THE DUAL POWER STRATEGY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY INTERCOMMUNAL BLACK PANTHER PARTY (2026) By Kevin “Rashid” Johnson

The basis of the dual power strategy of the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party (RIBPP) is to occupy space within the oppressed communities from which to resist the dictatorship of the monopoly capitalists and build people’s power based in these communities, and linking them together intercommunally, which will serve as a base for the united front against capitalist imperialism creating a situation of dual power until the opportunity presents itself for insurrection and seizure of power from the capitalist imperialists. This is the meaning of our strategy of transforming the razor wire plantations into schools of liberation and the oppressed communities into base areas of cultural, social and political revolution in the context of building a worldwide united front against capitalist imperialism and police state repression.

This strategy agrees with aspects of both Leninist and anarchist organizing, while opposing their lack of awareness of the need to unite these aspects dialectically. In agreement with the Leninists we recognize the absolute need to seize state power to lead the masses of people in this work of organizing a socialist society, and with the anarchists we agree that we cannot sit by and wait until the seizure of state power to begin to exercise people’s power.

But this dual power cannot be an end in itself as a substitute for the dictatorship of the proletariat. It is only a stepping stone.

Generally speaking, Leninists in the advanced capitalist countries concentrate all their efforts on disseminating Marxist ideology in the form of propaganda among the masses. They turn out to sell their newspapers and to recruit others to sell their newspapers. For the most part, grassroots community organizing is left to the reformists and anarchists. The Original Black Panther Party (and its affiliates among other ethnic communities), were a notable exception. The Panthers both organized around the people’s immediate needs with “Serve the People” survival programs and carried on revolutionary agitation, educational and organizing to raise the revolutionary class consciousness of the masses.

Traditionally, Marxist organizations and parties concentrate their main organizing efforts at the point of production where workers can make their power felt via the mechanism of strikes, in particular promoting the use of the political general strike. This is all well and good, but unless as far as organizing the urban poor and marginalized workers in the oppressed communities that are the Panther movement’s social base. For us, community organizing is an absolute necessity.

The enemy system exercises control over the communities via the local government and police and through state social service agencies, FBI and other state agencies. There is space for dual power through independent community organizations and coalitions, people’s service programs and alternative institutions, and these provide a basis for building and sustaining a vanguard Party and movement of the people rooted in the oppressed communities.

Such manifestations of grassroots people’s power will be subject to harassment and repression by the state, but our movement will be able to defend itself and fight back with the support of the community and the court of public opinion. The very laws of the state can be used to back down the state by threatening exposure of the true nature of the state as an instrument of class dictatorship and rip away the facade of “democracy” and a “government of laws.” While guarding against the illusion of “legalism” and failing to ourselves grasp the true nature of liberal-fascism. We can mount a vigorous legal defense of our movement and rally the masses of people to protest every act of repression against us and the people in the oppressed communicates.

Our purpose in the class war is to preserve our forces and grow stronger while diminishing the authority and power of the state and its ability to maintain the status quo.

From our side, this war has three phases: 1) defensive, 2) strategic equilibrium, 3) the strategic offensive (or insurrectionary phase). Unlike rural-based People’s War, where the purpose is to surround the urban centers with the liberated countryside, urban-based class war seeks to create a situation of dual power within the urban centers to facilitate sustained class struggle leading to insurrection and overthrow of the state.

On our own, the urban poor and marginalized workers cannot overthrow capitalist-imperialism, but we can act as a catalyst upon the whole proletariat and masses of people – here and internationally – to inspire them to rise up and pull down the whole rotten system. This includes winning over a significant portion of the oppressor’s armed forces – here and in their deployments internationally – to side with the people. As an important segment of these forces are drawn from our oppressed communities, it is imperative that red political power be built in the oppressed communities to win the allegiance of these sisters and brothers.

Dare to Struggle Dare to Win!

All Power to the People!