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Huey P
Huey P
Newton
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Huey P. Newton
Born
Died
Ethnicity
African-American
Citizenship
United States
Education
Alma mater
Occupation
Activist
Years active
196687
Known for
Notable work(s)
Revolutionary Suicide
Political party
Spouse(s)
Parents
Relatives
Brothers: Lee Edward Newton, Walter Newton, Melvin Newton Sisters: Myrtle Lee Newton, Leola Newton, Doris Newton
Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 August 22, 1989) was an African-American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. Newton had a long series of confrontations with law enforcement, including several convictions, even while he participated in political activism and pursued an education, eventually earning a Ph.D. in Social Science through The History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz.[2][3]
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography
1.1 Background
2 Founding of the Black Panther Party 3 Fatal shooting of John Frey 4 Allegations of violence 5 People's Temple 6 Writing and scholarship 7 Death
8 Popular culture 9 Works 10 See also 11 References 12 Sources 13 Further reading 14 External links
read the works ofKarl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Frantz Fanon, Malcolm X, Mao Zedong, and Che Guevara. It was during his time at Merritt College[4] that Newton and Bobby Seale organized the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in October 1966. Based on a casual conversation, Seale became Chairman and Newton became Minister of Defense.[9] The Black Panther Party was an African-American left-wing organization working for the right of selfdefense for African-Americans in the United States. The Party achieved national and international impact and renown through their deep involvement in the Black Power movement and in politics of the 1960s and 1970s.[10] Newton adopted what he termed "revolutionary humanism".[11] Although he had earlier visited Nation of Islam mosques, he wrote that "I have had enough of religion and could not bring myself to adopt another one. I needed a more concrete understanding of social conditions. References to God or Allah did not satisfy my stubborn thirst for answers."[12] Later, however, he stated that "As far as I am concerned, when all of the questions are not answered, when the extraordinary is not explained, when the unknown is not known, then there is room for God because the unexplained and the unknown is God."[13] But Newton later decided to join the Church after the party disbanded during his marriage to Fredrika.[14] Newton would frequent pool halls, campuses, bars and other locations deep in the Black community where people gathered, to organize and recruit for the Panthers. Newton wrote in his autobiography, "I tried to transform many of the so-called criminal activities going on in the street into something political, although this had to be done gradually." He attempted to channel these "daily activities for survival" into significant community actions. Eventually, however, the illicit activities of a few members would be superimposed on the social program work performed by the Panthers, and this mischaracterization would lose them support in both the white and black communities.[15][16] Newton and the Panthers started a number of social programs in Oakland, including founding the Oakland Community School, which provided high-level education to 150 children from impoverished urban neighborhoods. Other Panther programs included the Free Breakfast for Children Program and others that offered dances for teenagers and training in martial arts. According to Oakland County Supervisor John George: "Huey could take street-gang types and give them a social consciousness".[17] In 1982, Newton was accused of embezzling $600,000 of state aid to the Panther-founded Oakland Community School. In the wake of the embezzlement charges, Newton disbanded the Black Panther Party. After six years, the embezzlement charges were dropped in March 1989, after Newton pleaded no contest to a single allegation of cashing a $15,000 state check for personal use. Newton was sentenced to six months in jail and 18 months probation.[18]
Newton had been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for repeatedly stabbing another man, Odell Lee, with a steak knife in mid-1964. He served six months in prison[19] and by 2728 October 1967 he was out celebrating release from his probationary period. Just before dawn on 28 October, Newton and a friend were pulled over by Oakland Police Department officer John Frey. Realizing that he had stopped Black Panther leader Huey Newton, Frey called for backup. After fellow officer Herbert Heanes arrived, shots were fired, and all three were wounded.[20] Heanes testified that the shooting began after Newton was under arrest, and one witness testified that Newton shot Frey with Frey's own gun as they wrestled.[21][22] No gun on either Frey or Newton was found.[22] Newton stated that Frey shot him first, which made him lose consciousness during the incident.[23] Frey was shot four times and died within the hour, while Heanes was left in serious condition with three bullet wounds. With a bullet wound to the abdomen, Black Panther David Hilliard took Newton to Kaiser Hospital in Oakland. He was admitted, but was soon handcuffed to his bed and arrested for Frey's killing.[8] Newton was convicted in September 1968 of voluntary manslaughter for the killing of Frey and was sentenced to 2 to 15 years in prison. In May 1970, the California Appellate Court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial. After two subsequent mistrials, the Alameda County Superior Court dismissed the charges after the district attorney said he would not pursue a fourth trial.[24] In his autobiography, Revolutionary Suicide, Newton wrote that Heanes and Frey were opposite each other and shooting in each other's direction during the shootout. In his book Shadow of the Panther, writer Hugh Pearson alleges that Newton, while intoxicated in the hours before he was shot and killed, claimed to have willfully killed John Frey.[25] Although this claim has been repeated elsewhere based on Pearson's account,[26] the allegation remains contentious, and has not been corroborated by others.[27]
In October 1977 three Black Panthers attempted to assassinate Crystal Gray, a key prosecution witness in Newton's upcoming trial who had been present the day of Kathleen Smiths murder. Unbeknownst to the assailants, they attacked the wrong house and the occupant returned fire. During the shootout one of the Panthers, Louis Johnson, was killed and the other two assailants escaped.[32] One of the two surviving assassins, Flores Forbes, fled to Las Vegas, Nevada, with the help of Panther paramedic Nelson Malloy. Fearing that Malloy would discover the truth behind the botched assassination attempt, Newton allegedly ordered a house cleaning, and Malloy was shot and buried alive in the desert. Although permanently paralyzed from the waist down, Malloy recovered from the assault and told police that fellow Panthers Rollin Reid and Allen Lewis were behind his attempted murder.[33] Newton denied any involvement or knowledge and said the events might have been the result of overzealous party members.[28] During Newton's trial for assaulting Preston Callins, Callins changed his testimony several times and eventually told the jury that he did not know who assaulted him. Newton was acquitted of the assault in September 1978, but was convicted on two counts of illegal firearms possession. After two trials and two deadlocked juries, the prosecution decided not to retry Newton for Smiths murder.[34]
Relations between Newton and factions within the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) had been strained for nearly two decades. Former Black Panther members who became BGF members in prison had become disenchanted with Newton for his perceived abandonment of imprisoned Black Panther members and allegations of Newton's fratricide within the party.[40] On August 22, 1989, Newton was fatally shot in West Oakland by 24-year-old BGF member and drug dealer Tyrone Robinson shortly after Newton left a crack house.[38][41] Robinson was convicted of the murder in 1991 and sentenced to 32 years in prison for the crime.[42] Robinson said that Newton pulled a gun when the two met at a street corner in the neighborhood, but the police found no evidence that Newton was armed. The murder occurred in a neighborhood where Newton, as minister of defense for the Black Panthers, once organized social programs that helped destitute African Americans, such as feeding poor, young children in the community before they headed off to school. Newton's last words, as he stood facing his killer, were, "You can kill my body, and you can take my life but you can never kill my soul. My soul will live forever!" He was then shot two times in the face by Robinson. [31] He was interred at Evergreen Cemetery in Oakland.[43]
Huey Newton Speaks oral history by Huey P. Newton (Paredon Records, 1970) Huey!: Listen Whitey! protest songs/spoken word by Huey P. Newton; produced by American Documentary Films; released by Folkways Records (1972)
To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton Toni Morrison (Editor) (Random House, 1972) Revolutionary Suicide with J. Herman Blake (Random House, 1973; republished in 1995 with introduction by Blake)
Insights and Poems by Huey P. Newton, Ericka Huggins 1975) War Against the Panthers: A Study of Repression in America by Huey P. Newton (Harlem River Press, 1996: the published version of Newton's PhD thesis)
The Huey P. Newton Reader David Hilliard and Donald Weise (Editors) (Seven Stories Press, 2002) Essays from the Minister of Defense by Huey P Newton, Black Panther Party, 1968, Oakland (Pamphlet) The Genius of Huey P. Newton by Huey P. Newton, Awesome Records (June 1, 1993) The original vision of the Black Panther Party by Huey P Newton, Black Panther Party (1973) Huey Newton talks to the movement about the Black Panther Party, cultural nationalism, SNCC, liberals and white revolutionaries by Huey P Newton
Huey Spirit of the Panther by David Hillard with Keith and Kent Zimmerman (Thunder's Mouth Press) To Die for the People by Huey Newton (City Lights Publishers, 2009)
Angela Davis COINTELPRO George Jackson New Left People v. Newton Soledad Brothers White Panther Party
Abu-Jamal, Mumia (2008). We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party. South
2.
Jump up^ Stein, Mark A.; Basheda, Valarie (August 22, 1989). "Huey Newton Found Shot to Death on Oakland Street: Black Panthers Founder Killed in High Drug Area". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2013.
3. 4.
from the original on June 17, 2011. 5. Jump up^ Gates, Anita (February 13, 2002). "An American Panther, In His Own Words". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 6. Jump up^ Jones, Jackie (February 17, 2009). "Black History Month Faces and Places: Huey P. Newton".BlackAmericaWeb.com. 7. 8. 9. Jump up^ Smith, Roger Guenveur. "A Huey P. Newton Story Huey Bio". Retrieved August 5, 2012. ^ Jump up to:
a b
Hillard, David (2006). Huey: Spirit of the Panther. Thunder's Mouth Press.
Jump up^ Seale (15 November 1996). Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton. Black Classic Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-933121-30-0. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
10. Jump up^ Stephen, Curtis (Sept/Oct 2006). "Life of A Party". Crisis 113(5): 3037. 11. Jump up^ Stephen C. Finley, Torin Alexander (2009). African American Religious Cultures. ISBN 978-157607-470-1. 12. Jump up^ Judson L. Jeffries (2006). Huey P. Newton: The Radical Theorist. ISBN 978-1-57806-877-7. 13. Jump up^ Newton, Huey P.; David Hilliard, Donald Weise (2002). The Huey P. Newton Reader. ISBN 9781-58322-467-0. 14. Jump up^ Hillard, David (2006). Huey: Spirit of the Panther. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 277. ISBN 978-1-56025-897-1. 15. Jump up^ Austin, Curtis (2006). Up Against the Wall. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. p. 150. 16. Jump up^ Newton, Huey P (2009). Revolutionary Suicide. Penguin. pp. 1718. 17. Jump up^ "Nation: The Odyssey of Huey Newton". Time. November 13, 1978. 18. Jump up^ Stein, Mark A.; Basheda, Valarie (August 22, 1989). "Huey Newton Found Shot to Death on Oakland Street: Black Panthers Founder Killed in High Drug Area". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 26, 2013. 19. Jump up^ Pearson 1994, p. 68. 20. Jump up^ Pearson 1994, pp. 145147. 21. Jump up^ "Witness Says Newton Shot Policeman". New York Times. August 8, 1968. 22. ^ Jump up to:
a b
"State Opens Case of Black Panther". New York Times. August 6, 1968.
23. Jump up^ Newton, Huey P.; David Hilliard, Donald Weise (2002). ""Crisis: October 28, 1967" and "Trial"". The Huey P. Newton Reader. ISBN 978-1-58322-467-0.
24. Jump up^ December 15, 1971. "Case Against Newton Dropped". The Dispatch (Lexington, North Carolina) via UPI. Retrieved August 5, 2012. 25. Jump up^ Pearson 1994, pp. 7, 221. 26. Jump up^ Kane, Gregory (Mar 15, 1997). "Killer raises some troubling questions we need to hear". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 14 February 2013. 27. Jump up^ Jones, ed. by Charles E. (1998). The Black Panther party (reconsidered). Baltimore: Black Classic Press. p. 11.ISBN 0933121962. 28. ^ Jump up to:
a b
29. Jump up^ Pearson 1994, p. 265. 30. Jump up^ Wilbur C. Rich (2007). African American Perspectives on Political Science. Temple University Press. p.
[page needed] a b
.ISBN 978-1-59213-109-9.
32. Jump up^ "Gunmen Try To Kill Witness Against Black Panther Leader".The Leader-Post. October 25, 1977. 33. Jump up^ Turner, Wallace (December 14, 1977). "Coast Inquiries Pick Panthers As Target; Murder, Attempted Murders and Financing of Poverty Programs Under Oakland Investigation". New York Times. 34. Jump up^ "Huey Newton Wins In Retrial". Milwaukee Journal. AP. September 28, 1979. Retrieved August 5, 2012. 35. Jump up^ Reiterman, Tim, Tom Reiterman, and John Jacobs (1982).Raven: The Untold Story of Reverend Jim Jones and His People. Dutton. p. 284. ISBN 0-525-24136-1. 36. ^ Jump up to:
a b
Reiterman, Tim, Tom Reiterman, and John Jacobs (1982). Raven: The Untold Story of
Reverend Jim Jones and His People. Dutton. p. 369. ISBN 0-525-24136-1. 37. Jump up^ Trivers, R. L. & Newton, H. P. (November 1982). "The crash of flight 90: doomed by selfdeception". Science Digest. 38. ^ Jump up to:
a b
"Suspect Admits Shooting Newton, Police Say". Associated Press in New York Times.
August 27, 1989. Retrieved 2008-05-12. "The police said late Friday that an admitted drug dealer had acknowledged killing Huey P. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party." 39. Jump up^ Newton, Huey P. (June 1, 1980). War Against The Panthers: A Study Of Repression In America. University of California, Santa Cruz. 40. Jump up^ Pearson 1994, p. 6. 41. Jump up^ "Newton Death Suspect Linked to Drug World". Durant (OK) Daily Democrat. AP. August 27, 1989. p. 7. Retrieved February 1, 2011. 42. Jump up^ "Newton's Killer Gets 32 Years to Life". Los Angeles Times. December 5, 1991. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
43. Jump up^ Pearson 1994, p. 325. 44. Jump up^ Lazerow, Jama; Yohuru R. Williams (2006). In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement. Duke University: Duke University Press. p. 9.ISBN 0-82233890-4. 45. Jump up^ Datcher, Michael (October 2003). "Free Huey: Aaron McGruder's Outer Child is Taking on America". Crisis. pp. 4143. 46. Jump up^ "Awards for A Huey P. Newton Story". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
Pearson, Hugh (1994). In the Shadow of the Panther: Huey Newton and the Price of Black Power in America. Perseus Books. ISBN 978-0-201-48341-3.[unreliable source?]
"People of the state of California, plaintiff & respondent, vs. Huey P. Newton, defendant and appellant: Appellant's opening brief" (ERIC reports)
Obituary in the New York Times by Dennis Hevesi, (August 23, 1989). "Huey Newton Symbolized the Rising Black Anger of a Generation"
Civil Rights Greensboro: Huey P. Newton Video interview on African American History Channel Online audiorecordings and video of Huey Newton via UC Berkeley Black Panther site 1968 interview with Newton Newton Discography on Folkways A Huey P. Newton Story, Official Film Site A Huey P. Newton Story, directed by Spike Lee, as shown on PBS Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation
Black Panther Tours Huey P. Newton's doctoral dissertation The Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements: Speech given by Huey Newton "Huey P. Newton". Find a Grave. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
[hide]
Founders
Other members
Richard Aoki
Charles Barron
Elaine Brown
Stokely Carmichael
Bunchy Carter
Eldridge Cleaver
Donald Cox
Angela Davis
James Forman
Billy Garland
David Hilliard
Ericka Huggins
John Huggins
George Jackson
Jamal Joseph
Chaka Khan
Pete O'Neal
Malik Rahim
Nile Rodgers
Bobby Rush
Afeni Shakur
Members convicted of murder
Mumia Abu-Jamal
H. Rap Brown
Warren Kimbro
Members killed by police
Lonnie McLucas
Geronimo Pratt
Fred Hampton
Bobby Hutton
Influences
Maoism
Communism
Frantz Fanon
Black Power
Related articles
COINTELPRO
Panther (1995)
Authority control
Categories:
WorldCat
VIAF: 92279351
LCCN: n50006006
GND: 119514605
1942 births 1989 deaths 1989 murders in the United States 20th-century African-American activists African-American philosophers African Americans' rights activists
American humanists American philosophers American sociologists Members of the Black Panther Party Burials at Evergreen Cemetery (Oakland, California) COINTELPRO targets Deaths by firearm in California People murdered by African-American organized crime Murdered African-American people People from Monroe, Louisiana People murdered in California People from Oakland, California Maoist theorists African-American history in Oakland, California American revolutionaries American socialists American murder v