Huey Newton
Newton struggled with education for most of his childhood and adolescent years. As he passed unsuccessfully through the public school systems, he felt as if teachers did little (or nothing) to try and make things relevant to his life, his experiences, and his being. The teachers made him feel “uncomfortable and ashamed” of being black. It wasn’t until after he graduated high school that he was able to fully read.
Newton took to crime as a means of escaping the harshness of reality. He was first arrested at age 14 for gun possession and vandalism. After he graduated high school, he used burglary as a means of paying for his education. He obtained an Associates of Arts Degree from Merritt College, and even later studied law at Oakland City College and San Francisco Law School. His diligent studies in law paved the way for a number of services and activism he would undertake as a member of the future Black Panther Party (Newton 23).
It was at college that Huey Newton became politicized, and conscious of the socio-economic problems facing not only blacks, but all working class peoples around the world. He joined the Afro-American Association and (once learning to read) studied the works of Frantz Fanon, Malcolm X, Chairman Mao Tse-tung, and Ernesto “Che” Guevara. After years of being influenced by a society that made him ashamed of whom he was; Newton understood the role of the “system” and its oppression of poor, working class African Americans. Upon realizing that Blacks in Oakland had no means of organizing or standing up for themselves, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale formed the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in 1966 (Huey P. Newton).
Newton realized the greatest problem was the excessive use of harassment and physical intimidation used by the police towards Blacks in Oakland. Newton used his knowledge of the California penal code and state laws regarding the possession of weapons to successfully arm Blacks in their own communities via informing them and utilizing their second amendment right (to bear arms) (Newton 53). The Black Panthers (under Newton’s guidance as Minister of Defense) successfully patrolled Black neighborhoods assuring that cops were not mistreating residents, advising African Americans of their rights, and even posting bail for those whom had been arrested.
Politically speaking, many make the mistake of assuming the Black Panther Party was a black supremacist group. This in fact is false, as can be observed in the Black Panther Party Platform and Program. The document was written by Newton and Seale and outlined their vision for armed revolution in America. The Black Panther Party (and specifically Newton) accredited much of their platform to Maoist influences. Maoism is a specific brand of communism that dictates a people’s guerilla war be waged against the capitalist bourgeois powers with strong elements of populism, nationalism, and radical economic policies.
Huey Newton’s plan of implementing communist revolution in the United States was brought to an abrupt end when he was accused of murdering an Oakland Police Officer in 1967. In 1968, Newton was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to two to fifteen years. However, in May 1970, the case was overturned due to technicalities, and Newton was released from prison (Huey P. Newton).
After his release from prison, Newton sought to reinvent the Black Panther Party. Instead of leading a Maoist revolutionary party; he decided to turn the Panthers into a community help program. The Panthers sponsored numerous community services such as a free breakfast program, sickle-cell anemia tests, free clothing and shoes, and the Samuel Napier Intercommunal Youth Instituted. However, many of these programs were being funded by income brought in through drug dealing and other illicit behavior (Newton 69).
Newton’s problems with the laws only persisted. In 1974, he was charged with several counts of assault, as well as the murder of a 17 year old prostitute. When Newton failed to make his court appearance, his bail was revoked and he was soon put on the FBI’s top tem most wanted list. Fearing that a fair trial would be an impossibility, he fled to Cuba in search of asylum. He spent three years in Cuba as a machinist and teacher, not returning to the U.S. until 1977. Upon his return, he was then tried for the murder of 17 year old prostitute Kathleen Smith; however, he was acquitted of the murder after two deadlocked juries.
From this point on Huey Newton saw his life degenerate into a shell of his former self. Throughout the 70’s, he faced numerous charges regarding embezzlement of Black Panther funds and countless problems stemming from alcohol and drug abuse. The tormented life of Huey P. Newton came to an end on August 22, 1989, when he was gunned down on the streets of Oakland by a drug dealer. He still remains a prominent figure of political activisms and his contributions towards the working class African community are remembered to this very day (Huey P. Newton).
“Huey P. Newton.” Africa Within. 2001. Africa Within.com. 16 Nov. 2005. http://www.africawithin.com/bios/huey_newton.htm Newton, Huey P. Revolutionary Suicide. New York: Writers & Readers Publishing, 1995 (reprint).
