Following the screening on:

• Feb. 7 & 20: Q&A with filmmakers, panel discussion with Vanetta Molson-Turner, Youlanda Givens, Winona Hollins Hauge, and Phyllis Noble Mobley, facilitated by Malika Lee
• Mar. 6: Q&A with filmmakers and SassyBlack!

Frances Dixon, mother of the founders of the Seattle Black Panthers for Self Defense (SBPP), got phone calls saying, “We’re gonna kill your son.” She replied, “You go ahead and try it.”

Vanetta Molson-Turner stepped over combat sandbags at the SBPP office to arrange for supplies for the first free clinic.

Phyllis Noble Mobley joined the party at the age of 15. She and others like Youlanda Givens and Winona Hollins Hauge sold Black Panther newspapers and collected donations to run breakfast programs to feed children before school. They studied the BPP teachings and stood strong as Black Women for the rest of their lives.

This series of 5 short documentaries shares their individual stories in varied Seattle settings significant to the SBPP, featuring an original score by SassyBlack.

The Seattle chapter of the BPP was the first chapter created outside of California. The first chief of the FBI, J.Edgar Hoover, labeled them as one of the three most dangerous chapters outside of Oakland. The women as “keepers of the dream” worked alongside the men in the office, implemented free community programs that still exist today like the Carolyn Downs Community Clinic and free breakfasts before disbanding nearly four decades ago.

Cast and Crew
Produced by Patricia Boiko and Tajuan LaBee
Assistant Director: Malika Lee
Cinematography: Omar Willey and Kamaria Daniels