In Chapter 3 of Body and Soul The Black Panther Party and The Fight Against Medical Discrimination, Alondra Nelson explains the free medical clinics that the Party had established. Nelson's book allows the reader to learn about the other aspects of the Black Panther Party that they might not be accustomed to, such as their fight for free and fair medical care for the impoverished and African American communities. As stated in previous class discussions, the BPP is often only seen in history as a militant group that had one goal, to protect the African American community from police brutality. As we have discovered by reading Nelson’s book, the Party has pursued much more for the betterment of African American lives such as ensuring health care to those oppressed by the system that has discriminated their communities. In April 1970, the leader of the Party had constructed a way to obtain better and fair health care for the African American community by sending an order to every Black Panther Party to establish a People’s Free Medical Clinic.

The purpose of these institutions were to provide basic medical care that had been denied to the African American community. Medical professionals at the public hospitals that treated African Americans had been influenced by racial biases of the time. These African American biases, “lazy”, “ inherently diseased”, “untreatable”, had resulted in poor care and mistreatment of the African American population that would in some cases lead to death. Since African Americans were discriminated against and still seen at the bottom of the “racial hierarchy”, many were living in poverty had limited opportunities to better themselves economically.  Due to the poverty that these people were cornered into, African Americans had no way of escaping these public hospitals that provided them with unequal care due to the color of their skin. The PFMCs presented a way for African Americans to obtain the medical care they desperately needed.

One aspect of these clinics that I found to be the most interesting was the fact that they not only cared for those in need, but also educated their patients. The Party had done this to promote their main “serve the people agenda” (Nelson 79). The PFMCs  had taught their patients to be proactive in their health: “...at its healthcare clinics the Party encouraged the transfer of technical skills from health professionals to non experts. … taking the provision and delivery of healthcare services ‘into their own hands’ ” (Nelson 89). By being able to treat themselves in the simplest of ways it allowed for African Americans to head the warning signs of major illnesses that would often go untreated within the white dominant public health systems they were previously treated at. Not only did these clinics inform their patients on how to take care of their health, they also taught their patients to "have a voice". The clinics encouraged their patients to no longer agree and follow the treatment given by those in power  blindly, but rather to “challenge the behavior of professionals” (Nelson 88). By questioning those in power in the medical field, predominantly white men, African Americans could begin to feel less powerless and more in charge of what happens to their bodies. In my opinion, this begins to break down that “racial hierarchy” we have discussed. As African Americans begin to feel in charge of their bodies because they know what exactly is being done to them, they can decide what treatment is best to obtain a positive outcome. I feel the the lack of knowledge given to the African American community in their health care has allowed the continuous oppressions and discrimination of their population. With the building of these PFMCs, the African American community received the opportunity to gain the knowledge and treatment needed to sustain a healthy lives.