Bobby Seale Research Papers

Bobby Seale, also known as, Robert Seale, was born on October 22, 1936, in Dallas, Texas (Encyclopædia Britannica, 2000). Bobby initially grew up in Texas, and then his family later moved to California. He went to high school in the Oakland, California area. During high school, Bobby became interested in politics. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, but he was dishonorably discharged because of an altercation with a superior officer. After being discharged from the military he enrolled in college. He heard a speech by Malcolm X, which made him became more radical in his political and social ideas.

Bobby Seale is best known for his association with the Black Panther Party, which was a revolutionary black nationalist

The group was conceived as a fight against the capitalist system and white oppression. They started the group in 1966. Newton and Seale were activists with deep roots in the Oakland, California area. Both had been politically active and involved in movements promoting civil rights for some time. Their political affiliation was more aligned with Malcolm X because of his violent ways as compared to the more docile Martin Luther King (Bloom and Martin, 2016). Their ideologies supported the use of physical violence in order to get true freedom in America. They seemed to justify violence by pointing to the extreme violence directed toward blacks and other minorities throughout American history. The two of them outlined their ideologies in a ten point platform and program. To them, it was necessary for members of the black community to find the courage to defend themselves against the various social injustices; especially brutality and harassment from white police

The Black Panther Party had a specific dress code that involved wearing black leather jackets, natural afro hair and black berets. While the Panthers gained attention for their armed neighborhood patrols, one of their most important contributions was the development of a free breakfast program to feed poor inner-city children, which was implemented before any similar governmental programs that are now prevalent (Seale, 1991). Unfortunately, the breakfast program run by the Panthers was later closed down by the white administration. Also, with Bobby Seale’s leadership together with Huey Newton’s, the Panthers developed low costs health clinics as well as testing for sickle cell anemia, which is a hereditary disease that mainly affects people of