Two further retrials led to deadlocked juries. He served two years in prison, being released after his appeal revealed that the presiding judge of his original trial twice incorrectly instructed the jury and allowed disputed evidence to be presented to the jury. Despite a fervent “Free Huey” campaign and a bravura defense from his attorney, Newton was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. The subsequent trial transformed the BPP and Newton into international phenomena. On 28 October 1967 he was charged with the murder of Oakland police officer John Frey. The BPP initially focused on protesting police brutality in Oakland, most importantly through a sequence of patrols of police officers, which involved armed Panthers observing police activities in Oakland, informing local citizens of their legal rights during any arrest procedure and ensuring that the police conducted their duties lawfully and respectfully and the May 1967 protest at the California State Capitol, one of the central events of the 1960s (although Newton was absent from the latter due to probation restrictions). After joining, and becoming disillusioned by, a sequence of campus organizations, in October 1966 he formed the Black Panther Party (BPP) with his friend and fellow student Bobby Seale, who credits Newton as the principal architect of the BPP’s political philosophy and the driving force behind its early activism. Alongside self-directed learning, he then studied at Merritt College in Oakland, one of the city’s hotbeds of political discussion and activism. He graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1959, but forever claimed that school failed him, notably in the fact that he graduated without learning to read. Born in Monroe, Louisiana to Armelia Johnson and Walter Newton, he joined the Great Migration as a child when his family relocated to Oakland, California. 1989) is a singular figure in African American history. It is ironic how almost 40 years later people share the same sentiment regarding the court system following the recent verdict in the Michael Dunn Trial.Huey Percy Newton (b. NewtonĬheck Out Some Exclusive Videos Below The video below is PRELUDE TO THE REVOLUTIONĬheck out time marker 29:20 -30:25 in which Huey discusses the court system in the United States. The case was eventually dismissed after two retrials ended with hung juries. But public pressure-”Free Huey” became a popular slogan of the day-helped Newton’s cause. He was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to two to 15 years in prison. Newton himself was arrested in 1967 for allegedly killing an Oakland police officer during a traffic stop. Members of the group would go to arrests in progress and watch for abuse. They also fought against police brutality in black neighborhoods by mostly white cops. The Black Panthers wanted to improve life in black communities and establish social programs to help those in need. And Newton emerged as a leading figure in the black militant movement. The action was a shocking one that made news across the country. For example, to protest a gun bill in 1967, Newton and other members of the Panthers entered the California Legislature fully armed. Still the organization itself was not afraid to punctuate its message with a show of force. It also called for an end to economic exploitation of black communities. They set forth their political goals in a document called the Ten-Point Program, which included better housing, jobs, and education for African Americans. The group believed that violence-or the threat of violence-might be needed to bring about social change. A famous photograph shows Newton-the group’s minister of defense-holding a gun in one hand and a spear in the other. Unlike many of the other social and political organizers of the time, they took a militant stance, advocating the ownership of guns by African Americans, and were often seen brandishing weapons. The Black Panther Party for Self Defense.
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