Difference between revisions of "Black Panthers"

Bobby Seale pioneered the Black Panther party with Huey P. Newton. Seale was born on October 22, 1936 in Dallas, Texas. Bobby Seale started off with a rambunctious clash with authority. He served in the United States Air Force for three years, but was discharged because of bad conduct. Newton and Seale met at Merritt College in Oakland California. The two eventually went on to work together in the development of the Black Panther Party and its Ten Point Platform. Along with other members of the Party, Seale was arrested multiple times for standing up to bigotry. After marching on California’s capital in May 1967 to protest a gun bill, Seale was arrested. Later that month Seale was arrested again because he was carrying a gun while he attempted to bail out co-founder Huey Newton from jail. He unknowingly violated a law passed in 1887 that prohibited guns near jails. Because he Seale was in violation of this gun law, he was sentenced to three years probation in June of 1968 (PBS). When asked about the charge, Seale told prosecutors that, “I know by the law, you could have a shotgun as long as it wasn't concealed and as long as you are in a public place, and I was actually in fact on a public sidewalk” (Testimony of Bobby G. Seale). As seen in his cunning answers, Seale seemed to possess a firm grasp of the law and the basic American rights that should be protected. Seale was even charged for conspiracy of murder, but the charges were dropped because of a lack of evidence. Yet another clash with the law occurred at the 1968 Democratic Convention (PBS citation). The Panthers were protesting the fact that the Democratic National Party had not lived up to its promises concerning Civil Rights. The case against the “Chicago Seven” received national attention. The case was titled United States v. Dellinger, et. al. The 1969 case stated, “They, along with Bobby Seale, were charged with making certain speeches for the purposes of inciting, organizing, promoting, and encouraging a riot, after having traveled in interstate commerce to Chicago with intent to do so” (us v. dellinger). His unwavering dedication to the Black Power movement drove Seale to make sacrifices that often landed him on the wrong side of the law. He actually received a four year sentence for inciting riots, but that was overturned (PBS).