Huey P. Newton was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement and co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in 1966. Born on February 17, 1942, in Monroe, Louisiana, Newton grew up in Oakland, California. Though he graduated high school without being able to read, Newton taught himself enough to be accepted into Merritt College. It was at Merritt that Newton met Bobby Seale and the two formed the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in 1966. The next year,1967, Newton was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the death of a police officer, but his conviction was later overturned. While in jail, however, protestors across the nation chanted “Free Huey” and he became a familiar name well beyond Oakland. Despite facing adversity, he remained committed to fighting against racial injustice and police brutality. In 1980 he successfully earned a Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Throughout the 1980s, however, Newton sank deeper into addiction and on August 22, 1989 he was shot during an alleged drug deal.
Featured in
In this lesson, students will examine what factors influenced the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party and what impact the two organizations had on the movement for Black liberation.
In this lesson, students will examine what factors influenced the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party and what impact the two organizations had on the movement for Black liberation.
