This Day In History: February 17th
Activist Huey P. Newton is most popularly known for being the co-founder of the Black Panther Party with Bobby Seale. He advocated for better housing and economic conditions for the African-American community, an end to police brutality and more educational opportunities.
Huey Percy Newton was born in Monroe, Louisiana on February 17, 1942. The Newton family relocated to Oakland, California, when he was a child. Despite graduating from high school, Newton was limited in his reading abilities and had to teach himself how to read. He continued his education and attended Merritt College during the 1960s.
While at Merritt College, Newton connected with Bobby Seale to establish the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in 1966. Seale served as the group’s Chairman and Newton was the Minister of Defense. The Black Panthers stood out from other activist groups of the time because they were more militant in their approach and pushed for the implementation of the Ten-Point Program.
The ten-point program was created to give direction and highlight the goals of the Black Panther Party. It covered the need for freedom, employment, housing, education, exemption from military service, prison reform and better treatment from the police. Although the Panthers gained national and international attention, they remained dedicated to issues faced by local communities. Chapters often organized programs to feed those in need as well as sponsored schools, legal aid offices and health clinics.
Their commitment to protecting African Americans led to a hostile relationship with law enforcement. Panthers typically watched over arrests to make sure police officers were not using excessive force which could result in a clash between the two forces. In 1967, Newton was arrested following a Panther-police shootout that ended with an Oakland police officer being shot and killed. The group’s Minister of Information, Eldridge Cleaver, helped to gather support for the jailed activist and successfully launched the Free Huey campaign.
Newton’s charges were reduced and his conviction was later overturned. He was released from prison in 1970. The 70s proved to be a turbulent decade for the Black Panthers. The party began to disband after the split between Newton and Cleaver in 1971 and Newton’s later legal issues. The Panthers were also a subject of investigation under J. Edgar Hoover’s COINTELPRO.
By the end of the decade, Newton had enrolled in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and earned his doctorate in 1980. Newton is the author of the autobiography Revolutionary Suicide (1973), and it was republished in 1995.
Huey P. Newton was fatally shot and killed on August 22, 1989, in Oakland, California.
