In which year was the Black Panther Party founded?

The Black Panther Party is one of the most controversial political organizations ever created in the US. Founded in 1966 by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, the party followed Marxist-Leninist principles. One of the core activities of the party is “copwatching”, where members would open carry weapons and stay vigilant against police brutality by the Oakland Police Department. This resulted in numerous gun fights with the police, some of them fatal.

This led to the Mulford Act by the California legislature, signed by then governor Ronald Reagan. The act outlawed the open carrying of loaded firearms in California.