(KRON) -- A busy portion of Broadway in downtown Oakland will be renamed in honor of the Black Panther Party. Last week, the Oakland City Council voted unanimously in favor of the change.
On Saturday, local leaders will gather at 11:30 a.m. at the intersection of 15th Street and Broadway for a ribbon-cutting. The new name will take effect on Broadway between 14th and 17th streets.
The change comes as the Black Panther Party prepares to celebrate 60 years. The anniversary event also includes a two-day conference, gala, community gathering, and multiple other events. You can find more details on the anniversary celebrations here.
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The Black Panther Party was started in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale in Oakland. The two met at Lake Merritt College. Originally named the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense," the group formed to challenge police brutality, monitor law enforcement misconduct in Black communities, and organize social services.
Perhaps their most notable social service was their Free Breakfast for Children Program. Started in 1969, it fed thousands of children daily before school. It's also credited with inspiring the federal School Breakfast Program.
During the 1960s and 1970s the party was seen largely as too radical and extreme for mainstream America. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover famously said the party represented the nation’s “greatest threat to internal security.”
The Nixon administration worked to shut it down.
"Sixty years ago, Huey and Bobby began something in Oakland that would ultimately reach communities around the world," said Fredrika Newton, president and co-founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation and Black Panther Party Museum. "Naming Broadway, home to the Black Panther Party Museum, as Black Panther Party Boulevard cements the Party's legacy in the heart of downtown Oakland, recognizing a movement that shaped every corner of this city and continues to inspire generations."
