Three days after the start of the 504 Sit-In Michael Fultz the editor of "The Black Panther" wrote and delivered a press release from the Black Panther Party which stated the the BPP gave "its full support to Section 504 of the 197 Rehabilitation Act... the issue here is human rights ... further we deplore the treatment accorded to the occupants of the fourth floor and join them in full solidarity." This public endorsement of the protest by the BPP emphasized human rights, survival, and solidarity among oppressed groups. 

The Black Panther Party April 8, 1977 Press Release

Three days after the start of the 504 Sit-In Michael Fultz the editor of "The Black Panther" wrote and delivered a press release from the Black Panther Party which stated the the BPP gave "its full support to Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act... the issue here is human rights ... further we deplore the treatment accorded to the occupants of the fourth floor and join them in full solidarity." This public endorsement of the protest by the BPP emphasized human rights, survival, and solidarity among oppressed groups. 

Brad Lomax, a disabled Black man and Panther, and Chuck Jackson, a non-disabled Black man and Panther, were featured on the May 7 cover "The Black Panther" both men served as representative delegates to Washington DC for the 504 coalition. This cover was part of the ongoing coverage by "The Black Panther" of the 504 Protests. "The Black Panther" covered the Sit-In ten times during the length of the demonstration and eight times after it had ended. "The Black Panther" served as  one of the foremost sources on the 504 Sit-In with only a local paper, the San Francisco Chronicle, covering the protest more often. 

May 7, 1977 Cover of Brad Lomax and Chuck Jackson

- April 8, 1977 Press Release
- May 7, 1977 Cover of Brad Lomax and Chuck Larson

University of Wisconsin - Madison

- The Black Panther Newspaper Coverage
- Material Support for Protesters
- BPP Party Member Engagement

BPP Involvement in the 504 Sit-In

The first published version of the Black Panther Party Platform in 1966 focused lightly on disability justice as implied in the exposed ideas of self-determination in the ideals of the "power to determine the destiny of our Black Community" and calls for "full employment, land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, and peace". In March 1972 however, the platform was changed to reflect the changes in the ideology of the Black Panther Party to set the stage for more explicit engagement with disability politics with the change of point 1 that called for freedom to a call for freedom and "power to determine the destiny of our Black and oppressed communities" and the inclusion of "completely free health care for all Black an oppressed people" as part of the ten points. 

The Black Panther in May 1977 also included coverage of the occupation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare known as the 504 sit-in, and prominent black activists in the 504 sit-in. This highlighted the Black Panther Party's belief that the news was relevant and connected to the Panters' own work.

Black Disability Politics in the "Black Panther" 

Schalk, Sami. Black Disability Politics, New York, USA: Duke University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781478027003

Black Disability Politics

"The Black Panther" Newspaper Coverage of the 504 Sit-In

Once it was clear that the 504 Sit-In in San Francisco was going to continue past the first couple days the Black Panther Party members began bringing in daily hot dinners, mobile showers for the protesters in the H.E.W building and supplied a form of security. This security amounted to the Black Panther Party, who from their own work was familiar with the organization of federal agencies such as the FBI and San Francisco Police, was able to get food  and supplies through the door. 

Material Support for 504 Protesters from the BPP

Brad Lomax was a Black disabled man, a member of the Black Panther Party, and a 504 Protester. Lomax had discovered he had symptoms of M.S. while having trouble walking in 1969. Lomax's condition grew worse, even despite medical attention. By 1977 Lomax was a full time wheelchair user and was legally blind. Lomax remained as a member of the Black Panther Party and worked to incorporate Black Disability Politics into the efforts of the BPP by focusing on the independent living movement, Lomax  later would lead the Center for Independent Living with Ed Roberts.

Brad Lomax

Schalk argues that the Panthers supported the demonstration because disability rights and anti-ableism fit within their existing revolutionary ideology. 

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