expand Across the U.S.” Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026, ew.com/greys-anatomy-suspends-production-amid-nationwide-anti-ice-protests-11896075. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

2026 Minnesota General Strike & Labor Actions

2026 Minnesota General Strike. Wikipedia, 2026, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Minnesota_general_strike. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

“Southeast Minnesota Protest and Strike Actions.” Labor Notes, 29 Jan. 2026, labornotes.org/2026/01/twin-cities-massive-strike-against-ice. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.

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