October 15th, 1966. This was a memorable one for the population of Oakland California. Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale came together in meeting, and founded the Black Panther Party (Originally the Black Panther Party For Self Defense). This party worked for many reasons, including the assassination of Malcolm X and police brutality. The black population in America had been suffering from economic and social inequality for what it seemed forever. At this point, Huey and Bobby though their society has had enough. Oakland needed someone with enough power and grit to reestablish the long needed equality for African Americans. That someone would be the Black Panther Party. This party has changed the history of civil rights. The origins/history …show more content…
Huey P. Newton, leader/co founder of the Black Panther Party, became who he was through his growing experiences. His family moved to Oakland CA during the second wave of the Great Migration, also living in harsh poverty. These harsh conditions had gave Huey the mindset of being ashamed of his color. Going into highschool, Huey attended and graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1959 with little to no literacy. This was a serious step for Huey, as he later taught himself how to read and write. It was when he was attending Merritt College, he joined the Afro American Association and met Bobby Seale. The Both of them favored the study involving Malcolm …show more content…
Bobby grew up in poverty, and attended Berkeley High School. He soon decided school wasn’t enough for him, and dropped out. He later joined the US Air Force in 1953, thinking that would be his career. The Air Force believed he wasn’t fit enough for operations and booted him off. Bobby had nothing else to do, but attend Merritt Community College. There he had more opportunities to study his new passion, which was the beliefs of Malcolm X. When he joined the AAA, it was when Bobby and Huey decided to create the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.
Huey and Bobby couldn’t be the only leaders. During the early years of the party, the first female of the cabinet, Kathleen Cleaver joined. Her role was the communications secretary, and was married to Eldridge Cleaver. The Cleavers were often targeted for their participation in the Black Panther Party and got their apartment raided in 1968. She committed to the movement with her work on protests. Her joining the party, had inspired more women to fight for their equality as well. As the Black Panther Party became stronger, their work became