Because the Ten-Point Program didn’t work for the Panthers. Huey Newton died a crackhead, and the government crushed the Panthers one by one. By any means necessary didn’t keep Brother Malcolm from dying, possibly at the hands of his own people. Intentions always look better on paper than in reality. The reality is, I may not make it to the courthouse in the morning.

Starr explains this to the reader in Chapter Eighteen after an unknown assailant throws a brick and fires a gun into her family’s home. This happens the night before she testifies before the grand jury. Even though Maverick has attempted to inspire Starr with excerpts from the Black Panthers’ Ten-Point Program, Starr recognizes that while the ideas may be good, ideas will not protect her from attack, and in fact may make her more vulnerable. Starr’s fear emphasizes that this danger can even come from within the black community, just as Malcolm X’s murder may have been perpetrated by one of his own. Thomas never clarifies whether one of the King Lords or the police attacked the Carter house that night, which shows that the work of fighting for the betterment of black communities includes challenges on all sides and that both gang lords and the police benefit from the silence of people like Starr.