<Li> April 1967: Denzil Dowell protest in Richmond . </Li> <Li> May 2, 1967: Thirty people representing the BPP go to state capitol with guns, and achieve the Party's first national media attention . </Li> <P> The initial tactic of the party utilized contemporary open - carry gun laws to protect Party members when policing the police . This act was done in order to record incidents of police brutality by distantly following police cars around neighborhoods . When confronted by a police officer, Party members cited laws proving they have done nothing wrong and threatened to take to court any officer that violated their constitutional rights . Between the end of 1966 to the start of 1967, the Black Panther Party for Self - Defense's armed police patrols in Oakland black communities attracted a small handful of members . Numbers grew slightly starting in February 1967, when the party provided an armed escort at the San Francisco airport for Betty Shabazz, Malcolm X's widow and keynote speaker for a conference held in his honor . </P> <P> The Black Panther Party's focus on militancy was often construed as open hostility, feeding a reputation of violence even though early efforts by the Panthers focused primarily on promoting social issues and the exercise of their legal right to carry arms . The Panthers employed a California law that permitted carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun as long as it was publicly displayed and pointed at no one . Generally this was done while monitoring and observing police behavior in their neighborhoods, with the Panthers arguing that this emphasis on active militancy and openly carrying their weapons was necessary to protect individuals from police violence . For example, chants like "The Revolution has come, it's time to pick up the gun . Off the pigs!", helped create the Panthers' reputation as a violent organization . </P>

Where did the black panthers get their name