![]() They considered this tactic as a way to educate the community and to confront the police in regards to their rights. The leaders of the party would carry guns (since in 1966 it was legal in California to carry guns around), tape recorders, and legal casebooks. In essence, they were convinced that ‘violence, or at least the threat of violence’ was required in order to ‘bring about social change’ (National Archives 2016). Unlike Martin Luther King’s non-violent and unarmed movement, the Black Panther Party believed that the members should act aggressively in order to defend themselves whenever the police forces violated their rights. Newton’s party was much different from other African-American associations with nationalist tendencies (such as the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and the Nation of Islam): in fact such groups viewed ‘all white people as oppressors’, whereas ‘the Black Panther party distinguished between racist and non racist whites, and allied themselves with progressive members of the latter group (Duncan 2000). In fact, the organisation ‘sought to challenge racism by mobilising against police brutality’ (University of California Press no date). The Black Panther Party rose from the concerning increase of police violence against black citizens in Oakland (California). Influenced by the ideologies, perspectives, and the assassination of Malcolm X (an American Muslim minister and human rights activist), in 1966 by Huey Newton, his college classmate Bobby Seale, and his childhood friend David Hilgard founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defence. My soul will live forever!” (National Archives 2016).įollowing the murder, Robinson was arrested for murder in 1991, and sentenced to 32 years in prison (National Archives 2016). Whilst being killed, the last words Newton uttered were: ”You can kill my body, and you can take my life but you can never kill my soul. In 1989, Huey Newton was brutally shot in Oakland by the drug dealer Tyrone Robinson (who was part of the Black Guerrilla Family). Nonetheless, upon his return in the United States, the cases against Newton had been dropped, and he was no longer considered guilty. For this reason, he was obliged to flee to Havana (Cuba) where he remained for three years. However, Newton and his party also committed several acts of violence such as attacks, assaults, and they were also charged for murder. In fact, in 1970, he was invited to China: as soon as he set foot on the Chinese soil, people greeted him by ‘waving copies of the little red book and displaying signs supporting the Black Panthers Party and criticising the U.S. ![]() Thanks to Newton’s dedication to the rights of the Black Community, he rapidly became known on an international scale. Whilst he attended Merritt College, Huey was able to introduce (as a student) a course on African-American History, and also founded the left-wing Black Panther Party for Self Defence with Barry Seale, in which Newton covered the role of Minister of Defence, whereas Seale became the Chairman (National Archives 2016). However, he learnt how to read before he started attending the Merritt College (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2000), and subsequently obtained a Bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D from the University of California (Santa Cruz) (National Archives 2016). He was an African-American activist that fought for the ‘black power’ and was also the co-founder of the Black Panther Party.Īs a child, he moved with his family to Oakland, in California, where he managed to graduate from high-school as an illiterate. ![]() Huey Percy Newton was born on Februin Monroe (a city northeast of Louisiana).
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