Huey P. Newton: Difference between revisions

Huey Percy Newton
Huey Percy Newton
	File:Huey P. Newton.jpg
Born	February 17, 1942; Monroe, Louisiana, USA
Died	August 22, 1989 (aged 47); Oakland, California, USA
Education	UC Santa Cruz, Ph.D. (1980)
Occupation	Activist
Political party	Black Panther Party
Spouse	Fredrika Newton

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Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989), was co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, an African-American organization established to promote civil rights and self-defense.

Biography

Early life

Newton was born in Monroe, Louisiana to Amelia and Walter Newton, a sharecropper and Baptist minister; he was the youngest child in his family, and was named after Huey Long. Newton's family moved to Oakland, California when he was three. Despite completing his secondary education at Oakland Technical High School, Newton did not know how to read. During his course of self-study, he struggled to read Plato's Republic, which he understood after persistently reading it through five times. This success, he told an interviewer, was the spark that caused him to become a leader.^[1]

Founding of the Black Panthers

While at Oakland City College, Newton had become actively involved in politics in the Bay Area. He joined the Afro-American Association, became a prominent member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Beta Tau chapter, and played a role in getting the first black history course adopted as part of the college's curriculum. He read the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Frantz Fanon, Malcolm X, Mao Zedong, and Che Guevara. It was during his time at Oakland City College^[2] that Newton, along with Bobby Seale, organized the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in October 1966. Seale assumed the role of Chairman, while Newton became Minister of Defense.^[3]

Work in the Black Panthers

Newton and Seale decided early on that the police's alleged abuse of power in Oakland against African-Americans had to be stopped. From his law studies at college, Newton was well-versed in the California penal code and state law regarding weapons, and so was able to persuade a number of African-Americans to exercise their legal right to openly bear arms (as concealed firearms were illegal). Members of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense bore their rifles and shotguns and began patrolling areas where the Oakland police were allegedly committing racially-motivated crimes against the community's black citizens. The street patrols had broad support in the local African-American community. Newton and Seale were also responsible for writing the Black Panther Party Platform and Program, derived largely from Newton’s Maoist influences. Newton was instrumental in the creation of a breakfast program feeding hundreds of children of the local communities before they went to school each day. Former Panther Earl Anthony said the party was originally created to prepare America for an armed Maoist revolution in order to change the social structure for the benefit of black people. For Black Panthers, this meant the realignment of domestic economic policies to benefit citizens (including those of other races), who were being crushed under the weight of corporate interests.

Accusation of murder

Newton was accused of murdering Oakland police officer John Frey.

Frey had stopped Newton before dawn on October 28, 1967, and attempted to disarm and discourage the Panther patrols. After fellow officer Herbert Heanes arrived for backup, shots were fired, and all three were wounded. Frey was hit four times in the back by Newton and died within the hour, while Heanes was left in a serious condition with three bullet wounds. With a bullet wound to the abdomen, Newton staggered into the city's Kaiser Hospital. He was admitted but was later shocked to find himself chained to his bed. ^[4]

Charged with murdering Frey, Newton was convicted in September 1968 of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 2-15 years in prison. In May 1970, the California Appellate Court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial. After two subsequent mistrials, the State of California dropped the case. ^[5]

While Huey was imprisoned, his party's membership declined significantly in several cities. The FBI, which deployed the counter-insurgency tactics of operation COINTELPRO, actively campaigned to eliminate the Black Panthers' 'community outreach' programs such as free breakfasts for children, sickle-cell disease tests, free food and free clothing. Funding for several of the programs was raised courtesy of the only independent commerce in the area: drug dealers and prostitution-ring leaders. Bobby Seale later wrote about his belief in Newton’s involvement and attempted takeover of the Oakland drug trade, further claiming that Newton attempted to 'shake down' pimps and drug dealers; as a result, a contract was taken out on Newton’s life. But this story was never proven. It is suggested that such mutual paranoia between the long-time friends and party co-founders, Seale and Newton, was created by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI. The FBI sent what became known as the "brown" letters — fabricated letters (often bearing death threats) seemingly written by Panthers. The ensuing fear triggered sharp declines in membership, and the eventual failure of the Party.

Funding for the Black Panther Party survival programs, included free children's breakfasts, food and shoe give aways, free clinics, free sickle cell anemia testing, free lead poisoning testing, free senior citizen security and free pet control, always came from various sources. Primary sources were the poor people from the communities it served, independent vendors, and celebrities like Marlon Brando, Richard Pryor, Dick Gregory, Jim Brown, Jimi Hendrix and James Brown.

The decline of the Panther membership only took place after the FBI succeeded in dividing the Panther leadership in 1971. Panther membership at its height in 1970 was 5,000 to 7,000. In 1974, several charges were filed against Newton, and he was also accused of murdering a 17-year-old prostitute, Kathleen Smith. Newton did not appear in court. His bail was revoked, a bench warrant was issued, and Newton was added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 'most wanted' list. Newton had jumped bail and escaped to Cuba, where he spent 3 years in exile.

In January 1977, Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones visited Newton in Cuba.^[6] After Jones fled to Jonestown, Guyana, Newton spoke to Temple members in Jonestown via phone patch supporting Jones during one of the Temple's earliest "White Nights."^[7] Newton's cousin, Stanley Clayton, was one of the few residents of Jonestown to escape the 1978 tragedy, during which more than 900 Temple members were ordered by Jones to commit suicide.^[8] Newton returned home in 1977 to face murder charges because, he said, the climate in the United States had changed, and he believed he could get a fair trial. Because the evidence was largely circumstantial and not solid beyond hearsay, Newton was acquitted of Smith's murder after two trials were deadlocked.

Later life

Newton earned a bachelor's degree from University of California, Santa Cruz in 1974. He was enrolled as a graduate student in History of Consciousness at University of California, Santa Cruz in 1978, when he arranged (while in prison) to take a reading course from famed evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers. He and Trivers became close friends. Trivers and Newton published an influential analysis of the role of flight crew self-deception in the crash of Air Florida Flight 90.^[9] Later, Newton's widow, Frederika Newton, would discuss her husband's often-ignored academic leanings on C-SPAN's "American Perspectives" program on February 18, 2006, mentioning that Newton earned a Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz in 1980.^[10] His doctoral dissertation was entitled "War Against The Panthers: A Study Of Repression In America."^[11]

In 1985, Newton was charged with embezzling state and federal funds from the Black Panthers' community education and nutrition programs. He was convicted in 1989. It was later rumored that Newton had embezzled the money to support an alcohol and drug addiction. He volunteered for alcohol/drug treatment at Alta Bates' treatment center in Berkeley and was successfully completing treatment when San Francisco Chronicle columnist, Herb Caen, made Newton's circumstances public. Under a barrage of news coverage, Newton left Alta Bates prematurely.

Death

On August 22, 1989, Newton was fatally shot in the Acorn Projects neighborhood in Oakland by 24-year-old Tyrone Robinson.^[12] Robinson was convicted of the murder in August 1991 and sentenced to 32 years for the crime. ^[13] Official accounts claimed that the killer was a known drug dealer in Oakland.^[14]

It is reported that Newton and Robinson, who had known each other for two years, argued over a cocaine deal and that Robinson then shot the 47-year-old former leader of the Panthers.

Robinson contended that Newton pulled a gun when the two met at a street corner in the drug-torn neighborhood, Sergeant Mercado said, but investigators said they found no evidence Newton had been armed.

The killing occurred in a neighborhood where Newton, as minister of defense for the Black Panthers, once tried to set up social programs to help destitute blacks.

The police said Robinson told them he refused to sell Newton drugs and that the two argued for about a minute. Investigators believe that Newton stole drugs from the gang.^[15]

Newton's last words, as he stood facing his killer, were, "You can kill my body, but you can't kill my soul. My soul will live forever!" He was then shot three times in the face by Robinson, who went by the street name "Double R". ^[16]

Quotations

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In his doctoral dissertation (1980) on tactics employed by the FBI and operation COINTELPRO in order to discredit the Black Panther Party, Huey P. Newton wrote: "The FBI was most disturbed by the Panthers' survival programs providing community service. The popular free breakfast program, in which the party provided free hot breakfasts to children in Black communities throughout the United States, was, as already noted, a particular thorn in the side of J. Edgar Hoover. Finding little to criticize about the program objectively, the Bureau decided to destroy it."

The tactics employed to ruin the breakfast program illustrate the lengths to which the bureau would go. In 1969, for instance, party leaders rejected a so-called "comic book", without captions or words, that was drawn by an alleged party member. It depicted police as caricature pigs and was submitted by the member to party leaders for possible purposes of political propaganda. After its rejection by party leaders, however, an informant for the FBI stole one of the few drafts of this proposed publication and delivered it to the FBI. Thereupon the FBI added captions advocating violence, printed thousands of copies bearing the Party's name, releasing it under the title of "Black Panther Coloring Book", and circulated them throughout the country, particularly to merchants and businesses who contributed to the breakfast program. Those who received these so-called Panther "comics" were falsely told and led to believe by the FBI that they were given out by the Panthers to children participating in the breakfast programs. Not surprisingly, many merchants who supported the program withdrew from it, as did others who had lent their support.^[17]

On Himself

I'm actually a rather shy individual. I wouldn't consider myself to be very charismatic; I never did anything hero-like, I just worked on some little community programs. I do have a role to play however - I'm a theorist of sorts - I work on theories. But I really do not enjoy discussing the details of my personal life except as it relates to the movement. I hate cameras, microphones stuck up in my face. To tell you the truth, I hate stages cause they put you up on a stage and expect for you to entertain them and I keep trying to tell them I'm not an entertainer. Came to New York and I was supposed to speak at the Apollo Theater - 125th Street. And somebody called me, said Huey we gonna have to cancel the rally, somebody's gonna assassinate you from the balcony. I said listen if I'm ever foolish enough to get up on stage at the Apollo Theatre they wouldn't need to assassinate me, that man will just come out and hook me off the stage. What's his name? The sandman? Yeah, the sandman cometh.

On his Ph.D

'My foes have called me bum, hoodlum, criminal. Some have even called me nigger. I imagine now they'll at least have to call me Dr. Nigger.'^[18]

His Principles

And my father came out to California with another good friend of his who was also trying to support a large family. And this friend of his got a good job with the Oakland Public Works Department, something like that, but he quit that job cause he took a new job with the Oakland Police Department. He must have been one of the first black police officers on the force - we're talking way back in 1952 '53, something like that. And my father broke friendship with him, not because he joined the police force, he had to support his family just like my daddy; he broke his friendship with him because his friend was only allowed to arrest black people. So my father broke friendship with him on principle, cause that's the kind of man my father was, he was a man of high standing principle.

In popular culture

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There are many references to Huey Newton in popular music, including "Changes" by Tupac Shakur.^[19] He is also referenced in "Revolutionary Warfare" by Lake on Nas' God's Son Album and by many other hip-hop artists such as: The Game, Public Enemy, Dead Prez, Talib Kwali and The Coup^[20] In the comic strip and cartoon show The Boondocks, the main character Huey Freeman, a ten year-old African-American revolutionary, is named after Newton; another reference comes when Freeman starts an independent newspaper, dubbing it the "Free Huey World Report".^[21] In 1996, A Huey P. Newton Story was performed on stage by veteran actor Roger Guenveur Smith. The one-man play later was made into an award-winning 2001 film directed by Spike Lee.^[22]

Bibliography

Brown, Elaine. A Taste of Power. (Anchor Books: 1993) ISBN 0-385-47107-6.
Philip S. Foner (editor) The Black Panthers Speak - The Manifesto of the Party: The First Complete Documentary Record of the Panther's Program (Dial, 1970)
"People of the state of California, plaintiff & respondent, vs. Huey P. Newton, defendant and appellant: Appellant's opening brief" (ERIC reports)
Hilliard, David and Keith and Kent Zimmerman. Huey: Spirit of the Panther (Thunder's Mouth Press, 2006)
Jeffries, Judson L. Huey P. Newton, The Radical Theorist (University of Mississippi Press, 2002)
Pearson, Hugh. Shadow of the Panther: Huey P. Newton and the Price of Black |Power in America (Addison Wesley, 1994)
Seale, Bobby. Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton (Random House, 1970)
Obituary in New York Times by Dennis Hevesi, (August 23, 1989). "Huey Newton Symbolized the Rising Black Anger of a Generation"

Books and articles by, or with Huey P. Newton

Revolutionary Suicide with J. Herman Blake (Random House, 1973; republished in 1995 with introduction by Blake)
To Die for the People: The Writings of Huey P. Newton Toni Morrison (Editor) (Random House, 1972)
The Huey P. Newton Reader David Hilliard and Donald Weise (Editors) (Seven Stories Press, 2002)
Insights and Poems by Huey P. Newton, Ericka Huggins 1975)
Essays from the Minister of Defense by Huey P Newton
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 Genius of Huey P. Newton by Huey P. Newton
The original vision of the Black Panther Party by Huey P Newton
Huey Newton talks to the movement about the Black Panther Party, cultural nationalism, SNCC, liberals and white revolutionaries by Huey P Newton

References