LIFE V
OL. 6
8, N
O. 4
FE
BR
UA
RY
6, 1
970
Black Panthers: the
ccording to government estim
ate, the Black
Panthers num
ber only about 1,200 mem
- bers. T
hey are scattered across the U.S
. in tw
o dozen chapters, some tightly organized, oth-
ers so unstable that a single arrest could bring ab
out th
eir collap
se. Yet th
e Pan
thers h
ave
emerged as the sym
bol of militant black rage,
the hard edge of confrontation with the police.
"They are convinced," says a senior Justice D
e-partm
ent official, "that the black man w
ill never get his just dues w
ithout the force of violence. W
hitey just won't give in. S
o someone has to
overthrow the system
, and they're it." T
he Panthers spout the rhetoric of revolution
("Seize the tim
e! All pow
er to the people!") and in chilling, specific detail exhort their m
ember-
ship ("Guns, baby, guns. K
ill the racist pig cops. K
ill Richard N
ixon"). They have arm
ed them-
selves heavily in the name of self-defense and
they have used their weapons—
not only in self-defense. S
o far, in the running guerrilla war of
roofto
p sn
ipin
g, m
idnig
ht am
bush
and m
ass shoot-outs that the P
anthers and police have been w
aging in a number of cities, four policem
en have been killed and scores m
ore wounded. In turn
at least 19 Panthers are dead (pp. 22, 23) and
many have been w
ounded. (The P
anthers claim
28
dead
, bu
t it is un
certain th
at mo
re than
a dozen have died of police bullets.)
The P
anthers charge that law officers are con-
ducting a nationally coordinated campaign to ex-
terminate them
. The police deny it, but a C
hi-cago sergeant speaks for m
any when he argues,
"1 don't say cops should have a hunting license
to shoot people, but when anybody—
I don't care w
hat his color—starts scream
ing 'Kill the pig
cops' or tries to start a revolution, he belongs in jail. A
nd when they start shooting police, they
sure as hell are going to get shot back." In D
ecember the street w
ar intensified when
police raided Panther headquarters in L
os An-
geles and Chicago. In the latter raid tw
o Pan-
thers were killed, and there is evidence that the
police did virtually all the shooting. The events
gained the group so much public sym
pathy that a L
os Angeles police official suggested, "M
aybe w
e're play
ing th
e Pan
thers' g
ame." H
itherto
stand-offish black m
oderates gave statements of
support, and some w
hite liberals gave fund-rais-ing parties and pledged m
oney—especially w
el-com
e because the Panthers are chronically short.
But the crackdow
n will continue. "I don't see
the Panthers snow
balling enough to succeed in overthrow
ing the government," says a federal of-
ficial. "But they're not too sm
all to kill police, and m
aybe others. We can't allow
it." L
IFE
asked the noted black photographer and author G
ordon Parks, a m
an respected in both the black and w
hite comm
unities, to report on the P
anthers and their leaders, especially El-
dridge Cleaver, the P
anther minister of infor-
mation. A
fter serving a term for rape and as-
sault, Cleaver w
as on parole when authorities
ordered him back to prison because of his in-
volvement in a P
anther-police incident. Afraid
that h
e would
be k
illed in
jail, he fled
the
country and is now living in A
lgiers. Parks's
interv
iew w
ith h
im b
egin
s on
the n
ext p
age.
ship
("Du
ns, b
aby
, gun
s. Kill th
e racist pig
cops. K
ill Richard N
ixon"). They have arm
ed them-
selves heavily in the name of self-defense and
they have used their weapons—
not only in self-defense. S
o far, in the running guerrilla war of
roofto
p sn
ipin
g, m
idnig
ht am
bush
and m
ass shoot-outs that the Panthers and police have been w
aging in a number of cities, four policem
en have been killed and scores m
ore wounded. In turn
at least 19 Panthers are dead (pp. 22, 23) and
many have been w
ounded. (The P
anthers claim
28 d
ead, b
ut it is u
ncertain
that m
ore th
an a
dozen have died of police bullets.) T
he Panthers charge that law
officers are con-ducting a nationally coordinated cam
paign to ex-term
inate them. T
he police deny it, but a Chi-
cago sergeant speaks for many w
hen he argues, "1 don't say cops should have a hunting license
come because the rantners are chronically snort.
But the crackdow
n will continue. "I don't see
the Panthers snow
balling enough to succeed in overthrow
ing the government," says a federal of-
ficial. "But they're not too sm
all to kill police, and m
aybe others. We can't allow
it." L
IFE
asked the noted black photographer and author G
ordon Parks, a m
an respected in both the black and w
hite comm
unities, to report on the P
anthers and their leaders, especially El-
dridge Cleaver, the P
anther minister of infor-
mation. A
fter serving a term for rape and as-
sault, Cleaver w
as on parole when authorities
ordered him back to prison because of his in-
volvement in a P
anther-police incident. Afraid
that h
e would
be k
illed in
jail, he fled
the
country and is now living in A
lgiers. Parks's
interv
iew w
ith h
im b
egin
s on th
e nex
t pag
e.
Weapons poised, S
an Francisco riot
police (below) face a taunting crow
d outside B
lack Panther headquarters
last spring after they had broken up
a Panther street rally. A
t right, a Pan-
ther in Detroit kept a trigger-ready
vig
il in D
ecember fo
llow
ing a re-
port that a police raid was im
minent.
hard edge of confrontation
Eldridge Cleaver in Algiers, a visit w
ith Papa Rage
In th
eir hom
e cutsid
e Alg
iers, P
arks photographed Cleaver and
his w
ife Kath
leen b
eneath
a pic-
ture o
f Huey
P. New
ton, founder of the B
lack Panther P
arty, who is
no
w in
priso
n fo
r man
slaug
hter.
by GO
RD
ON
PA
RK
S
ne n
ight, ju
st befo
re left New
Y
ork
to see E
ldrid
ge C
leaver in
Al-
giers, a squad car eased alongside me
and stopped. Tw
o policemen jum
ped out. T
he older one carried a walkie-
talkie an
d th
e younger o
ne b
lock
ed
my
path
and
dem
and
ed so
me id
en-
tification. I was w
alking briskly from
my E
ast Side apartm
ent, late for the th
eater. Desp
ite the fact th
at I, like
many other black people, experience
this ty
pe o
f harassm
ent co
nstan
tly,
I was im
patien
t. Wh
en I ask
ed w
hy
I h
ad to
iden
tify m
yself, th
e young-
er one warned m
e that he would run
me in
if I did
n't. "I'd
prefer th
at," I said
. He co
pped
out, assu
ring m
e th
at th
ings c
ould
be w
ork
ed o
ut
there on the street. Then he inform
ed m
e I was in a w
ealthy neighborhood w
here there had been several robber-ies lately.
"Do I lo
ok lik
e a robber to
you?"
"All ro
bbers d
on't g
o a
round
wearing little black m
asks," he said. "A
nd all ro
bbers d
on't g
o aro
und
wearin
g b
lack faces," I co
untered
. A
s I reached for my w
allet to prove once ag
ain th
at I wasn
't a crimin
al, h
is han
d in
ched
tow
ard h
is gu
n.
"You tw
o are p
retty ju
mpy," I
said, pulling out my L
IFE
card. I h
ave alw
ays tu
ned
out at th
e term
"pig
." But w
hen
those tw
o fat
faces redd
ened
at the sig
ht o
f that
card
, I too g
ot th
e im
age—
very
clearly. I turned and w
alked off. "S
orry
, Mr. P
arks." I k
ept w
alk-
ing
. "Just d
oin
g o
ur jo
b. T
ryin
g to
p
rotect y
ou
. Merry
Ch
ristmas." I
went on w
ithout answering, shocked
at my th
oughts o
f rifles with
silenc-
ers, of rooftops—and pigs.
Sev
eral day
s later I told
Cleav
er about m
y experience. He sm
iled eas-ily
and sp
oke so
ftly. "
Thin
gs
hav
en't ch
ang
ed m
uch
back
in B
ab-
lyo
n sin
ce I've b
een o
n v
acation
." T
o h
im m
y in
cid
en
t mu
st hav
e
seemed
like ab
solu
tely n
oth
ing. H
is last en
counter w
ith th
e Califo
rnia
police ended with 17-year-old B
obby H
utto
n sh
ot to
death
, one B
lack
Pan
ther an
d tw
o p
olicem
en in
jured
, and C
leaver being hustled off to jail w
ith a bullet-shattered leg. C
leaver w
as no
w liv
ing
with
his
wife K
athleen
and th
eir 5-m
onth
-old son, M
aceo, outside of Algiers in
on
e of th
ose y
ellow
ish-w
hite co
n-
crete houses that line the Mediterra-
nean
coast. It w
as wet, w
indy an
d
unusu
ally co
ld fo
r Alg
iers. He w
as slum
ped in a chair, his legs stretched out, th
e in
fant slu
ng a
cro
ss his
sho
uld
er. He g
ently
massag
ed th
e b
oy
's back
. In th
e soft, rain
-filtered
light from the sea, he looked like any
other father trying to burp his child. B
ut h
is min
d w
as on a trag
ic, more
violent thing—the killing of his fel-
low
Pan
thers, F
red H
ampto
n an
d
Mark
Clark
, by C
hicag
o p
olice. "It
was co
ld-b
loo
ded
mu
rder," h
e said
in a low, caustic tone.
I handed him som
e clippings from
the A
merican
press, m
ost o
f which
, I felt, co
ndem
ned
the p
olice actio
n
in th
e killin
gs. C
leaver started
to
read an
d I w
atched
for so
me ty
pe
of reaction. As his eyes m
oved over th
e prin
t his d
ark face w
as imm
o-
bile. Maceo finally burped. E
ldridge called
Kath
leen. "C
om
e get th
is P
anther." As she took M
aceo away,
Eld
ridge fro
wned
. "That little cat
will g
ive th
em h
ell on
e of th
ese d
ay
s." He lit a
cig
are
tte, to
ok
a
healthy swallow
of Scotch and start-
ed re
adin
g a
gain
. I got u
p a
nd
loo
ked
abo
ut th
e ho
use.
There w
ere five ro
om
s, countin
g
a tiled kitchen that also faced the sea. E
mo
ry D
ou
glas, th
e Pan
thers' m
in-
ister of culture, and his wife Judy oc-
cupied one room. C
onnie Matthew
s, an
attractive g
irl who rep
resented
the P
anthers in Scandinavia, had the
other room. O
ff a dark hallway w
as th
e "wo
rksh
op
," littered w
ith ty
pe-
writers, m
imeo
grap
h m
achin
es, p
rintin
g m
aterials, Em
ory
's po
sters an
d p
arty leaflets in
several lan
-guages. T
he large living room-bed-
roo
m in
wh
ich I h
ad left E
ldrid
ge
was the gathering point. T
here w
as very
little laughter in
that house. T
oo many brothers w
ere in
coffin
s or p
risons. T
he co
ld ev
e-nings w
ere spent talking of friends, rev
olu
tion an
d d
eath, th
inkin
g an
d
planning to Otis R
edding's blues, to E
laine Brow
n's protest songs and to the soul-stirrings of A
retha Franklin
and Jam
es Bro
wn. It w
as the clu
t-tered
, temp
orary
shelter o
f a black
m
an
in e
xile
—w
here
bag
s stay
pack
ed an
d all p
recious th
ings are
mad
e po
rtable.
Cleav
er had
finish
ed read
ing th
e clippings w
hen I returned. "Well,
wh
at do
yo
u th
ink
?" I said.
"Crap
. Un
adu
lterated o
bjectiv
e
"Rig
ht o
n," sh
e repeated
. Maceci-
beg
an to
cry. E
ldrid
ge p
icked
him
up. "H
e's angry. He w
as born angry —
like a real P
anth
er." W
hen Maceo quieted I m
entioned that A
rthur Goldberg and R
oy Wil-
kins were form
ing a comm
ittee to do som
e investigating of their own.
"An
d w
hat are th
ose d
ud
es go
-ing to investigate?"
"Th
e k
illing
of H
am
pto
n a
nd
C
lark
." - E
ldrid
ge scratch
ed h
is beard
and
sm
iled fo
r the first tim
e. "An
d th
ey
will w
ind up saying the police were
justified
in sh
ootin
g th
e bro
thers."
"Th
ey m
igh
t find
just th
e op
po
-site."
"It doesn't make m
uch difference w
hat they find. It's too late for their concern. T
he brothers are dead. All
that is left is the problem. T
he Pan-
ther is th
e solu
tion."
"Are
yo
u a
ware
of th
e g
reat
amount of sym
pathy that has sprung up am
ong even the black moderates
since the Chicago incident?"
"Sy
mp
athy
wo
n't sto
p b
ullets.
And w
e can't defend every black per- son in B
abylon. Right now
it's a big jo
b ju
st to k
eep o
urselv
es alive. It's
the b
roth
er's job
, and
righ
t, to d
e- fend his ow
n home. A
nd there's only one w
ay fo
r him
to d
o th
at. When
co
ps b
ust th
rou
gh
yo
ur d
oo
r, pu
t a g
un
in th
eir faces and
say, 'S
plit,
mo
ther!' T
here's altern
atives. C
all th
e U.N
., or th
e civil lib
erty b
oy
s, o
r the p
olice statio
n, an
d tell th
em
you're b
eing sh
ot u
p. T
hen
wait."
"What d
o th
e Pan
thers h
ave to
offer black m
oderates other than vi-
Ij
lilt I W
t11.:, III a
V
VC
cIlL
ily
where th
ere
had been several robber-ie
s late
ly. "D
o I lo
ok like
a ro
bber to
you?"
"All ro
bbers
don't g
o a
round
wearin
g little
bla
ck masks," h
e sa
id.
"And a
ll robbers d
on't g
o a
round
we
arin
g b
lack fa
ces," I co
un
tere
d.
As I re
ach
ed fo
r my w
alle
t to p
rove
o
nce
ag
ain
tha
t I wa
sn't a
crimin
al,
his h
an
d in
che
d to
wa
rd h
is gu
n.
"Yo
u tw
o a
re p
retty
jum
py," I
said
, pullin
g o
ut m
y LIF
E ca
rd.
I ha
ve
alw
ays tu
ne
d o
ut a
t the
te
rm "p
ig." B
ut w
hen th
ose
two fa
t fa
ces re
dd
en
ed
at th
e sig
ht o
f tha
t ca
rd, I to
o g
ot th
e im
ag
e—
ve
ry
clea
rly. I turn
ed
an
d w
alke
d o
ff. "S
orry
, Mr. P
ark
s." I k
ept w
alk
-in
g. "J
ust d
oin
g o
ur jo
b. T
ryin
g to
p
rote
ct y
ou
. Me
rry C
hris
tma
s." I
iicalt L
uasu It
WcIN
w
et,
IN iiiu
y a
liu
unusu
ally co
ld fo
r Alg
iers. H
e w
as
slumped in a chair, his legs stretched
ou
t, the
infa
nt s
lun
g a
cro
ss h
is
sho
uld
er. H
e g
en
tly ma
ssag
ed
the
boy's b
ack. In
the so
ft, rain
-filtere
d
light from the sea, he looked like any
oth
er fa
the
r trying
to b
urp
his ch
ild.
But h
is min
d w
as o
n a
tragic, m
ore
vio
lent th
ing—
the killin
g o
f his fe
l-lo
w P
anth
ers, F
red H
am
pto
n a
nd
Mark C
lark, b
y Chica
go p
olice
. "It w
as co
ld-b
loo
de
d m
urd
er," h
e sa
id
in a
low
, caustic to
ne.
I ha
nd
ed
him
som
e clip
pin
gs fro
m
the A
merica
n p
ress, m
ost o
f which
, I fe
lt, con
de
mn
ed
the
po
lice a
ction
in
the
killin
gs. C
lea
ve
r sta
rted
to
read a
nd I w
atch
ed fo
r som
e typ
e
of re
actio
n. A
s his e
yes m
ove
d o
ver
the p
rint h
is dark fa
ce w
as im
mo-
gliclg
eb. 1
Ile all ge liv
ing ro
om
-ne
o-
room
in w
hic
h I h
ad le
ft Eld
ridge
was th
e g
ath
erin
g p
oin
t. T
here
was ve
ry little la
ughte
r in
that house. Too m
any brothers were
in co
ffins o
r priso
ns. T
he co
ld e
ve-
nin
gs w
ere
spe
nt ta
lking
of frie
nd
s, re
volu
tion a
nd d
eath
, thin
king a
nd
pla
nn
ing
to O
tis Re
dd
ing
's blu
es, to
E
lain
e B
row
n's p
rote
st songs a
nd to
th
e so
ul-stirrin
gs o
f Are
tha
Fra
nklin
a
nd
Jam
es B
row
n. It w
as th
e clu
t-te
red
, tem
po
rary sh
elte
r of a
bla
ck m
an in
exile
—w
here
bags s
tay
packe
d a
nd a
ll pre
cious th
ings a
re
made p
orta
ble
.
Cle
ave
r ha
d fin
ishe
d re
ad
ing
the
clip
pin
gs w
he
n I re
turn
ed
. "We
ll, w
ha
t do
you
thin
k?" I sa
id.
"Cra
p. U
na
du
ltera
ted
ob
jective
cra
p. S
o w
e h
ave
to b
e sh
ot u
p a
nd
m
urd
ere
d in
our h
om
es b
efo
re p
eo-
ple
be
co
me
ind
ign
an
t. We
ha
ve
ch
arg
ed th
e p
olice
with
am
bush
and
murd
er o
ver a
nd o
ver a
gain
. Now
, a
fter 2
8 m
urd
ers, p
eo
ple
are
takin
g
a look. What are w
e supposed to do, pra
y for d
elive
rance
?" H
e a
sked th
e
questio
n in
a s
oft, d
ispassio
nate
voic
e, th
en a
nsw
ere
d it h
imself.
"Their d
eath
s w
ill have to
be
ave
ng
ed
. Th
e co
ps w
ho
mu
rde
red
th
em
must b
e p
unish
ed in
the sa
me
way th
ey c
om
mitte
d th
e c
rime."
"Rig
ht o
n, P
ap
a R
ag
e," K
ath
lee
n
snapped. H
er b
lue-g
reen e
yes w
ere
sm
old
erin
g b
eneath
a g
reat co
pper-
colo
red b
ush
y Afro
. Her fa
ce, p
ale
, stro
ng
an
d in
ten
se, re
vea
led
a fe
ar-
lessn
ess e
qu
al to
he
r hu
sba
nd
's.
Wounded in a 1968 O
akland police am
bush in which another P
anther w
as killed, Cleaver w
as taken away
in a police ambulance. S
tate au-thorities then re
voke
d h
is pa
role
. .
that is
lel t is
the p
roble
m. T
he P
an-
the
r is the so
lutio
n."
"Are
yo
u a
wa
re o
f the
gre
at
amount of sym
pathy that has sprung up am
ong even the black moderates
since the Chicago incident?"
"Sym
path
y w
on't s
top b
ulle
ts.
And w
e can't defend every black per-so
n in
Babylo
n. R
ight n
ow
it's a b
ig
job ju
st to ke
ep o
urse
lves a
live. It's
the
bro
the
r's job
, an
d rig
ht, to
de
-fend his ow
n home. A
nd there's only o
ne
wa
y for h
im to
do
tha
t. Wh
en
co
ps b
ust th
rou
gh
you
r do
or,, p
ut a
g
un
in th
eir fa
ce
s a
nd
sa
y, 'S
plit,
moth
er!' T
here
's alte
rnative
s. Call
the
U.N
., or th
e c
ivil lib
erty
bo
ys,
or th
e p
olice
statio
n, a
nd
tell th
em
yo
u're
be
ing
sho
t up
. Th
en
wa
it." "W
ha
t do
the
Pa
nth
ers h
ave
to
offe
r bla
ck mo
de
rate
s oth
er th
an
vi-o
len
ce, o
r a fig
ht to
de
ath
?"
"No
thin
g. N
ot e
ven
con
do
len
ces,
for th
ey w
ill brin
g a
bout th
eir o
wn
death
s thro
ugh th
eir o
wn a
path
y." H
e g
ot u
p a
nd
mo
ve
d a
cro
ss th
e
room
. He is b
ig, w
ell o
ver six fe
et,
bro
ad
-sho
uld
ere
d a
nd
po
we
rfully
built. He m
oves with the brutal grace
of a
fighte
r. "Vio
lence
? O
ur p
eople
are program
med into w
orse violence by U
ncle
Sam
. Tell m
e, w
hy sh
ould
bla
ck boys h
ave
to g
o fig
ht K
ore
-ans and V
ietnamese boys, instead of
the Maddoxes, R
eagans and Wallac-
es a
t hom
e? A
craze
d w
hite
lunatic
can attack a black man on the street.
Bu
t wh
en
the
cop
s com
e th
ey first
club th
e 'vio
lent n
igger.' V
iole
nce
?
We
ha
te it. B
ut is it vio
len
t to sh
oo
t a co
p w
ho b
reaks in
to yo
ur h
om
e
be
nt o
n killin
g yo
u?
If so, th
e P
an
-th
ers a
re vio
lent."
I rem
em
bere
d th
at rig
ht a
fter th
e
murd
er o
f Martin
Luth
er K
ing,
Bla
ck Panth
ers sp
read th
rough th
e
ghetto
s c
autio
nin
g a
ngry
young
bla
cks ag
ain
st viole
nce
an
d rio
ting
. C
ON
TIN
UE
D
Nineteen m
en the Panthers list as `m
urdered' S
purg
eon W
inte
rs, 1
9, s
hot b
y
po
lice, C
hica
go
, No
vem
be
r 19
69
. In
quest ru
led it "ju
stifia
ble
."
Joh
n H
ug
gin
s, 23
, sho
t to d
ea
th,
UC
LA
lunch
room
, January 1
969.
Riv
al b
lack m
ilitan
ts c
on
vic
ted
.
Wa
lter P
op
e, 2
0, s
ho
t by p
o-
lice, L
os A
ngele
s, Octo
ber 1
969.
Inquest: "ju
stifia
ble
hom
icid
e."
Alp
rentice
Carte
r, 26, sh
ot, U
CLA
lu
nchro
om
, January
1969. R
i- va
l bla
ck milita
nts w
ere
con
victed
.
We
lton
Arm
stead
, 17, sh
ot b
y po
- lice, S
eattle, October 1969. Inquest
rule
d it "ju
stifia
ble
ho
mic
ide
."
Fre
d H
am
pto
n, 2
1, sh
ot b
y po
lice,
Ch
icag
o, D
ece
mb
er 1
96
9. In
qu
est
term
ed
it "justifia
ble
ho
mic
ide
."
Sid
ne
y Mille
r, 21
, sho
t by sto
re-
kee
pe
r, Se
attle
, No
vem
be
r 19
69
. T
he sto
reke
eper w
as n
ot ch
arg
ed.
Ma
rk C
lark
, 22
, sh
ot b
y p
olic
e,
Chica
go, D
ece
mber 1
969. In
quest
ca
lled
it "justifia
ble
ho
mic
ide
."
Tom
my L
ew
is, 18, sh
ot b
y police
, Los A
ngele
s, August 1
968. In
quest
rule
d it "ju
stifia
ble
ho
mic
ide
."
CO
NT
INU
ED
It only
giv
es th
e c
ops a
chance to
kill m
ore
of u
s, th
ey w
arn
ed
. An
d I
tho
ug
ht it s
ign
ifica
nt th
at a
fter a
stu
dy o
f viole
nce
, the L
em
berg
Cen-
ter a
t Bra
ndeis
Univ
ers
ity re
porte
d
that "o
f 381 ra
cia
l dis
ord
ers
occur-
ring
betw
ee
n J
an
ua
ry a
nd A
ug
ust
1969, o
nly
17 in
volv
ed B
lack P
an-
thers a
nd o
f those
17 o
nly e
ight w
ere
vio
lent co
nfro
nta
tions b
etw
een p
o-
lice a
nd
Bla
ck Pa
nth
ers."
But th
e p
olice
ha
ve d
em
ande
d th
e
Panth
ers' h
eads, a
nd th
e P
anth
ers
prid
efu
lly tell th
e p
olice
to co
me a
nd
. .
There
he w
rote
Soul on Ice, a
pow
-erfu
l and re
mark
ably
frank in
sig
ht
into
him
self. H
e h
ad b
een in
and o
ut
of ja
il since
he
wa
s 16
, an
d w
he
n h
e
left p
riso
n, a
t 31
, he
go
t invo
lve
d in
th
e b
lack re
volu
tion
, po
litics an
d th
e
Bla
ck P
an
the
r pa
rty.
"An
d fro
m th
en
on
," he
said
wist-
fully
, "the p
aro
le a
uth
oritie
s g
ave
me
mo
re tro
ub
le th
an
the
y did
wh
en
I w
as a
robber. T
he co
ps trie
d to
kill m
e o
ne n
ight in
a p
lanned a
mbush
. T
he
y m
urd
ere
d little
Bo
bb
y H
utto
n
inste
ad
. Th
ey sla
mm
ed
me
into
Va
-
These four policem
en died in
We
lton
Arm
stea
d, 1
7, sh
ot b
y po
- lice, S
eattle, October 1969. Inquest
rule
d it "ju
stifia
ble
ho
mic
ide
."
Fre
d H
am
pto
n, 2
1, sh
ot b
y police
, C
hica
go
, De
cem
be
r 19
69
. Inq
ue
st te
rme
d it "ju
stifia
ble
ho
mic
ide
."
Sid
ne
y Mille
r, 21
, sho
t by sto
re-
keeper, S
eattle
, Nove
mber 1
969.
Th
e sto
reke
ep
er w
as n
ot ch
arg
ed
.
Mark
Cla
rk, 2
2, s
hot b
y p
olic
e,
Chica
go, D
ece
mber 1
969. In
quest
calle
d it "ju
stifia
ble
hom
icid
e."
Tom
my L
ew
is, 18, sh
ot b
y police
, Los A
ngeles, August 1968. Inquest
rule
d it "ju
stifia
ble
hom
icid
e."
CO
NT
INU
ED
It only g
ives th
e co
ps a
chance
to
kill mo
re o
f us, th
ey w
arn
ed
. An
d I
thought it s
ignific
ant th
at a
fter a
stu
dy o
f viole
nce
, the
Le
mb
erg
Ce
n-
ter a
t Bra
ndeis U
nive
rsity reporte
d
that "o
f 381 ra
cial d
isord
ers o
ccur-
ring b
etw
een Ja
nuary a
nd A
ugust
1969, o
nly 1
7 in
volve
d B
lack P
an-
thers a
nd o
f those
l7 o
nly e
ight w
ere
vio
lent co
nfro
nta
tions b
etw
een p
o-
lice a
nd
Bla
ck Pa
nth
ers."
But th
e p
olice
have
dem
anded th
e
Panth
ers' h
eads, a
nd th
e P
anth
ers
prid
efu
lly tell th
e p
olice
to co
me a
nd
ge
t the
m. A
s I sat th
ere
with
Cle
av-
er, I th
ought th
at to
avo
id th
e e
ven
gre
ate
r trag
ed
y, all o
f us w
ou
ld h
ave
to
be
com
e m
ore
tha
n id
le w
itne
sses.
The p
olice
must b
e u
rged n
ot to
pro
-vo
ke th
e b
lack re
volu
tion in
to a
fe-
rocious blindness; the Panthers m
ust re
alize
that th
ey h
ave
em
erg
ed a
s a
vital p
art o
f ou
r figh
t, bu
t tha
t rea
-so
n, m
ore
tha
n to
ug
h rh
eto
ric, is the
ord
er o
f those
thousa
nds, b
lack o
r w
hite
, who w
ould
support u
s. Sure
-ly, I th
ou
gh
t, som
ew
he
re in
ou
r his-
tory o
f ha
tred
an
d d
ea
th fo
r on
e a
n-
other, there must be an even greater
pla
ce fo
r coura
ge a
nd lo
ve.
"Wha
t is the fu
ture
of th
e yo
ung
bla
ck man in
Am
erica
?" I
said. "R
ight n
ow
their fu
ture
is in th
e
hands of the Wallaces, A
gnews, N
ix-ons, R
eagans, M
cCle
llans a
nd th
eir
cops. T
he b
lack yo
uth
s in B
abylo
n
won't have a future unless they have
the
gu
ts to fig
ht fo
r it." S
o many tim
es during his own life,
I thought, C
leave
r has a
ppeare
d to
have
had n
o fu
ture
. He h
ad fo
und
him
self w
hile
behin
d p
rison w
alls.
There
he w
rote
So
ul o
n Ic
e, a
pow
-erfu
l and re
marka
bly fra
nk in
sight
into
him
self. H
e h
ad b
een in
and o
ut
of jail since he was 16, and w
hen he le
ft priso
n, a
t 31, h
e g
ot in
volve
d in
th
e b
lack re
volu
tion
, po
litics an
d th
e
Bla
ck Panth
er p
arty.
"And fro
m th
en o
n," h
e sa
id w
ist-fu
lly, "the
pa
role
au
tho
rities g
ave
m
e m
ore
trouble
than th
ey d
id w
hen
I wa
s a ro
bb
er. T
he
cop
s tried
to kill
me
on
e n
igh
t in a
pla
nn
ed
am
bu
sh.
They m
urd
ere
d little
Bobby H
utto
n
inste
ad. T
hey sla
mm
ed m
e in
to V
a-
caville
with
a s
hot-u
p le
g a
nd re
-vo
ked
my p
aro
le w
itho
ut a
he
arin
g."
1 was in
Califo
rnia
when S
uperio
r C
ourt Ju
dge R
aym
ond J. S
her-
win
free
d h
im o
n a
writ o
f ha
be
as
corp
us, o
bse
rving th
at C
leave
r had
be
en
a m
od
el p
aro
lee
. I told
Cle
av-
er th
at I
was su
rprise
d a
t this ru
ling
—sin
ce th
e a
uth
oritie
s from
Reagan
on d
ow
n h
ad lin
ed u
p a
gain
st him
. "T
hat d
idn't sto
p th
em
," he w
ent
on. "T
hey tru
mped u
p so
me m
ore
charges and ordered m
e back to pris-on. I kn
ew
that if I
went back to pris-
on I w
ould
be k
illed. S
o I s
plit."
Now
, desp
ite su
ggestio
ns th
at, fo
r his o
wn sa
fety, h
e p
rolo
ng h
is "va-
catio
n fro
m B
abylo
n," C
leave
r told
m
e, "I'm
goin
g b
ack h
om
e to
San
Fra
ncisco
. Tw
o-se
ven
-seve
n-se
ven
P
ine is m
y addre
ss. Nobody is g
o-
ing
to ke
ep
me
aw
ay fro
m it."
I aske
d h
im if h
e co
uld
n't d
o th
e
pa
rty mo
re g
oo
d b
y writin
g fro
m A
l-g
iers, citin
g a
s an
exa
mp
le th
e tre
-m
en
do
us sa
le o
f his b
oo
ks ba
ck in
the S
tate
s. He b
ristled. "Y
ou ca
n't
figh
t pig
s with
elo
qu
en
ce. I've
go
t to
physica
lly com
mit m
yself."
If he co
mes b
ack, a
nd I a
m su
re
he w
ill, I belie
ve it is
to a
void
an-
oth
er kin
d o
f de
ath
. Th
e d
ea
th in
-side him
in exile is as bad as the other kin
d o
f death
I fear a
waits h
im b
ack
he
re. C
lea
ver is a
rmo
red
with
the
bru
tal tru
th o
f Panth
er h
isto
ry, o
f hard
streets a
nd to
ugh p
risons. Y
et
a b
asic n
aive
té m
ake
s him
vuln
er-
able
at tim
es. "D
o yo
u th
ink R
ea-
gan a
nd h
is c
ops re
ally
want m
e
back?" he asked me w
ith all serious-n
ess, "o
r do
you
thin
k the
y wo
uld
sle
ep b
ette
r if I staye
d lo
st?"
I did
n't kn
ow
. "Bu
t do
you
wa
nt
them
to sle
ep b
ette
r?" I a
sked.
"I want th
em
in a
consta
nt sta
te
of nightmare," he answ
ered icily. He
sat d
ow
n, lit a
noth
er cig
are
tte a
nd
crosse
d h
is legs. T
hen, e
yein
g m
e
close
ly, he
told
me
tha
t the
Bla
ck P
anth
ers w
ould
like fo
r me to
join
th
eir p
arty. "Y
ou
cou
ld se
rve a
s a
min
ister o
f info
rmatio
n." I sp
ent a
n
un
co
mfo
rtab
le m
om
en
t thin
kin
g
that o
ne o
ver. "A
lot o
f young ca
ts w
ould
be g
lad to
follo
w yo
u in
." "I'm
honore
d," I fin
ally
said
, "b
ut—
" "W
e n
ee
d yo
u m
ore
tha
n th
e E
s-ta
blish
ment d
oes."
"I'm h
on
ore
d," I re
pe
ate
d, "b
ut
you
mu
st rea
lize th
at a
s a jo
urn
alist
I'd lo
se o
bje
ctiv
ity." O
bje
ctiv
ity, I
thought, the word he hated so m
uch. "I h
ave
thin
gs I w
an
t to re
po
rt to
These four policem
en died in
John Frey, 23, shot arresting H
uey N
ew
ton, O
akla
nd, 1
967. N
ew
ton
was co
nvicte
d o
f mansla
ughte
r.
Fra
ncis R
appaport, 3
2, in
Chica
- go g
un b
attle
, Nove
mber, 1
969.
A P
an
the
r cha
rge
d w
ith m
urd
er.
22
gunfights with the Panthers
MI A
A
IIli N
ath
an
ial C
lark, 1
9, sh
ot b
y wife
, w
ho P
anth
ers sa
y is police
agent,
in L
os A
ngele
s, Septe
mber 1
969.
Air
La
rry Ro
be
rson
, 20
, sho
t by C
hi-
cago p
olic
e, J
uly
1969, d
ied in
S
ep
tem
be
r. Jud
ge
d "ju
stifiab
le."
iii1111=111 R
obert L
aw
rence
, 22, sh
ot b
y po-
lice, L
os A
ngele
s, A
ugust 1
968.
Inq
ue
st ru
led
it "justifia
ble
."
Arth
ur M
orris
, 28, s
hot in
1968
Los A
ngele
s gun fig
ht n
ot in
volv-
ing p
olice
. No o
ne w
as ch
arg
ed.
Ale
x Ra
ckley, 2
4, to
rture
d, sh
ot,
New
Haven, C
onn., M
ay 1
969.
Panthers are charged w
ith murder.
Jo
hn
Gilh
oo
ly, 2
1, s
ho
t gu
n b
at-
tle in
Chic
ago, N
ovem
ber 1
969.
A P
anth
er c
harg
ed w
ith m
urd
er.
as b
ig a
n a
udie
nce a
s p
ossib
le."
"I'm m
ore
concern
ed a
bout
young stro
ng ca
ts follo
win
g yo
u in
to
the p
arty
." He h
ad m
e th
inkin
g
—back to
the in
flexib
le M
alco
lm X
. C
leaver was proving to be even m
ore in
tran
sige
nt—
the
mo
st un
com
pro
-m
ising in
divid
ual I e
ver m
et.
I exp
lain
ed th
at m
y inte
rests g
o
be
yon
d th
ose
of th
e B
lack P
an
the
rs, to
oth
er m
inoritie
s a
nd fa
ctio
ns o
f th
e b
lack m
ove
me
nt w
ho
wa
nt
change. He eased off, suggesting that
we le
ave
it open. I w
ondere
d w
heth
-er h
e fe
lt my p
ositio
n w
as a
cre
d-
itable
one. L
ookin
g b
ack to
that m
o-
ment I fin
d th
at I a
m d
isple
ase
d w
ith
my a
nsw
er. I sh
ou
ld h
ave
said
: Bo
th
of u
s a
re c
aught u
p in
the tru
th o
f
the b
lack m
an's o
rdeal. B
oth
of u
s are possessed by that truth w
hich we
de
fine
thro
ug
h se
pa
rate
exp
erie
nce
. H
ow
we
cho
ose
to a
ct it ou
t is the
only d
iffere
nce
. You re
cognize
my
scars a
nd I a
cknow
ledge yo
urs. Y
ou
are 35. I am 57. W
e meet over a deep
chasm
of tim
e, th
e e
vents o
f which
fo
rged d
iffere
nt w
eapons fo
r us. If I
we
re 2
0 ye
ars o
ld n
ow
I wo
uld
pro
b-
ably b
e a
Bla
ck Panth
er. I re
mem
-ber a
s a kid
I alw
ays to
ok th
e first
lick befo
re I fo
ught b
ack. B
ut a
fist is n
ot a
bu
llet. I to
o w
ou
ld sh
oo
t a
cop, o
r anyo
ne e
lse, w
ho fo
rced h
is w
ay in
to m
y ho
use
to kill m
e. Y
ou
a
re riskin
g e
veryth
ing
by g
oin
g b
ack
to ch
alle
nge a
system
we b
oth
dis-
like. I w
ill contin
ue to
fight a
lso, b
ut
on m
y te
rms. I p
refe
r to c
hange
thin
gs w
ithout vio
lence
—pro
vidin
g
violence is not thrust upon me. If this
is y
ou
r po
sitio
n, to
o, th
en
yo
ur
weapons a
nd m
ine a
re n
ot a
s irrec-
oncila
ble
as yo
u m
ight th
ink.
Cle
ave
r went o
n: "B
lack p
eople
a
re a
fraid
to jo
in a
milita
nt g
rou
p.
Th
ey're
afra
id th
e co
ps w
ill sho
ot
them
. That's ju
st why w
e m
ade th
e
cops o
ur p
olitica
l targ
et—
to p
rove
to
the b
roth
er th
at co
ps a
re ju
st fat,
gristle
and b
lood."
I asked him w
hat chances the Pan-
thers h
ad a
gain
st the o
verw
helm
ing
police
pow
er. "If w
e w
orrie
d a
bout
the odds, we w
ould be defeated from
the sta
rt," he sa
id.
It was d
usk. K
ath
leen b
rought in
a
bow
l of la
mb s
tew
. Cle
aver
reach
ed o
ver a
nd sp
ooned a
mouth
-fu
l, talkin
g a
ll the w
hile
. "We w
on't
be a
lone. A
lot o
f white
s rela
te to
th
e sa
me
issue
s tha
t we
do
. Th
ey're
ju
st as u
ptig
ht. T
he E
stablish
ment
will h
ave
to d
eal w
ith th
em
as w
ell.
Enough te
ar g
as a
nd h
ead w
hip
pin
g
will e
stablish
the co
mm
on e
nem
y." "D
o yo
u w
elco
me w
hite
s to th
e
fight?
" "O
f course. There has to be som
e in
terco
nnectio
n. W
e h
ope th
rough
som
e s
ort o
f coalitio
n to
brin
g a
ch
ange fo
r eve
ryone. I ju
st don't b
e-
lieve
that m
ost w
hite
s will sta
nd b
y and se
e a
min
ority w
iped o
ut w
ith-
out tryin
g to
put a
stop to
it." "A
nd th
e C
om
munists?
There
are
a lo
t of re
ports th
at th
ey a
re tryin
g
to in
filtrate
your p
arty."
"Bla
ck people
don't n
eed C
orn
-
munists to
teach
them
about tro
u-
ble
. The ja
ils in B
abylo
n p
roduce
m
ore rebels and revolutionaries than th
e C
om
munis
ts c
ould
dre
am
of
pro
du
cing
ba
ck the
re. A
n in
cred
ible
num
ber o
f those
rebels a
re b
lack,
and th
eir n
um
bers a
re g
row
ing b
y th
e h
our. W
e a
re o
ut to
tear d
ow
n
the s
yste
m n
ot w
ith fire
, not w
ith
gu
ns—
bu
t with
solid
po
litical a
nd
scie
ntific kn
ow
-how
. If it com
es to
guerrilla
warfa
re, in
div
iduals
will
die
. But in
div
idual tra
gedy c
an't
blo
ck libera
tion fo
r the m
asse
s." "A
nd
wh
at w
ill yo
u b
uild
in th
e
rubble
?"
"Socia
l justice
. If the b
lacks to
ok
pow
er to
morro
w a
nd tre
ate
d th
e
white
s like th
e w
hite
s have
treate
d
us for 400 years, I'd try to crush them
too. W
e p
rom
ise to
repla
ce ra
cism
with
racia
l solid
arity. T
here
are
no
bette
r weapons. W
e a
re d
isciplin
ed
revo
lutio
narie
s who h
ate
viole
nce
. T
hat's w
hy w
e a
im to
stop it a
t our
front and back doors. Then w
e won't
have
to w
orry a
bout o
ur ch
ildre
n d
y-in
g in
blo
od-d
rench
ed b
eds."
That n
ight I le
ft Cle
ave
r on a
wet,
win
d-sw
ep
t stree
t. It wa
s stran
ge
th
at h
is last w
ord
s were
about so
-cia
l justice
, the kin
d th
at is irre
spec-
tive o
f a m
an's
colo
r. I thought
about o
ther b
rilliant y
oung b
lack
men like
Sto
kely C
arm
ichael, M
al-
colm
X a
nd M
artin
Luth
er K
ing,
one s
elf-e
xile
d, tw
o lo
ng s
ince
gunned d
ow
n. I co
uld
n't h
elp
but
feel that Cleaver's prom
ise, like their dre
am
s, would
go u
nfu
lfilled. S
ocia
l ju
stice, it se
em
s, is much
more
dif-
ficult to
com
e b
y than m
artyrd
om
. ■
23
Ne
lson
Sa
sscer, 2
4, sh
ot, S
an
ta
Ana, C
alif., J
une 1
969. P
anth
er
was a
ccuse
d, is still a
waitin
g tria
l.
Sylvester B
ell, 34, beaten and shot, S
an D
iego, A
ugust 1
969. R
ival
black militants have been accused.
Bobby H
utton, 17, shot by police, O
aklan
d, A
pril 1
968. G
rand ju
ry
rule
d it 'ju
stifiable
hom
icid
e."
Stev
e Barth
olo
mew
, 21, sh
ot b
y
police, Los A
ngeles, August 1968.
Inquest ru
led it "ju
stifiable
."
John S
avag
e, 21, sh
ot o
n S
an D
i- eg
o street in
May
1969.
Riv
al
black
militan
t is awaitin
g trial.
Fran
k D
igg
s, 40
, fou
nd
sho
t to
death
in L
ong B
each, C
alif., De-
cember 1968. A
ssailant unknown.
Nathanial C
lark, 19, shot by wife,
who P
anth
ers say is p
olice ag
ent,
in L
os A
ngeles, S
eptem
ber 1
969.
Larry
Roberso
n, 2
0, sh
ot b
y C
hi-
cago p
olice, Ju
ly 1
96
9, d
ied in
S
eptem
ber. Ju
dged
"justifiab
le."
Robert L
awren
ce, 22, sh
ot b
y p
o-
lice, Los A
ngeles, A
ugust 1
968.
Inquest ru
led it "ju
stifiable
."
Arth
ur M
orris, 2
8, sh
ot in
1968
Los A
ngeles gun fight not involv- in
g p
olice. N
o o
ne w
as charg
ed.
Alex
Rack
ley, 2
4, to
rtured
, shot,
New
Hav
en, C
onn., M
ay 1
969.
Panthers are charged w
ith murder.
gunfights with the Panthers
on m
y te
rms. I p
refe
r to c
hange
things without violence—
providing violence is not thrust upon m
e. If this is y
our p
ositio
n, to
o, th
en y
our
weap
ons an
d m
ine are n
ot as irrec-
oncilable as you might think.
Cleav
er wen
t on: "B
lack p
eople
are afraid to
join
a militan
t gro
up.
They
're afraid th
e cops w
ill shoot
them
. That's ju
st why w
e mad
e the
cop
s ou
r po
litical target—
to p
rov
e to
the b
roth
er that co
ps are ju
st fat, gristle an
d b
lood."
I asked
him
what ch
ances th
e Pan
--
munists to
teach th
em ab
out tro
u-
ble. T
he jails in
Bab
ylo
n p
roduce
more rebels and revolutionaries than
the C
om
munists co
uld
dream
of
producing back there. An incredible
num
ber o
f those reb
els are black
, an
d th
eir num
bers are g
row
ing b
y
the h
our. W
e are out to
tear dow
n
the sy
stem n
ot w
ith fire, n
ot w
ith
guns—
but w
ith so
lid p
olitical an
d
scientific know-how
. If it comes to
guerrilla w
arfare, indiv
iduals w
ill die. B
ut in
div
idual trag
edy can
't block liberation fo
r the m
asse
s."
Inside Black P
anther national head-quarters in
Berk
eley (left), P
anth
er L
aury
n W
illiams frisk
s a wh
ite girl
visito
r for arm
s, or d
op
e that m
igh
t
be p
lanted
to p
rov
ok
e a po
lice raid.
In a San F
rancisco warehouse, volun-
teers work on T
he B
lack P
anth
er, the
party
's new
spap
er and p
ropag
anda
organ. Each w
eek 100,000 copies are d
istribu
ted n
ation
ally an
d o
verseas.
him
a b
attle
pla
n d
raw
n u
p b
y the B
erke
ley
po
lice fo
r an
assa
ult o
n th
e n
atio
na
l Pa
n-
ther h
eadquarte
rs: "Assig
n tw
o-m
an sq
uad
to fro
nt w
ith sh
otg
un
(solid
slug
s) an
d a
r-m
or-p
iercin
g rifle
to b
last a
rmo
r pla
te o
ff upper w
indow
s.... Use
bucksh
ot to
shoot
out a
ll low
er w
indow
s. Use
rifle slu
gs to
try and k
nock o
pen m
ain
front d
oor. ... A
s-
sault sq
uad (th
ree m
en) a
rmed w
ith su
b-
machin
e g
uns . . . e
nte
r build
ing. . . .
Tw
o m
en ... fire
30 ro
unds e
ach
thro
ugh
seco
nd-sto
ry floor a
nd re
load. ... T
he e
n-
tire building should be flooded with tear gas.
The e
ntire
upper flo
or sh
ould
be co
vere
d
with
inte
nse
fire.... A
ssault sq
uad w
ill then
pro
ceed u
psta
irs a
nd b
ring d
ow
n th
e
wo
un
de
d a
nd
/or d
ea
d." B
erke
ley P
olice
C
hief Bruce B
aker said he had not seen the p
lan
, bu
t ad
mitte
d it w
as "p
rob
ab
ly th
e
work o
f our se
rgeants." S
o fa
r that a
ttack
ha
sn
't co
me
. "Bu
t," sa
ys P
ark
s, "it w
as
so m
uch
like th
e o
ne in
Chica
go th
at d
id
ha
pp
en
—e
xcep
t for th
e te
ar g
as—
tha
t I co
uld
n't g
et it o
ut o
f my m
ind
. I sat in
the
P
anthers' headquarters and looked at floors w
here
60 ro
unds w
ere
to b
urst th
rough, a
t
Atto
rne
y Ch
arle
s Ga
rry, wh
om
the
P
anthers call "the White P
anther" be-cause he has defended so m
any of th
em
in co
urt, co
nfe
rs with
Bo
bb
y S
eale in a San F
rancisco jail. Above,
Seale's w
ife Artie and their son M
alik, 3, visit B
erkeley headquarters, where
Mrs. S
eale remains an active P
anther.
says P
arks, "yo
u h
ave
to u
ndersta
nd ra
c-ism
as a
bla
ck ma
n kn
ow
s it. Th
eir e
ne
my
is the
po
lice. A
nd
if you
are
pa
rt of th
at si-
len
t ma
jority th
at w
an
ts the
po
lice to
wip
e
them
out, th
en yo
u a
re th
eir e
nem
y too."
Le
ss tha
n fo
ur ye
ars o
ld, th
e P
an
the
r or-
ga
niz
atio
n is
alre
ad
y ric
h in
leg
en
d. In
B
erke
ley, D
avid
Hillia
rd d
escrib
ed
to P
arks
the
first con
fron
tatio
n b
etw
ee
n p
olice
an
d
Hu
ey N
ew
ton
, the
Pa
nth
ers' ch
arism
atic
founder. A
rmed w
ith a
n M
-I and a
law
book, N
ew
ton h
ad fa
ced d
ow
n se
ven co
ps
in fro
nt o
f a b
lack s
tree
t cro
wd
. "Hu
ey
did
what th
ose
people
had w
ante
d to
do
for a
lon
g tim
e. H
e to
ld a
bu
nch
of co
ps
that h
e w
as th
rough b
ein
g kicke
d a
round
by th
em
. Th
e b
lack b
roth
ers g
ot th
e m
es-
sage. S
o d
id th
e co
ps."
New
ton is n
ow
in p
rison. S
o is B
obby
Seale, a P
anther leader who, as a defendant
in th
e C
hica
go
con
spira
cy trial, w
as se
n-
tence
d to
four ye
ars fo
r conte
mpt a
nd a
t one p
oin
t was o
rdere
d b
ound a
nd g
agged
in court by Judge Julius Hoffm
an. Seale also
is fightin
g e
xtraditio
n to
Connecticu
t where
th
ere
is a m
urd
er ch
arg
e a
gain
st him
. P
arks in
tervie
wed S
eale
in a
San F
ran-
cis
co
jail. "O
ur g
oa
ls," S
ea
le to
ld h
im,
"are
the
sam
e o
ne
s the
wh
ite m
an
figh
ts fo
r. A d
ece
nt e
duca
tion fo
r our ch
ildre
n,
good jobs, good housing. We have a break-
fast p
rog
ram
to fe
ed
po
or kid
s. We
wo
rk fo
r vote
r registra
tion so
that e
ventu
ally w
e
can w
rest c
ontro
l of b
lack c
om
munitie
s
from
the p
olice
. In fa
ct we w
ant ju
st about
the
sam
e th
ing
s Ma
rtin L
uth
er K
ing
wa
nt-
ed. It's o
nly o
ur ta
ctics that d
iffer. T
here
are
som
e stre
et cro
ssings in
bla
ck neig
h-
bo
rho
od
s tha
t ne
ed
traffic lig
hts. O
ur kid
s h
ave
to ru
n like
he
ll to ke
ep
from
ge
tting
h
it. We
'll he
lp th
em
ge
t acro
ss safe
ly eve
n
if we h
ave
to u
se g
uns."
Pa
rks fou
nd
the
sam
e co
ntra
st be
twe
en
vicio
us rh
eto
ric and e
arn
est g
oals in
all
the
gro
up
s he
visited
. He
also
no
ted
tha
t P
an
the
r influ
en
ce is sp
rea
din
g in
the
bla
ck com
munity
. "At firs
t I thought m
y s
on
Jam
es w
as ju
st infa
tuate
d w
ith th
e b
lack
leath
er ja
cket a
nd b
ere
t,- M
rs. D
oro
thy
Wood, th
e m
iddle
-class m
oth
er o
f a re
cruit,
told
him
. "But a
fter h
e e
xpla
ined a
bout th
e
bre
akfa
st pro
gra
m a
nd so
me o
f the o
ther
aims it w
as easier for me to accept. N
atural-ly I w
orry fo
r his sa
fety. H
e's b
ee
n a
rreste
d
thre
e tim
es, ju
st fo
r sellin
g th
e P
anth
er
new
spaper. T
hey d
ropped th
e ch
arg
es, b
ut
it'll pro
ba
bly
ha
pp
en
ag
ain
ne
xt w
ee
k."
25
We w
ant the same things King
wanted. O
ur tactics are different' R
eturning from A
lgiers, Parks sought out
Panthers in the U
.S. to see how
the orga-nization w
orks and to get a sense of why
young blacks join it. In California D
avid H
illiard, the Panther chief of staff, show
ed him
a battle plan drawn up by the B
erkeley police for an assault on the national P
an-ther headquarters: "A
ssign two-m
an squad to front w
ith shotgun (solid slugs) and ar-m
or-piercing rifle to blast armor plate off
upper window
s. . . . Use buckshot to shoot
out all lower w
indows. U
se rifle slugs to try an
d k
no
ck o
pen
main
fron
t do
or. .. . A
s-sau
lt squad
(three m
en) arm
ed w
ith su
b-
mach
ine g
uns . . . en
ter build
ing. . . .
Tw
o men . . . fire 30 rounds each through
second-story floor and reload. . . . The en-
tire building should be flooded with tear gas.
The entire upper floor should be covered
with intense fire.. .. A
ssault squad will then
pro
ceed u
pstairs an
d b
ring d
ow
n th
e w
ounded and /or dead." Berkeley P
olice C
hief Bruce B
aker said he had not seen the plan
, but ad
mitted
it was "p
robab
ly th
e w
ork of our sergeants." So far that attack
hasn
't com
e. "But," say
s Park
s, "it was
so much like the one in C
hicago that did hap
pen
—ex
cept fo
r the tear g
as—th
at I couldn't get it out of m
y mind. I sat in the
Panthers' headquarters and looked at floors
where 60 rounds w
ere to burst through, at
window
s that buckshot would blast out."
The fear o
f surp
rise attack is a fact o
f life for the P
anthers and helps explain their conviction that the w
hole white w
orld is against them
. "To understand these kids,"
says Parks, "you have to understand rac-
ism as a black m
an knows it. T
heir enemy
is the police. And if you are part of that si-
lent majority that w
ants the police to wipe
them out, then you are their enem
y too." L
ess than four years old, the Panther or-
gan
ization is alread
y rich
in leg
end. In
B
erkeley, David H
illiard described to Parks
the first confrontation between police and
Huey
New
ton, th
e Pan
thers' ch
arismatic
fou
nd
er. Arm
ed w
ith an
M-1
and
a law
book, New
ton had faced down seven cops
in fro
nt o
f a black
street crow
d. "H
uey
d
id w
hat th
ose p
eop
le had
wan
ted to
do
fo
r a long tim
e. He to
ld a b
unch
of co
ps
that he was through being kicked around
by them. T
he black brothers got the mes-
sage. So did the cops."
New
ton is n
ow
in p
rison. S
o is B
obby
Seale, a P
anther leader who, as a defendant
in the Chicago conspiracy trial, w
as sen-ten
ced to
four y
ears for co
ntem
pt an
d at
one point was ordered bound and gagged
in court by Judge Julius Hoffm
an. Seale also
is fighting extradition to Connecticut w
here there is a m
urder charge against him.
Parks interview
ed Seale in a S
an Fran-
cisco jail. "O
ur g
oals," S
eale told
him
, "are th
e same o
nes th
e white m
an fig
hts
for.• A decent education for our children,
good jobs, good housing. We have a break-
fast program to feed poor kids. W
e work
rnr v
nfP
r rea
ktra
tinn
cn
th
at e
ventlin
fly
In th
eir c
hapte
r headquarte
rs in
San
Fran
cisco, fiv
e Pan
thers stare straig
ht
into
Park
s's camera. "A
fter 400 y
ears
of s
truggle
and d
eath
," says C
hie
f of
Sta
ff David
Hillia
rd (c
ente
r), "revo-
lutio
n is
the o
nly
thin
g le
ft. - T
he P
an-
thers
are
care
ful to
dis
tineuis
h b
e-
In th
eir ch
ap
ter h
ea
dq
ua
rters in
Sa
n
Fra
ncisco
, five P
anth
ers sta
re stra
ight
into
Pa
rks's cam
era
. "Afte
r 400 ye
ars
of stru
gg
le a
nd
de
ath
," says C
hie
f of
Sta
ll David
Hillia
rd (c
ente
r), "revo-
lutio
n is th
e o
nly th
ing le
ft." The P
an-
the
rs a
re c
are
ful to
dis
ting
uis
h b
e-
twe
en rio
t—w
hich
they fe
el th
e w
hite
com
munity
will a
ccept, s
o lo
ng a
s it
occu
rs in th
e g
he
tto—
an
d re
volu
tion
, w
hic
h im
plie
s a
far m
ore
sw
eepin
g
an
d vio
len
t, bu
t pe
culia
rly Am
erica
n,
change. "It w
on't b
e a
revo
lutio
n like
th
ose in
Chin
a, R
ussia
, Cuba o
r Af-
rica," B
obby S
eale
told
Park
s. "J
ust
a Y
an
kee
Do
od
le kin
d o
f revo
lutio
n."
