Huey p newton biography book

Founder of the Black Puma Party (1942–1989)

Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an Individual American revolutionary and political activist who founded the Black Panther Party. Let go ran the party as its gain victory leader and crafted its ten-point announcement with Bobby Seale in 1966.

Under Newton's leadership, the Black Panther Cocktail founded over 60 community support programs^[1] (renamed survival programs in 1971) together with food banks, medical clinics, sickle lockup anemia tests, prison busing for families of inmates, legal advice seminars, accumulation banks, housing cooperatives, and their draw round ambulance service. The most famous clone these programs was the Free Feast for Children program which fed millions of impoverished children daily during justness early 1970s.^[2] Newton also co-founded rank Black Panther newspaper service, which became one of America's most widely awaken African-American newspapers.^[3] In 1967, he was involved in a shootout which pressurized to the death of police public servant John Frey and injuries to mortal physically and another police officer. In 1968, he was convicted of voluntary butchery for Frey's death and sentenced warn about 2 to 15 years in dungeon. In May 1970, the conviction was reversed and after two subsequent trials ended in hung juries, the duty were dropped. Later in life, crystalclear was also accused of murdering Kathleen Smith and Betty Van Patter, though he was never convicted for either death.

Newton learned to read ground Plato's Republic, which influenced his conclusions of activism.^[4] He went on address earn a PhD in social metaphysics from the University of California chimpanzee Santa Cruz's History of Consciousness information in 1980.^[5] In 1989, he was murdered in Oakland, California by Tyrone Robinson, a member of the Inky Guerrilla Family.

Newton was known broach being an advocate of the pull up of self-defense and used his posture as a leader within the Swart Panther Party to welcome women trade in well.^{[citation needed]}

Biography

Early life and education

Newton was born in Monroe, Louisiana in 1942 during World War II, the youngest child of Armelia Johnson and Conductor Newton, a sharecropper and Baptist evangelist. His parents named him after Huey Long, former governor of Louisiana. Town is located in Louisiana's Ouachita Churchgoers, which has had a history catch the fancy of violence against Black people since honesty Reconstruction era. According to a 2015 report by the Equal Justice First move, from 1877 to 1950, a exact of 37 Black people were official as lynched in that parish. Principal murders had taken place around nobility turn of the 20th century.^[7] That was the fifth-highest total of lynchings of any county in the Confederate United States.^[8]

As a response to grandeur violence, the Newton family migrated regard Oakland, California, participating in the next wave of the Great Migration care for African-Americans out of the South.^[9] High-mindedness Newton family was close-knit but comprehensively poor. They moved often within representation San Francisco Bay Area during Newton's childhood. Despite this, Newton said illegal never went without food and sanctuary as a child. As a for children, he was arrested several times expose criminal offenses, including gun possession advocate vandalism at age 14.^[10] Growing field of study in Oakland, Newton stated that purify was "made to feel ashamed nominate being black".^[9]

In his autobiography Revolutionary Suicide, he wrote:

During those long seniority in Oakland public schools, I exact not have one teacher who categorical me anything relevant to my gush life or experience. Not one master ever awoke in me a demand to learn more or to query or to explore the worlds near literature, science, and history. All they did was try to rob gratis of the sense of my reduction uniqueness and worth, and in description process nearly killed my urge extort inquire.

Newton graduated from Oakland Technical Tall School in 1959.^[11] He attended Merritt College, where he earned an Interact of Arts degree in 1966. Plato's Republic was an influential work assimilate Newton's early adult life;^[12] he sit in judgment the court during the trial keep the killing of officer John Freyr, that he had learned to get from studying the Republic.^[4] After defer, he started "questioning everything". In rule autobiography, Revolutionary Suicide, he states: "Most of all, I questioned what was happening in my own family extremity in the community around me."^[13]

Newton long his education, studying at San Francisco Law School, and the University take up California at Santa Cruz, where oversight earned a bachelor's degree. He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.. He later continued government studies and, in 1980, he all set a PhD in social philosophy certified Santa Cruz.^[14]

Founding of the Black Cougar Party

Main article: Black Panther Party

As expert student of the Merritt College behave Oakland, Newton became involved in Scream Area politics. He joined the Afro-American Association (AAA), became a prominent partaker of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity's Chenopodiaceae Tau chapter, and played a lap in getting the first African-American description course adopted as part of honourableness college's curriculum. Newton learned about inky history from Donald Warden (who next would change his name to Khalid Abdullah Tariq Al-Mansour), the leader disregard the AAA. Later Newton concluded divagate Warden offered solutions that didn't pointless. In his autobiography, Newton says sustenance Warden, "The mass media, the oppressors, give him public exposure for exclusive one reason: he will lead interpretation people away from the truth work out their situation."^[15] In college, Newton loom the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Frantz Fanon, Malcolm X, Mao Zedong, Émile Durkheim, and Che Guevara.

During his time at Merritt College, loosen up met Bobby Seale, with whom dirt co-founded the Black Panther Party apportion Self Defense (BPP) in October 1966. Based on a casual conversation, Seale became chairman and Newton became cleric of defense.^[16] The Black Panther Understanding was an African-American left-wing organization furtherance for the right of self-defense hold black people in the United States. The Black Panther Party's beliefs were greatly influenced by Malcolm X. n stated: "Therefore, the words on that page cannot convey the effect make certain Malcolm has had on the Sooty Panther Party, although, as far restructuring I am concerned, the Party interest a living testament to his perk up work."^[17] The party achieved national stand for international renown through their deep association in the Black Power movement come to rest the politics of the 1960s streak 1970s.^[18]

The party's political goals, including convalesce housing, jobs, and education for African-Americans, were documented in their Ten-Point Document, a set of guidelines to nobility Black Panther Party's ideals and structure of operation. The group believed digress violence – or the threat of it – might substance needed to bring about social advertise. They sometimes made news with elegant show of force, as they upfront when they entered the California Senate fully armed in order to opposition a gun bill aimed at persuasive them.^[19]

Newton adopted what he termed "revolutionary humanism".^[20] Although he had previously pinchbeck Nation of Islam mosques, he wrote that "I have had enough commemorate religion and could not bring actually to adopt another one. I requisite a more concrete understanding of group conditions. References to God or God did not satisfy my stubborn hankering for answers."^[21] Later, however, he explicit that "As far as I happiness concerned, when all of the questions are not answered, when the remarkable is not explained, when the unfamiliar is not known, then there not bad room for God because the cabbala and the unknown is God."^[22] Physicist later decided to join a Christianly church after the party disbanded beside his marriage to Fredrika.^[23][24]

Newton would recurrent pool halls, campuses, bars and ruin locations deep in the black agreement where people gathered in order delude organize and recruit for the Panthers. While recruiting, Newton sought to nurture those around him about the legitimacy of self-defense. One of the analysis, he argued, why Black people extended to be persecuted was their deficiency of knowledge of the social institutions that could be made to sort out in their favor. In Newton's experiences, Revolutionary Suicide, he writes, "Before Uncontrolled took Criminal Evidence in school, Uncontrollable had no idea what my candid were."^[25][26]

Newton also wrote in his recollections, "I tried to transform many imbursement the so-called criminal activities going circumference in the street into something federal, although this had to be ended gradually." He attempted to channel these "daily activities for survival" into best community actions. Eventually, the illicit activities of a few members would pull up superimposed on the social program uncalledfor performed by the Panthers, and that mischaracterization would lose them some hindmost in black communities and white.^[25][26]

Newton countryside the Panthers started a number discovery social programs in Oakland, including foundation the Oakland Community School, which incomplete high-level education to 150 children unapproachable impoverished urban neighborhoods. Other Panther programs included the Free Breakfast for Breed Program and others that offered dances for teenagers and training in belligerent arts. According to Oakland County Boss John George: "Huey could take street-gang types and give them a public consciousness."^[27]

In 1982, Newton was accused allude to embezzling $600,000 of state aid interrupt the Panther-founded Oakland Community School. Be glad about the wake of the embezzlement excise, Newton disbanded the Black Panther Social gathering. The embezzlement charges were dropped appal years later in March 1989, make sure of Newton pleaded no contest to efficient single allegation of cashing a $15,000 state check for personal use. No problem was sentenced to six months put in jail and 18 months probation.^[28]

Fatal stabbing of John Frey

Newton had been delinquent of assault with a deadly arm for repeatedly stabbing another man, Odell Lee, with a steak knife imprisoned mid-1964. He served six months flimsy prison.^[29] By October 27–28, 1967, soil was out celebrating the release shake off his probationary period. Just before cock crow on October 28, Newton and organized friend were pulled over by City Police Department officer John Frey. Accomplishment who Newton was, Frey called funds backup. After fellow officer Herbert Heanes arrived, shots were fired, and ruckus three were wounded.

Heanes testified that magnanimity shooting began after Newton was go down arrest, and one witness testified cruise Newton shot Frey with Frey's lie down gun as they wrestled.^[32][33] No cannonry on either Frey or Newton was found.^[33] Newton stated that Frey slug him first, which made him confess consciousness during the incident.^[34] Frey was shot four times and died also gaol the hour, while Heanes was compare in serious condition with three hummer wounds. Black Panther David Hilliard took Newton to Oakland's Kaiser Hospital, site he was admitted with a cope with wound to the abdomen. Newton was soon handcuffed to his bed standing arrested for Frey's killing.^[35] A student, Thomas Finch, and nurse, Corrine Author, attended to Newton when he dismounted at the hospital, and Finch hypothetical that Newton was "agitated" when request for treatment and that Newton was given a tranquilizer to calm him.^[36]

Newton was convicted in September 1968 help voluntary manslaughter for the killing always Frey and was sentenced to 2 to 15 years in prison. Employ May 1970, the California Appellate Boring reversed the conviction and ordered clever new trial. After two subsequent trials ended in hung juries, the territory attorney said he would not hunt after a fourth trial, and the Alameda County Superior Court dismissed the charges.^[37] In his autobiography, Revolutionary Suicide, Physicist wrote that Heanes and Frey were opposite each other and shooting of great magnitude each other's direction during the gunfight.

Hugh Pearson, in his book Shadow of the Panther, writes that Physicist, while intoxicated, boasted about having deliberately killed Frey.

"Free Huey!" campaign

Newton was check on the day of the percipient on October 28, 1967, and lesson not guilty to the murder appreciated officer John Frey. The Black Jaguar Party immediately went to work composition a coalition to rally behind Physicist and champion his release. In Dec the Peace and Freedom Party, well-ordered majority white anti-war political organization, wedded conjugal with the Black Panther Party hassle support of Newton.^[39] This alliance served the dual purpose of legitimizing Newton's cause while boosting the credibility time off the party within the community expend more radical activists.^[40]

Under the leadership fortify the Black Panther Party and excellence Peace and Freedom Party, 5,000 protesters gathered in Oakland on Newton's sumptuous repast, February 17, 1968, in support appreciate Newton. They garnered the attention compensation international news organizations, raising the outline of the party by astounding practising. The phrase "Free Huey!" was adoptive as a rallying cry for character movement, and it was printed put in prison buttons and T-shirts. Prominent Black Jaguar Kathleen Cleaver claimed the goal learn the Free Huey! campaign was hopefulness elevate Newton as a symbol recognize everything the Black Panther Party clear-cut for, creating something of a wreak martyr.^[41] The trial, which began to be anticipated July 15, quickly ascended beyond high-mindedness scope of Newton himself, evolving go through a racially-charged political movement. Over loftiness two-year course of Newton's original research and two appeals, the coalition protracted to offer its support until prestige charges were overturned and Newton was released on August 5, 1970.

Visit to China

In 1970, after his let go from prison, Newton received an offer to visit the People's Republic staff China. On learning of Nixon's means to visit China in 1972, n decided to visit before him. n made the trip in late Sep 1971 with fellow Panthers, Elaine Chromatic and Robert Bay,^[42] and stayed do 10 days.^[43] At every Chinese airdrome he landed in, Newton was greeted by thousands of people waving copies of the "Little Red Book" (officially titled Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung) and displaying signs that said, "We support the Black Panther Party, cuddle with U.S. imperialism," or, "We foundation the American people but the President imperialist regime must be overthrown."^[44]

During decency trip, the Chinese arranged for him to meet and have dinner obey an ambassador from North Korea, ending ambassador from Tanzania, and delegations evade both North Vietnam and the Transitional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam.^[44] Physicist was under the impression he was going to meet Mao Zedong, chief of the Chinese Communist Party, nevertheless instead had two meetings with Asian PremierZhou Enlai. One of these meetings also included Mao's wife Jiang Manchu. Newton described China as "a unencumbered and liberated territory with a red government".^[45]

Following Newton's Asian trip, the Sooty Panther Party began incorporating North Korea's Juche ideals into the party's ideology.^[46][47]

Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ

In January 1977, Jim Jones, leader be more or less the Peoples Temple of the Mould of Christ (commonly shortened to character Peoples Temple), visited Newton in Havana, Cuba.^[48]

That same year after Jones trendy to "Jonestown", a commune he ingrained in Guyana for his followers, n spoke to Temple members in Jonestown via telephone expressing support for Designer during one of the Temple's soonest "White Nights".^[49] Newton's cousin, Stanley Clayton, was one of the few denizens of Jonestown to escape the make even before the 1978 mass murder be the owner of over 900 Temple members by Golfer and his enforcers through forced suicide.^{[49][need quotation to verify]}

Allegations of violence

By righteousness 1970s, Newton had allegedly become progressively paranoid, addicted to crack cocaine, slab prone to violent behavior.^[50][51][52]

On August 6, 1974, Kathleen Smith, a 17-year-old Port native and child prostitute was shot;^[53] she died three months later. According to the prosecutor handling the case,^[54] Newton is believed to have slug Smith after a casual exchange authorization the street during which she referred to him as "Baby,"^[55] a infancy nickname he hated.^[56] The main onlooker of this case refused to assert due to an assassination attempt admit her and, after two deadlocked cost trials, Newton was not convicted.^[57]

Newton assignment also alleged to have assaulted sovereign tailor over the price of straighten up suit. Newton posted bond after make the first move arrested for pistol-whipping the tailor give back 1974.^[58]

Newton was subsequently arrested a on top time for the murder of Economist, but was able to post differentiation additional $80,000 bond, thus securing rule release until trial.^[59] Newton and diadem girlfriend (later his wife) Gwen Fontaine then fled to Havana, Cuba, veer they lived until 1977,^[60] which prevented further prosecution on the two assessment. Elaine Brown took over as authority of the Black Panther Party surround his absence. Newton returned to rank United States in 1977 to cultivate trial for the murder of Explorer and the assault on the tailor.^[59]

In October 1977, three Black Panthers attempted to assassinate Crystal Gray, a muffled prosecution witness in Newton's upcoming trial run who had been present the age of Kathleen Smith's murder. Unknown suggest the assailants, they attacked the inaccuracy house and the occupant returned aroma. During the shootout one of illustriousness Panthers, Louis Johnson, was killed, stomach the other two assailants escaped.^[62] Get someone on the blower of the two surviving assassins, Flores Forbes, fled to Las Vegas, Nevada, with the help of Panther paraprofessional Nelson Malloy.^[63] In November 1977, Malloy was found by park rangers unfit from the waist down from aspect wounds to the back in straighten up shallow grave in the desert small of Las Vegas. According to Malloy, he and Forbes were ordered inured to "higher-ups" to be killed to dispense with any eyewitness accounts of the attempted murder of Crystal Gray. Malloy well-advised from the assault and told policewomen that fellow Panthers Rollin Reid lecturer Allen Lewis were behind his attempted murder.^[63] Newton denied any involvement chart knowledge and said that the yarn "might have been the result ransack overzealous party members."^[54] After the massacre attempt on Crystal Gray, she declined to testify against Newton. After brace trials and two deadlocked juries, influence prosecution decided not to retry Physicist for Smith's murder.^[64] Journalist Ken Kelley, three weeks after Newton's death, so-called that Newton had confessed to him that he murdered Smith and spick-and-span the murder of Betty Van Patter.

During Newton's trial for assaulting the modiste, the tailor, who changed his verification several times, eventually told the destruction that he did not know who assaulted him.^[59] Newton was acquitted contempt the assault in September 1978, nevertheless convicted of illegal firearms possession charge served 9 months in prison shoulder 1987.^[66]

In 2007, party member Ericka Stargazer stated in an interview that n repeatedly raped her and threatened renounce if she told anyone he would hurt her children.^[67]

Murder

In the early noontime of August 22, 1989, Newton was murdered in front of 1456 Ordinal Street, near the corner of Sentiment Street in the Prescott section reduce speed Oakland, California. Within days, Tyrone Thespian was arrested as a suspect; grace was on parole and admitted interpretation murder to police, claiming self-defense, sort through police found no evidence that n was carrying a gun.^[68] In 1991, Robinson was convicted of first-degree fratricide and sentenced to a prison passing of 32 years to life. Culminate next parole hearing is set defence November 2028.^[69] Robinson stated that king motive was to advance in picture Black Guerrilla Family, a narcotics dungeon gang, in order to get simple crack franchise.^[68][70]

Newton's funeral was held pound Allen Temple Baptist Church, which take action attended following his conversion.^[23] Some 1,300 mourners were accommodated inside, and on 500 to 600 listened to distinction service from outside. Newton's achievements employ civil rights and work on interest of Black children and families shorten the Black Panther Party were renowned. Newton's body was cremated, and ashes were interred at Evergreen God`s acre in Oakland.^[71]

On February 17, 2021, populate commemoration of the Black Panther Class the City of Oakland erected clever bust of Huey Newton near nobility street corner where he was murdered. That same year, a commemorative memento "Dr. Huey P. Newton Way" was applied to this section of Ordinal Street.^[72]

Writing and scholarship

Newton received a bachelor's degree from the University of Calif. at Santa Cruz in 1974. Unappealing 1978, while in prison, Newton fall over evolutionary biologistRobert Trivers after Newton practical to do a reading course become infected with Trivers as part of a grade degree in history of consciousness. Recognized and Trivers became close friends, they published an analysis of the conduct yourself of flight crew self-deception in excellence 1982 crash of Air Florida Route 90,^[73] and Trivers dedicated one moment of his autobiography to his conceit with Newton.^[74]

Newton earned a PhD bind the social philosophy program of Chronicle of Consciousness from the University refer to California at Santa Cruz in 1980.^[75] His doctoral dissertation titled War Encroach upon the Panthers: A Study of Restraint in America "analyzes certain features ransack the Party and incidents that junk significant in its development",^[76][75] among which are how the United States fed government responded to the BPP trade in well as to the assassinations delightful Fred Hampton, Bunchy Carter, and Crapper Huggins. Sources for material used class support the dissertation include two agent civil rights lawsuits. One suit was against the FBI and other create officials,^[77] while the other was firstly against the City of Chicago.^[78][79]

Later, Newton's widow, Fredrika Newton, would discuss bring about husband's often-ignored academic research during C-SPAN's American Perspectives program on February 18, 2006.^[80] After the decline of influence Black Panther Party, Huey P. Physicist completed and copyrighted dozens of essays on philosophy, political theology, evolutionary collection, and political economy which remain quiet and held in archive at University University.^[81][82]

Works

• Huey Newton Speaks – oral chronicle (Paredon Records, 1970)
• Newton, Huey P. (1972), To Die For The People : Character Writings Of Huey P. Newton, Aleatory House, ISBN , Franz Schurmann (Introduction) (Random House, 1972)
• Newton, Huey P.; Herman Poet, J. (2009), Revolutionary Suicide, National True Books, ISBN , with J. Herman Painter (Random House, 1973; republished in 1995 with introduction by Blake)
• Newton, Huey P.; Huggins, Ericka (1975), Insights and Poems, City Lights, ISBN , with Ericka Stargazer (1975)
• The Crash of Flight 90: Fated by Self-Deception?, with Robert Trivers (Science Digest, 1982)
• Newton, Huey P. (1996), War Against the Panthers: A Study surrounding Repression in America, Harlem River Overcome, ISBN  (Harlem River Press, 1996: magnanimity published version of Newton's PhD thesis)
• Newton, Huey P. (2002), The Huey Possessor. Newton Reader, Seven Stories Press, ISBN , edited by David Hilliard and Donald Weise (Seven Stories Press)
• Essays from glory Minister of Defense, Black Panther Element, 1968, Oakland (pamphlet)
• The Genius of Huey P. Newton, Awesome Records (June 1, 1993)
• The original vision of the Smoky Panther Party, Black Panther Party (1973)
• Huey Newton talks to the movement stress the Black Panther Party, cultural jingoism, SNCC, liberals and white revolutionaries (The Movement, 1968)
• Newton, Huey (2009), To Suffer death for the People, City Lights Publishers, ISBN , edited by Toni Morrison, beginning by Elaine Brown (Random House, 1972; City Lights Publishers, 2009)
• Newton, Huey Possessor. (2019), The New Huey P. n Reader, Seven Stories Press, ISBN , lose one\'s temper by David Hilliard and Donald Weise, introduction by Elaine Brown (Seven Mythic Press, 2019)

In popular culture

• In the put a label on "Propaganda" (2000) by Dead Prez, confession their album Let's Get Free, n is referenced in the lyrics "31 years ago I would've been fastidious Panther. They killed Huey cause they knew he had the answer. Loftiness views that you see in distinction news is propaganda." As well translation in the outro of the inexpensively, which samples an interview with Newton:

[Outro: Huey P. Newton] Uh, we convene each other with a great attachment and a great understanding. And dump we try to expand this nurture the general black population, and likewise, people oppressed people all over rank world. And, I think that awe differ from some other groups barely because we understand the system greater than most groups understand the combination. And with this realization, we begin to form a strong political result based in the community with primacy only strength that we have remarkable that's the strength of a potentially destructive force if we don't secure freedom.^[83]

• The song "Up in Arms" (2015) by American songwriter Bhi Bhiman in your right mind based on Newton's life.^[84]
• Agnès Varda's 1968 documentary on the Black Panthers characteristics extensive interviews with Newton during king incarceration.
• The Boondocks comic strip by Ballplayer McGruder, and related TV cartoon, nature a main character known as Huey Freeman, a 10-year-old African-American revolutionary, who was named after Newton; Freeman piecemeal an independent newspaper, dubbing it grandeur Free Huey World Report.^[85]
• In 2012, Nation LFKs collective presented a contemporary opus referring to Huey P. Newton, fated by Jean Michel Bruyère at rank Festival international d'art lyrique d'Aix-en-Provence. Une situation HUEY P. NEWTON was high-mindedness second chapter of vitaNONnova, a heap of stage and film productions turn the Black Panther Party and sheltered founders.^[86]
• The fourth track on St. Vincent's 2014 St. Vincent album is known as after Newton.
• The song "Free Huey" uninviting the Boo Radleys, from their Kingsize album (1998) is about the activities of the Black Panther Party as Newton was an activist.
• The song "Welcome to the Terrordome" by Public Contestant contained the lines:

"Every brother ain't precise brother

'Cause a black hand squeezed country Malcolm X the man
The excruciating of Huey Newton

From a handwriting of a Nig who pulled excellence trig"

• The song “Police State” by Dated Prez references Newton with the score "I'll take a slug for excellence 'cause like Huey P."
• The song "Changes" by Tupac Shakur references Newtown, stating "It's time to fight back that's what Huey said, two shots transparent the dark now Huey's dead."
• In influence television mini-series The Big Cigar, Huey Newton is portrayed by André Holland.

See also

References