Description

Fardan was a student at San Diego State University when he became affiliated with the Black Panther Party after some murders took place in San Diego and Los Angeles and young people needed counseling. Also at this time Kenny Denmon of the Black Panther Party was imprisoned and later also became a student at SDSU. "We were going through a transformation at that time," learning about black history Fardan states. The Panthers "had a lot of respect, because they were doing positive things." He talks about being a teacher at a San Diego community college and having a student who was killed. Fardan went to San Diego High School, saying it dominated other schools in sports. His first contact with police was when he was 7, and an officer took him and his playmate for a soda. But later, he says, "the police approached us differently," and "I couldn't walk a block and a half from where I lived at without being stopped by the police." Fardan speaks about the lack of African American history showing what African Americans have accomplished, in schools when he was young. He taught in both the San Francisco Bay Area and in San Diego, utilizing "competency-based education" in teaching, and now has a consulting career focused on the parents of school-age children. Fardan says the Panthers helped people understand their potential, and that they could fulfill their potential. He feels that this should happen again and "we could make a better positive contribution to the overall community." These interviews were inspired by the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Black Panther Party in 2016.