Born Huey Percy Newton on February 17, 1942, in Monroe, Louisiana. Bro. Newton helped establish the controversial black political organization, The Black Panther Party and became a leading figure in the black power movement of the 1960s.
In the mid-1960s, Bro. Newton was able to attend Merritt College, eventually earning an Associate of Arts Degree. Bro. Newton became a prominent member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Beta Tau chapter He also attended San Francisco Law School and Oakland City College, the latter where he became interested in politics and motivated to stop the oppressive conditions of America, particularly for blacks. It was here where Bro. Newton joined with Bobby Seale to form the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in 1966, a group based on the armed self-defense of blacks, which included patrolling the Oakland City Police and demanding justice and resources for blacks.
Bro. Newton and Seale decided early on that the police’s alleged abuse of power in Oakland against blacks had to be stopped. From his law studies at college, Bro. Newton was well-versed in the California penal code and state law regarding weapons, and so was able to persuade a number of blacks 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 black community.
Unlike many of the other social and political organizers of the time, they took a militant stance, advocating the ownership of guns by blacks, and were often seen brandishing weapons. A famous photograph shows Bro. Newton – the group’s minister of defense – holding a gun in one hand and a spear in the other. (pictured left).
The group believed that violence – or the threat of violence – might be needed to bring about social change. They set forth their political goals in a document called the Ten-Point Program, which included better housing, jobs, and education for blacks. It also called for an end to economic exploitation of black communities. Still the organization itself was not afraid to punctuate its message with a show of force. For example, to protest a gun bill in 1967, Bro. Newton and other members of the Panthers entered the California Legislature fully armed. The action was a shocking one that made news across the country. And Newton emerged as a leading figure in the black militant movement.
Bro. Newton eventually returned back to school, earning a Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, in 1980. Unfortunately, Bro. Newton died August 22, 1989.