Huey P. Newton

He later married Frederika in 1984 with whom he lived till his death.

He had strained relations with the Black Guerilla Family (BGF) and was shot to death by a BGF member in 1989.

Huey Newton born to Walter Newton and Armelia Johnson. He was the youngest among the seven siblings. His father was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP). Despite being poor, the family was close-knit.

He grew up in Oakland where he experienced rampant racial discrimination.

He attended Oakland Technical High School but no teacher there had ever tried to instill in him a thirst for knowledge; he graduated in 1959 without possessing any real education.

Undaunted, he embarked on a path of self-education by teaching himself to read.

He began committing petty crimes as a teenager and was arrested many times.

Newton, along with a fellow student from Merritt College, Bobby Seale, formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defence in October 1966. Seale was chosen the Chairman while Newton became Minister of Defense.

The party was founded with the objective of protecting the black community from racial discrimination and police brutality, and soon garnered a country wide following.

The Black Panthers were closely involved with the Black Power movement that focused on promoting political and cultural interests of black. This movement was very prominent during the 1960-70s.

In 1967, the organization began circulating its official newspaper ‘The Black Panther’.

The party became very popular due to the causes it promoted and it had expanded to several cities in the U.S. like Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, etc. by 1968. The party had more than 10,000 members by 1969.

He co-founded the Black Panther Party which was one of the most powerful and influential groups ever to be deeply involved with the Black Power movement. The party worked for the betterment of the black community before their social work was overshadowed by their militant activities.