Panthers

Bobby Seale

Bobby Seale was one of the co-founders of the Black Panther Party. He was born on October 22, 1939 in Dallas Texas. By the time Bobby was ten his family moved to Oakland, California where he would have a rough childhood. Seale's family was very poor so this only added to his dire childhood. Bobby eventually dropped out of high school and at 18 he was indicted into the Air Force. He was immediately sent to Amarillo, Texas to receive training as an aircraft sheet-metal mechanic. He soon graduated from the Technical School Class of Air Force training with honors. After that, he was moved to Rapid City, South Dakota at Ellsworth Air Force Base. Bobby served here for three and a half years and left with the rank of corporal. After he left the Air Force he enrolled at Merrit College in Oakland where he intended to study engineering. Bobby first became interested in 1962 when he first heard Malcolm-X speak. During his enrollment at the University, he joined the Afro-American Association (AAA) which was an organization formed by young African-Americans in Oakland to try to confront the problems faced by the black community. This was an organization that tried to confront the problem faced by the black community. Seale got interested very quickly and was inspired by such people as Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. du Bois. Another member of the AAA named Huey Newton had very similar beliefs as Bobby. Soon Bobby became one of the many black activists who broke away from the traditional non-violent protests to "preach a doctrine of militant black empowerment." Bobby and Huey became very close friends and in 1966 formed the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. Bobby Seale is still alive today and is no longer involved in violent protests. He is running his own web site that tells of his adventures and why he did everything he did in his earlier years.

Huey Newton

Huey Percy Newton was the other major co-founder of the Black Panther Party. Huey was born on February 17, 1942, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the youngest of Armelia and Walter Newton's seven children. When he was three years old he moved to Oakland, California. Huey and his family fled to the hard core side of Oakland because his father was looking for good work that was out of the Louisiana Bayou. While Huey was living and growing up in East Oakland, he tried going to Law school, which didn't work out for him. So he ended up at Merritt College where he would soon meet Bobby Seale at an (AAA) Alcohols Anonymous Association meeting. Huey pressed his views on Bobby continuously and soon shaped Bobby to become what he would. Bobby and Huey became best friends and would from the Black Panther Party. Newton started doing drugs and was quick to become an addict. Throughout his years in the party everything started getting worse and going downhill. Newton's problems continued. He faced charges on cocaine possession. Oakland investigators knew of Newton's addiction to cocaine and later crack. Police say he went into this tough west Oakland neighborhood in his girlfriend's car. Neighbors told police they heard three shots.