Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton | |
|---|---|
Poster with a portrait photograph of Newton sitting in a rattan throne chair while wearing a beret and holding a rifle and spear, c. 1967. In the background are Nguni shields. | |
| Born | Huey Percy Newton February 17, 1942 Monroe, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 22, 1989 (aged 47) Oakland, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Murder by gunshot |
| Education | Merritt College San Francisco Law School University of California, Santa Cruz (BA, MA, PhD) |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Years active | 1963–1969 |
| Organization | Black Panther Party |
| Known for | Founding the Black Panther Party |
| Notable work | Revolutionary Suicide |
| Spouses | Gwen Fontaine
(m. 1974; div. 1983)Fredrika Newton (m. 1984) |
| Children | 4 |
Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African American revolutionary and political activist who co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966. He ran the party as its first leader and crafted its ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale. Under his leadership, the party organized numerous social programs and community events, advocated for collective defense, and threatened political violence in service of their goals.
Newton stated that Plato's Republic influenced his philosophy of activism. He went on to earn a PhD in social philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz's History of Consciousness program in 1980.
He was tried for, but ultimately not convicted of, the criminal homicides of a police officer and a sex worker. He was convicted of, and incarcerated on separate occasions for, weapons and embezzlement offenses. He was accused of rape, and complicity in other targeted violence. He was murdered in 1989.