Malcolm X catalyzed a nation of disenfranchised people to seek justice and destroy injustice. His politics tore away at America's false progressivism.
He exposed the true nature of a malevolent system: treating poor, Black people as disposable resources in a war for wealth. Malcolm X's anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist stance fueled a Black revolution. His assassination in 1965 kick-started the Panthers' formation.
Co-founder Bobby Seale has admitted "if they had not murdered Malcolm X, there probably never would have been a Black Panther Party."
Malcolm influenced the Panthers crucially through his self-defense advocacy and work with the Organization of Afro-American Unity. It was established a week before his murder to "launch a cultural revolution".2
The Black Panthers drafted their program and eight other self-sufficient community programs after Malcolm X's Basic Unity Program.
Originally five points (Restoration, Reorientation, Education, Economic Security and Self-Defense), these principles incorporated 10 Black revolutionary objectives into one document.
Eddie Conway (former Black Panther Party Defense Chief) said that "he was very into resident organizing, in the community, around community control. He talked about organizing after the Republicans and the Democrats, and an independent source to control the community.
But he also talked about having the ability to protect the community, to defend the community. And use the community's resources to strengthening and enhance the community, I think today it’s protest, and the young people engage in that kind of activities.
...And It’s really kind of like the final kind of thing that capitalism can do when it wants out of its ability to continue to employ people in a profitable way for the ruling class and the people that own the means of production. At this point they have no use for that proud work force, obviously they use the prisons for control both communities.
And at the same time try and successfully execute a sense of conquer in terms of race relationship and people working together, white people and black people together to look at the real issues why they’re in conflict." (teleSUR)
Malcolm X was the progenitor Panther, Bobby Seale says so (Rolling Out)
Program of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (Malcolm X.org)