Porter - A Rainbow in Black, The Gay Politics of The Black Panther Party

Peter Lang AG
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: A Rainbow in Black: The Gay Politics of the Black Panther Party
Author(s): Ronald K. Porter
Source: Counterpoints, Vol. 367, SEXUALITIES IN EDUCATION: A READER (2012), pp. 364-
375
Published by: Peter Lang AG
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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
A Rainbow in Black
The Gay Politics of the Black Panther Party
Ronald K. Porter
We may not have been able to talk about gendered racism; "sexuality" may have still meant sex-
iness; homophobia, as a word, may not yet have existed; but our practice, I can say in retrospect,
was located on a continuum that groped and zigzagged its way toward this moment of deliber-
ation on the pitfalls of nationalism and essentialism.
- Davis, 1998, p. 291
In August 1970 Black Panther Party (BPP) cofounder and leader Huey P. Newton published a l
ter in the party newspaper, The Black Panther, that has since been celebrated as an essential writi
on gay and lesbian liberation.1 In "A Letter from Huey to the Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters
About the Womens Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements," Newton acknowledged tha
homosexuals constitute an oppressed group. He urged BPP members to recognize the legitimacy of
the Gay Liberation Movement by, for instance, removing derogatory terms against homosexuals fro
their vocabulary. In statements that illuminated the social status of homosexual persons and artic-
ulated a working theory of homophobia, Newton argued that those in the Black Panther Party sho
transcend a "revolutionary value system" that worked to oppress homosexuals, and that men shou
be willing to discuss how their hatred of homosexuals stems from their own insecurity and fear o
possibly being identified as homosexual. Newton declared, "We haven't said much about the homo-
sexual at all but we must relate to the homosexual movement because it s a real thing. I kno
through reading, and through my life experience, my observations, that homosexuals are not give
freedom and liberty by anyone in the society. Maybe they might be the most oppressed people in th
society" (p. 5).
Curiously, Newtons letter has since been simultaneously overlooked and celebrated. Whil
scholars in the areas of African American studies and BPP history have written on topics such as
the formation and history of the Black Panther Party (Jones ôcjeffries, 1998; Self, 2006; Sing, 19
2004; Smith, 1999), the party s survival programs (Abron, 1998), the Oakland Community Sch
A RAINBOW IN BLACK | 365
(Huggins &LeBlanc- Ernest, 2009), the political repression of the party (Churchill, 2001; Churchill
& Wall, 2002; Jones, 1988; Newton, 1996), and the role of women in the party (K.N. Cleaver, 2001;
Jennings, 1998; LeBlanc-Ernest, 1998; Matthews, 1998; Williams, 2006), Newtons letter - and the
resulting conversations and Revolutionary Peoples Constitutional Convention of 1970 - have
received scant attention. In addition, although there has been increasing interest in the role of
women in the Black Panther Party over the past twenty years, very few scholars have written on the
multiple forms of masculinity found in the party or the issue of sexuality (Estes, 2005).
Newton s letter has been partially examined in intellectual circles that focus on lesbian, gay, bisex-
ual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social movements and black LGBTQhistory. Scholars and
activists in these areas invoke the letter not only because of its concern with coalition building
among blacks, gays, lesbians, women, and others but also because it has been identified as a pioneer-
ing pro-gay statement made by a black political organization (Deitcher, 1995; Grau, n.d.; Teal, 1995).
In the words of scholars Carbado, McBride, and Weise (2002):
Never before had a black civil rights group recognized lesbians and gay men as an oppressed population. . .fac-
ing a struggle for acceptance and equality comparable to that of African Americans. For the first time in
the movement's history, blacks sought political coalitions with gay activists based on their similar oppres-
sion. (pp. 113-114)
However, while scholars focusing on gay history and social movements have mentioned the Newton
letter, they have only done so in passing. The relative dearth of information on this text within black
studies circles and the passing glance by LGBTQhistorians unfortunately works to obscure not only
the historical and theoretical tensions that led to the letter s creation and the response from the
Panthers themselves, but also the pedagogical implications of this story. In other words, the story of
how Newton and some Panther members critiqued status quo homophobia raises questions regard-
ing how social movements operate as educative spaces, in which participants develop new understand-
ings of their social conditions and new tactics of agitation.
This article takes the Huey P. Newton letter, and the historical/intellectual climate in which it
was written, as a useful point of departure to illuminate how the Black Panther Party leadership
approached the issue of homosexuality. The letter was written at a critical juncture in the history of
multiple liberation movements. In the words of political activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis, "If I
recall that moment what strikes me most in hindsight is that there was a certain kind of attentive-
ness to what we might today call intersectionality" (personal communication, September 8, 2010).
To be sure, some in the BPP leadership made an indelible contribution to the LGBTQmovement
by considering both the nature and elimination of gay and lesbian oppression. As Rawley Grau (n.d.)
points out, the letter was a major breakthrough for the emerging Gay Liberation Movement, which
sought to form alliances with progressive and leftist groups following the 1969 Stonewall Riots. The
Panther letter appeared to be a welcome mat in the midst of "New Left groups [who] were usually
no less homophobic than the rest of the country" (para. 1). Newtons stance on gay liberation repre-
sents both a criticism of and departure from the hegemonic heterosexism and homophobia that
plagued both the Black Power and Black Nationalist Movements. In addition, his intervention
illustrates how social movements can operate with a pedagogical force - via ideological reflection and
coalition building - that offers everyone a richer notion of humanity that directly challenges dehu-
manization in all its forms. In order for some in the Black Panther Party to take up the issue of gay
and lesbian oppression, a general openness to the issue had to exist within the ideological framework
366 I SECTION 8- SEXUALITIES ORGANIZING, ACTIVISM, AND EDUCATION
of the party, and complex coalitions had to be established and maintained between members of the
party and persons who were involved in the burgeoning Gay Liberation Movement.
The Black Panther Party: A Historical Context
Born of the turbulent political climate of the late 1960s, the Black Panther Party developed as a direct
response to the oppression faced by blacks in Oakland, California. Founding members Huey P.
Newton (1995) and Bobby Seale were frustrated with the intellectual posturing of other black polit-
ical groups that they felt were not truly attentive to the plight of all black persons (pp. 108-109).
According to Newton and Seale, victories in civil rights legislation did not appear to directly affect
the lives of black people living in the inner city. Newton and Seale wanted an organization imbued
in actions that sought to meet the specific needs of black people. In 1966, Newton and Seale draft-
ed the "Black Panther Party Platform and Program." Also known as the Ten Point Program, the doc-
ument outlined the specific needs of all black people at the time, ending with a summation
emphasizing, "We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice and peace." The BPP ini-
tiated this program by establishing police patrols in accordance with party platform number seven,
which stated, "We want an immediate end to POLICE BRUTALITY and MURDER of black peo-
ple." The Panthers argued that the police patrols were a form of self-defense to defend the "black com-
munity from racist police oppression and brutality" ("October 1966 Black Panther Party Platform
and Program," 1968, p. 23). However, members of the Black Panther Party also felt a new form of
self-actualization through the taking up of arms in order to defend themselves and their communi-
ties. As Newton (1995) emphasized, "With weapons in our hands, we were no longer their [the
police s] subjects but their equals" (p. 120). Panthers on patrol carried guns but were also well versed
in the law and surveilled the police while remaining completely within the sphere of their rights as
citizens.
The Black Panther Party stepped onto the national and international scene as a result of two
events. The first occurred in May 1967 at the California State Capitol. The Panthers arrived at the
Capitol carrying arms to protest the Mulford Act, a bill directed at stopping their police surveillance
program. The protest failed to prevent the passage of the Mulford Act, but media outlets broadcast-
ed images of black men carrying guns to a national audience (Newton, 1995, pp. 150-151). The New
York Times reported that the group of armed "anti-white" Negroes clad in "black or dark blue berets
with bandoliers of shells draped across their shoulders" had invaded the Sacramento legislature
("Armed Negros Protest Gun Bill," 1967). The imagery and language invoked at this event - includ-
ing the use of guns, hypermasculine and highly heterosexualized men in militaristic uniforms, and
supportive black women - worked to assert a politics of blackness through the archetype of hetero-
patriarchal masculinity. As Elaine Brown (1992), later Chairman of the Black Panther Party, observed
during her early involvement in the party, "Guns were the natural accessory of the new black mili-
tants, who were determined to claim their manhood 'by any means necessary'" (p. 107). The move
made in Sacramento, the assertion of a politics via one s manhood, should not be too surprising (Freire,
2003, pp. 45-46). Black Nationalist and cultural movements occurring during the Black Power era
sought to assert ideals that equated political freedom with the assertion of heterosexual and patriar-
chal masculinity. Nevertheless, in order to even consider the plight of any homosexual population,
some members of the Black Panther Party would have to work to transcend this model that equat-
ed political action with hypermaleness.
The second event occurred in October 1967, when Huey P. Newton, then BPP Minister of
Defense, was arrested and faced capital charges for the killing of Officer John Frey. This incident
sparked a highly publicized and international "Free Huey" campaign, which not only further increased
Panther membership but also moved the Black Panther Party in the years that followed to build coali-
tions with other leftist political organizations and individuals, including gay French writer and
activist Jean Genet. These developments are critical to an understanding of the Newton letter,
because as the Panthers began to gain more exposure and broaden their political base, members of
the group also began consider the relevance of other movements. As a result of their growing expo-
sure, the BPP shifted from strictly adhering to a nationalist ideology to an internationalist ideolo-
gy. According to political activist and scholar George Katsiaficas (2001), "The platform and program
were written during the partys black nationalist phase. Still to come were three more phases in the
ideological evolution of the BPP: revolutionary nationalist, revolutionary internationalist, and inter-
communalist" (p. 144). These differences in ideology are highlighted by the changes in the BPP s
stance on various issues between the 1966 founding and the 1970 Revolutionary Peoples
Constitutional Convention. In 1966 the BPP advocated for an end to the robbery of the black com-
munity, while in 1970 they argued for the complete abolition of capitalism. In addition, in 1966 the
Panthers focused primarily on the rights of black people, and the Ten Point Program is marked by
highly masculine rhetoric (there are no fewer than fifteen uses of the words "man" or "men" in the
program). By 1970 the Panthers not only sought to produce an International Bill of Rights but also
replaced the term "man" with "people," and moved to support both the Women s and Gay Liberation
Movements (Katsiaficas, 2001, p. 152). Newton himself claimed that when the Black Panther Party
first started in 1966 they considered themselves to be a Black Nationalist organization. However, as
time passed, some Panther members began to realize that the concept of nationalism was flawed
(Erikson & Newton, 1973, pp. 27-28). This conclusion led to an expansion of the Black Panther
Partys activities beyond just the black community toward those striving for a unity of identity. As a
result, the Panthers began to identify with other oppressed peoples and to build networks of solidar-
ity with other political movements and organizations, such as the Gay Liberation Front. It is this inter-
national perspective, coupled with an evolving political ideology, that opened the space for the Black
Panther Party to publicly consider the revolutionary potential of gay and lesbian persons.
Black Nationalism, Masculinity, and the Controversial Cay Subject
In order to understand the process through which the Black Panther Party considered the revolu-
tionary implications of homosexuals as a group, one must begin by exploring the ideology of the broad-
er Black Nationalist Movement. Black Nationalism emerged as a critique of the integrationist
strategies of the Civil Rights Movement and advocated enhanced racial dignity, black economic con-
trol within communities, and an appreciation of black culture. The Black Nationalist mood, howev-
er, was set in masculine tones that disparaged both black women and other perceived threats to black
manhood. Davis (2004) worked for the Los Angeles Chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee (SNCC) in 1968. "All the myths about black women surfaced," Davis recalled. "We were
trying to control everything, including the men - which meant by extension that we wanted to rob
them of their manhood" (p. 181). Women in power were, according to Davis, viewed as "aiding and
abetting the enemy, who wanted to see black men weak and unable to hold their own" (p. 181). Scholar
E. Frances White (2001) elaborates on Davis s claim by arguing that Black Nationalism worked as
a politically charged double-edged sword. On the one hand Black Nationalism operated as an oppo-
sitional movement that actively critiqued white supremacy. On the other hand, White argues, this
critique was often performed through the construction of conservative "utopian" images of what it
means to be black. The construction of an African past and an authentic blackness often reinscribed
European and/or oppressive views of history and gender relations (pp. 117-120). Although Black
Nationalism purported to do the work of reconstructing black humanity and masculinity, it did so
in a constrictive way that upheld conservative notions of familial and gender roles.
Due to the movement s emphasis on the importance of the maintenance of one s manhood, espe-
cially in terms of providing for the community and the nation, the homosexual - and especially the
black homosexual - remained the ultimate threat within the context of Black Nationalism. In 1968,
when the Black Nationalist Movement was at its apex, Eldridge Cleaver (1991), who was the
Minister of Information for the Black Panther Party, wrote an essay entitled "Notes on a Native Son,"
which appeared in his book Soul on Ice . Written as a critique of author James Baldwin, Cleaver argued
passionately that Baldwin possessed a reverence for white people, while at the same time participat-
ing in "the most grueling, agonizing, total hatred of . . . blacks" (p. 124). According to Cleavers think-
ing, the black homosexual is a being whose masculinity has been destroyed and whose manhood has
been "castrated" by the white man (p. 128). Revealing his true thoughts on the nature of homosex-
uality, Cleaver stated, "Homosexuality is a sickness, just as are baby-rape or wanting to become head
of General Motors" (p. 136). This marginalization of gay black men within the context of Black
Nationalism highlights not only a lingering heterosexism but also contradictory thoughts regarding
masculinity and gender roles existing within the Black Panther Party itself.
In the preceding statements we see three continual themes regarding Black Nationalism, gen-
der relations, and homosexuality. First, race is defined in such a way that those who are identified as
feminists, lesbians, or gay men are excluded from the category of being black. Second, homosexual-
ity is associated with whiteness, and the homosexual is a pathological subject in terms of authentic
blackness. Third, the black homosexual is perpetually weak because he is intrinsically linked to the
idea of assimilation. It is important to keep in mind how the creation of the Newton letter and dis-
cussions concerning homosexuality acted as a departure from the regulatory politics of Black
Nationalism occurring both within and beyond the Black Panther Party. It is to this complex
approach to homosexuality and the historical climate that created the Newton letter that we will now
turn.
Huey P. Newton's Critique and the Revolutionary People's Constitutional

Convention of 1 970
Forces acting both within and beyond the party would move Newton and members of the BPP lead-
ership to take a concrete stance on the issue of gay liberation.2 Prior to the emergence of the Gay
Liberation Movement and despite Cleavers homophobic rhetoric, James Baldwin influenced many
members of the Black Panther Party, including Newton. According to Davis, Baldwin proved influ-
ential due to his openness regarding his sexuality, a posturing that prefigured the Gay Liberation
Movement and thus demanded the need for coalition-building tactics that transcended one s racial
identity (personal communication, September 8, 2010). In 1969 a group of gay men and transsexu-
als of color protested in New Yorks Greenwich Village in response to police harassment ("4 Policemen
Hurt in Village Raid," 1969, p. 33). This event, known as the Stonewall Riots, instigated the Gay
Liberation Movement and brought the issue of gay oppression to national, and BPP, attention. The
following year, French writer, activist, and homosexual Jean Genet entered the United States to advo-
cate for imprisoned members of the BPP, including Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale (E. White,
1993, pp. 521-522).
Like Baldwin, Genet s presence would prove influential in bringing the politics of homosexual-
ity to the attention of the Panthers. On the evening of his initial meeting with the Panthers in the
United States, Genet went into a bathroom at a hotel where he was staying with BPP Chief of Staff
David Hilliard and New York Deputy Information Officer Zayd Shakur to change for the night. He
emerged wearing a red silk kimono, which Hilliard immediately interpreted as being a lady s neg-
ligee. Genet, insulted by the repeated use of homophobic language by the BPP, then began to
scream in French and knock over objects in the room (Sandarg, n.d., p. 57). Davis insists that
Genet s actions that evening forced a conversation with the Panthers on the issue of the fluidity of
sexuality (Davis ôcHuggins, 2006; E. White, 1993, p. 529). According to Sandarg, following the inci-
dent the Panthers began to offer political education classes on homophobia. Hilliard recalls, "Genet
became our educator; he enlightened us and humanized us" (as cited in Sandarg, n.d., p. 58). Genet
later asserted that the Panthers sought him out specifically to inform them on the issue of homo-
sexuality following a surge of gay activism "because it was a subject they didn't understand very well."
Genet continued, "I sent David [Hilliard] a letter in which I explained to him that, like the color of
one s skin, homosexuality was a matter of fate; that it did not depend on us to be or not to be homo-
sexuals" (Démeron, 1972, p. 100). Reports on these events, including Genet s continuous agitation
over Panther rhetoric referring to adversaries as "faggots" and "punks," would have a profound influ-
ence on imprisoned Panther leader Huey P. Newton (E. White, 1993, p. 527).
Newton was released from prison in August of 1970. That same month he wrote and published
"A Letter from Huey to the Revolutionary Brothers and Sisters About the Women s Liberation and
Gay Liberation Movements." The letter appeared in the BPP paper, The Black Panther, on August
21. In the article Newton acknowledged that women and homosexuals constitute an oppressed
group and that there was a need for both the recognition of the Gay Liberation Movement and the
purging of derogatory terms against homosexuals from activist vocabulary. He began by arguing that
members of the party should move beyond "personal opinions" and "insecurities" in order to build
coalitions with the Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements. Newton was fearful of the
Black Panther Party reproducing systems of oppression, what he called a "racist type attitude like the
White racists use against people because they are black and poor," to further marginalize homosex-
uals and women (p. 5). He spoke specifically on what he perceived to be the source of patriarchy and
homophobia, arguing that women and homosexuals are feared because insecure men perceive that
women wish to emasculate them, and that men "want to hit the homosexual in the mouth because
we re afraid we might be homosexual" (p. 5).
Focusing on arguments over what makes an individual a homosexual, Newton insisted that he
could not provide answers to that question. He stated, "Some people say it s the decadence of capi-
talism. I don t know whether this is the case; I rather doubt it. But whatever the case is, we know that
homosexuality is a fact that exists, and we must understand it in its purest form: That is, a person
should have freedom to use his body in whatever way he wants to" (p. 5). Newton then went on to
say that while the Panthers should support the Gay Liberation Movement, they should not be
averse to criticizing actions taken by gay individuals and groups that were antirevolutionary. Due to
the evolution of BPP political ideology, Newton understood that it would be critical to build coali-
tions between the Black Panther Party and the emergent gay Liberation Movement. Contrary to state-
ments made by Black Nationalists, Newton did not assert that homosexuality in and of itself was coun-
terrevolutionary. In fact, he emphasized that a homosexual could in fact possibly be the "most revo-
lutionary" member of a movement. Speaking directly on the need to illuminate the insecurities that
result in the disparagement of homosexuals, Newton argued:
We should be willing to discuss the insecurities that many people have about homosexuality. When I say
"insecurities," I mean the fear that they're some kind of threat to our manhood. I can understand this fear.
Because of the long conditioning process which builds insecurity in the American male, homosexuality might
produce certain hang ups in us. I have hang ups myself about male homosexuality. Where, on the other hand,
I have no hang up about female homosexuality. And that s phenomena in itself. I think it's possibly because
male homosexuality is a threat to me, maybe, and the females are no threat, (p. 5)
While the article did make very bold statements regarding gay oppression, it only referenced homo-
sexuality occurring outside of the Black Panther Party Nevertheless, Newton (1970) did take Genet s
frustrations to heart, proclaiming, "The terms 'faggoť and punk' should be deleted from our vocab-
ulary, and especially we should not attach names normally designed for homosexuals to men who are
enemies of the people, such as Nixon or Mitchell" (p. 5). In addition, he continued to argue that rev-
olutionary activists should not isolate the Women's and Gay Liberation Movements. In discussions
that took place at Yale University with Erik H. Erikson in 1971, Newton asserted:
We think it is very important to relate and understand the causes of the oppression of women and gay peo-
ple. We can see that there are contradictions between the sexes and between homosexuals and heterosex-
uals, but we believe that these contradictions should be resolved within the community. Too often, so-called
revolutionary vanguards have tried to resolve these contradictions by isolating women and gay people, and,
of course, this only means that the revolutionary groups have cut themselves off from one of the most pow-
erful and important forces among the people. (Erikson & Newton, 1973, p. 43)
Newton s proclamation, however, was not met without criticism. Ericka Huggins, BPP member and
Director of the Oakland School Community Project, reports that while there was an internal back-
lash against the letter, Newtons intervention led to teach-ins within the party on the issue of homo-
sexuality While specific information on the content of the political education classes on homosexuality
remains sparse, Huggins notes that they certainly provided an open space for party members to share
their thoughts on the issue. Huggins adds, "The women really did not have a problem with it, but
the men were not down. One man said to me something like, 'I cant believe Huey wrote that. I'm
not getting fucked in the ass/ not realizing the memo highlighted social change, not a change in one s
sexuality" (personal communication, April 24, 2009). These teach-ins would be pivotal in the
Panthers' approach to the issue of homosexuality during the 1970 Revolutionary Peoples
Constitutional Convention. However, the FBI would use the rifts in the BPP concerning homosex-
uality in order to create divisions within the BPP. According to Sandarg, the following letter was sent
to David Hilliard from the San Francisco Federal Bureau of Investigation office:
Mr. David Hilliard,

I seen by last week paper that now the Panthers are supposed to relate to c
must have happened to him in prison. Panthers got enough things to do in the Ten Poin
ing for niggers without taking up with m
All Power to the People, (p. 58)^
While this letter from the FBI was generated to establish derision within the party, it does indeed
reflect the sentiments of many members of the Black Panther Party. However, Huggins and Davis
argue that Newtons letter was meant to operate as a pedagogical tool that would initiate conversa-
tions within the party about homosexuality and that such responses were a natural part of the
process in the growth of the Panthers' ideology (Davis, 1998, p. 292; Newton, 1973/2002). In addi-
tion, Newtons words were taken seriously within the Gay Liberation Movement itself. Following an
increase in police harassment of gays in Manhattan, members of homosexual organizations convened
a news conference to publicly protest police repression. An individual at the conference not only stat-
ed, "All power to gay people" (an adaptation of the Panther slogan, "Power to the People"), but mem-
bers also mentioned that Newton had requested that BPP members "try to form a working coalition
with the Gay Liberation and Womens Liberation Groups" (Fraser, 1970, p. 28).
A second article written by Newton in 1973 also suggested that his views about homosexuality
were evolving. In "Eldridge Cleaver: He is no James Baldwin," Newton criticized Cleaver for his
homophobia and sexism in "Notes on a Native Son." In a biting criticism that attempted to debunk
Cleaver s definitions of masculinity and manhood and which affirmed Baldwin and Genet s influ-
ence, Newton (1973/2002) asserted:
If only this failed revolutionist had realized and accepted the fact that there is some masculinity in every
female and some femininity in every male, perhaps his energies could have been put to better use than con-
stantly convincing himself that he is everyone's superstud. How confused and tortured he must be to equate
homosexuality, baby-rape, and the desire to become the head of General Motors. But Cleaver's imagina-
tion is not healthy. It is paranoid and self-condemning; it is consumed by a need to be female and white.
He is no Baldwin, no Genet, (p. 289)
Because this article was written in 1973, however, it must be examined within the context of the split
occurring in the BPP in 1971 over what methods to utilize in the struggle. It is well known that
Cleaver and Newton were bitter enemies during this period, and one can interpret this article as being
less about homosexuality and more about a lingering political rivalry. Yet, when asked about this arti-
cle, Huggins commented that Newtons statement exemplified the open attitude he had about issues
of sexuality since the founding of the BPP (personal communication, December 1, 2006). Both
Genet s reports and Newton s articles clearly illustrate that the Black Panther Party publicly took the
issue of homosexuality into account after 1969. While it can be argued that these debates only occurred
at the level of BPP leadership, an actual event confirmed that they did have concrete influence on
BPP political work.
In 1970 the Black Panther Party convened a special convention in Philadelphia with the pur-
pose of rewriting the U.S. Constitution. This convention, known as the Revolutionary Peoples
Constitutional Convention (RPCC), provided a clear example of how seriously the issue of gay
oppression was viewed by the Black Panther Party. The New York Times reported that 6,000 people,
half of them white, participated in the RPCC along with members of the Women's and Gay
Liberation Movements (Delaney, 1970b, p. 13). Katsiaficas (2001), who attended the convention,
reported that the event began with a crowd of gay people "chanting and clapping rhythmically: 'Gay,
gay power to the gay, gay people! Power to the People! Black, black power to the black, black peo-
ple! Gay, gay power to the gay, gay people! Power to the People!"' (p. 147). According to The Black
Panther> recommendations made at the RPCC included the need for proportional representation of
women and people of color in government, the replacement of prisons with "community rehabilita-
tion programs," an overhaul of the racist criminal justice system, and the provision of health care and
housing to all as a constitutional right. The Panther also asserted that, along with these provisions,
"Sexual self-determination for women and homosexuals was affirmed" (Rosemarie, 1970, p. 3).
The New York Times reported that the RPCC welcomed the participation of individuals from
diverse communities, which was a clear departure from the "racial separatism" promoted at meetings
held earlier that year by Black Nationalist organizations in Mobile, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia.
When questioned in a news conference on the inclusion of other liberation movements, Raymond
(Masai) Hewitt, BPP deputy Minister of Education, stated, "We feel a move on behalf of any
oppressed people is a move in the right direction' (as cited in Delaney, 1970a, p. 57). Zayd Shakur,
who had worked closely with Jean Genet, confirmed that recommendations "ranged from self-
determination to the end of repression of homosexuals
for one man to oppress another" (as cited in Johnson, 1970, p. 32). 4 D
a motion to reconvene the convention for ratification in Washington,
RPCC collapsed. The reasons behind the dissolution of the coalition
in dispute. According to Katsiaficas (2001), "Rather than allow the insu
tinue, Newton systematically undermined and blunted the revolutiona
multicultural alliance the Panthers had built as part of the Free Huey
argues that the actions taken by Newton were a move to centralize th
to prevent the continual political repression of the party (personal comm
Whatever the reason behind its undoing, the Revolutionary People s C
resented a moment in history when the Black Panther Party put its r
and worked direcdy alongside the Gay Liberation Movement for th
people.
The history of political social movements in America is riddled with convenient spaces left by
those who are not deemed respectable enough to enter into the traditional political and historical
canon. At its core, this is inherendy a pedagogical issue as often the experiences of marginalized indi-
viduals and groups are rendered invisible in both educational curricula and popular historical repre-
sentations. To be clear, this excavation of the history of the Newton letter is not indended to advocate
for a type of multicultural agenda where LGBTQ^histories are merely added on to American,
African American, Latino, Chicano, Women s, or Asian American history. Rather, my hope is that
the lessons learned from Newtons intervention and the Panther response can disturb many of our
commonsense understandings of American history, moving us to consider that it is impossible to
understand American history without understanding the contributions and struggles of a variety of
groups. As Davis (1998) insists, the relative invisibility of the Newton letter, as well as the questions
it raises around coalition building and the pedagogical implications of social movements, are direct-
ly linked to our own sense of historical legacy. "Such moments as these have been all but eradicated
in popular representations today of the black movement of the late sixties and early seventies,"
writes Davis. She continues, "Young people with nationalist' proclivities ought, at least, to have the
opportunity to choose which tradition of nationalism they will embrace. How will they position them-
selves en masse in defense of women's rights and in defense of gay rights if they are not aware of the
historical precedents for such positionings?" (p. 292). The excavation of homosexuality in the con-
text of the Black Panther Party reveals a whole host of characters and actions adding both breadth
and depth to the black and LGBTQexperience in America. The problems inherent in this issue also
illustrate for those blacks involved in struggle and/or celebration that black life has not been com-
prised solely of a homogenous and/or heterosexual body.
Scholars, educators, and activists can learn from the subtle critique of individualistic identity pol-
itics that was at play. For Newton and other members of the Black Panther Party, political action was
not so much about identifying struggles with particular bodies as it was about building movements
that could sustain action by allowing persons to come out of their own bodies and identify with oth-
ers. Davis adds, "That was an extremely important moment of promise that foreshadowed what might
become possible. One of the problems we have today is that we do not think beyond the body, or the
individual, and we assume that in order for something to be valuable to us we must have a direct expe-
rience" (personal communication, September 8, 2010). And while the letter may seem obscure, the
political debates we currently face regarding race and sexuality may make the letter more relevant now
than it was in 1970. As author Jewell Gomez writes, "The importance of Newtons statement lay not
in the groundswell of support that it failed to promote, but in its simple recognition that alliances
must be formed if social justice is to be attained" (as cited in Grau, n.d., p. 2). Perhaps we can use
Newtons intervention as a point of departure to not only talk about LGBTQhistories but also to
engage in dialogues in order to understand the complex connections between race and sexuality in
today s political climate. Every political organization and movement is wrought with contradiction.
Rather than disparage the movement, it is critical that we struggle with and analyze these complex-
ities in order to take the next steps. Looking back at this story one can see the obvious pitfalls of patri-
archy, heterosexism, and homophobia. It also reveals how one black political organization was willing
to take some strides to move beyond these debilitating factors.
Notes
1. In this article I will be using the terms "homosexual" and "gay" interchangeably due to the usage of both words
in Newton's letter and the use of both terms at the time the letter was written. Also, while Newton's letter does
take up the Women's Liberation Movement, my primary focus in this article will be his thoughts on gay lib-
eration.
2. Not all Panthers adopted the one-dimensional view of homosexuality espoused by Cleaver and others in the
Black Nationalist Movement. While there is very little specific information on homosexuals working within
the party, David Hilliard, BPP National Chief of Staff, has asserted:
There were gay operatives in the Black Panther Party working at the highest levels of leadership.
. . . Lesbian relationships were more acceptable in the party than homosexual relations between
men. But the uneasiness over gay men was expressed primarily by men, most of whom were inse-
cure with their own sexuality. Still, no one ever asked you to define your sexual orientation. We
didn't divide ourselves like that. First and foremost you were a Black Panther (as cited in Carbado,
McBride, Sc Weise, 2002, p. 113).
While Ericka Huggins has confirmed Hilliard's statement, a deeper exploration of the expe-
riences of lesbian and gay members of the Black Panther Party is beyond the scope of this study
(personal communication, December 1, 2006).
3. Robert Sandarg,/<?#« Genet in America (Huey P. Newton Papers, Stanford, CA, series 2 box 60) 58-59. Also
see Airtel from Special Agent in Charge, San Francisco, to Director, FBI, August 31, 1970. An airtel is an inter-
nal communication typed they same day it is received and forwarded by mail.
4. Unfortunately, Shakur's name, which is correcdy spelled Zayd, was incorrecdy spelled Zayed by Johnson.
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Porter - A Rainbow in Black, The Gay Politics of The Black Panther Party

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Porter - A Rainbow in Black, The Gay Politics of The Black Panther Party

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Peter Lang AG

The Black Panther Party: A Historical Context

Black Nationalism, Masculinity, and the Controversial Cay Subject

Huey P. Newton's Critique and the Revolutionary People's Constitutional

Mr. David Hilliard,

All Power to the People, (p. 58)^

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