ABSTRACT
African Americans have relatively low suicide rates in the United States. For example, in 1990, David Lester reported that the suicide rate for white males was 22.0 per 100,000 per year and for black males 12.0. Jewell Gibbs suggested that the aggressive and anti-authority behavior of the Black Panthers in the 1960s and 1970s fitted the pattern of suicide-by-cop, for several of them were killed in gun battles with the police. It should be noted that some commentators disagree with the interpretation that suicide was appealing to the Black Panthers. Frank Donner has documented the actions of the police in America in protecting the economic and political interests of the capitalist system, activities which included repressive tactics such as dragnet and pretext arrests, the use of force to disperse gatherings, indiscriminate clubbings, and support for vigilante offensives. The police infiltrated organizations, including the Black Panthers, and raided these organizations in a confrontational manner in order to maximize the intimidation.
