David Hilliard | |
|---|---|
 Hilliard at a Black Panther rally in San Francisco, October 1969 | |
| Born | May 15, 1942 |
| Spouse | Patricia (m. 1959) |
| Partner | Brenda Presley |
| Children | 4 |
David Hilliard (born May 15, 1942) is a former member of the Black Panther Party, having served as Chief of Staff. [1] [2] He became a visiting instructor at the University of New Mexico in 2006. [3] He also is the founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton foundation. [4]
David Hilliard was born on May 15, 1942, in Rockville, Alabama, to Lela and Lee Hilliard. David had six brothers and five sisters: Theodore, Allen, Nathaniel, Van, Roosevelt, Arthur, Rose Lee, Sweetie, Dorty Mae, Vera Lee, and Eleanora. [5] His parents met in 1916, when his mother was 16 years old, a little less than half the age of his father. In his childhood, Hilliard met Huey Newton, who would later become the leader of the Black Panther movement. [6]
David Hilliard married Patrica (Pat) Hilliard in 1959. They met at David's friend Malcom Newton's fraternity party. Although Pat at first resisted pursuit by David, she eventually agreed to date him. At the age of 17, David was informed that Patricia was pregnant and he dropped out of high school. At 17, David and Patricia married at Berkeley City Hall. [5]
David, due to his lack of a high-school diploma and skills had a hard time finding jobs. He worked many odd jobs including: cleaning up after skilled laborers, a tile chipper, working at canneries, and a car salesman. [5]
David and Patricia Hilliard had three children: Patrice, Darryl, and Dorian. They named their daughter after Patrice Munsel, one of David's favorite singers. Dorian was named after Dorian Gray, the main character in Oscar Wilde's famous novel The Picture of Dorian Gray . [5]
During their early married life, David faced alcohol addiction and a lack of anger management. [5]
During his involvement with the Black Panthers, Hilliard met Brenda Presley and the two began an intimate relationship. They had a daughter named Dassine. [5]
Hilliard became involved in the Black Panther movement in 1966 while living in Oakland, California. [6] Huey P. Newton, Hilliard's childhood friend, informed him of this organization that Bobby Seale and he were founding. This organization believed in defense of minority groups by any means necessary and followed a 10-point plan outlining "What We Want" and "What We Believe." Early actions of the Black Panthers involved intercepting in police brutalities through using arms to enforce police rules of conduct. [5]
After the arrest of Huey Newton on October 28, 1967, for an armed scuffle with the Oakland Police resulting in the death of Officer John Frey, [7] David Hilliard acted as the interim leader of the Black Panthers. [5] Hilliard helped to then organize a rally in February 1968, called the "Free Huey Rally", that drew 6,000 people. [7]
Hilliard was involved in the many programs organized by the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers organized programs called survival programs including: breakfast programs for school children, health clinics, and programs for prisoners. These programs were called survival programs because they simply help communities survive rather than addressing the systemic reasons behind these problems. These programs were free to those in need. [8]
In 1971, the Black Panther Party formed the Intercommunal Youth Institute. This program addressed the systematic oppression of African American students in the public school system. The Black Panthers believed that public schools failed to teach analytical skills that are necessary to survive in society. This school for children in Oakland taught children to analyze and criticize and respond with creative solutions. [8]
Free Health Care was provided to people who could not afford the cost of public health care through the People's Free Medical Research Health Clinics. These clinics provided service ranging from testing for sickle cell anemia to providing references and rides to outside experts. [8]
Other programs that Hilliard helped organize included: a community learning center, after school programs, escorts to protect the elderly, and free clothing programs. [8]
After reading Malcolm X's autobiography as a teenager, David Hilliard had a deep respect for his militancy. Although he admired the charisma of Martin Luther King Jr. he did not agree with MLK's advocacy for non-violent resistance. [5] In his early teen years, Hilliard had little involvement in politics. In the summer of 1965, his nephew Bojack participated in the riots in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Seeing his nephew on TV inspired Hilliard to learn more about activism and politics. [5]
Fellow Black Panther Party member and BPP Central Committee member Donald L. Cox has suggested that during Hilliard's stint as BPP Chief of Staff, Hilliard became an autocrat highly influenced by Stalin. Cox has stated that as the party explored Marxist theory, Marxist-Leninism became the party line and that in particular Stalin's book Foundations of Leninism was read and practised. Reflecting those principles, Cox alleges that Hilliard began to place loyalty to the party above all and dealt out punishment, denouncement or expulsion from the Black Panther Party to those who opposed him or the party line, even for the slightest of offence, with his orders being carried out by internal enforcers known as the "Black Guard" and "Buddha Samurai". Simultaneously, Cox says, Hillard dismantled the power and authority of all other members of the Black Panther's central committee aside from himself, and that of Huey Newton, in a vicious drive for power. [9] [10] [11]
In January 1968 Hilliard was arrested for handing out pamphlets outside of Oakland Technical High School. [12] [5]
Hilliard was convicted on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon for his part in a 1968 ambush on Oakland Police officers in retribution for the assassination of Martin Luther King. Two police officers were wounded. [13] [14] The April 6, 1968 encounter led to the death of party member Bobby Hutton and the capture of Eldridge Cleaver, who masterminded the botched operation. According to Cleaver, Hutton was shot by police while surrendering with his hands up. Hilliard left this standoff unscathed having taken shelter under a family friends bed. [5]
The attention placed on the Black Panthers by the FBI heightened after the 1968 encounter. J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the FBI called the Black Panthers "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country." [5]
On December 3, 1969, Hilliard was arrested for threatening to kill President Richard Nixon. [12] This threat was announced in Hilliard's speech given on November 15, 1969, at Golden Gate Park. In his speech Hilliard was quoted saying "We will kill Richard Nixon." [5] In July 1971, Hilliard was sentenced to one to ten years and incarcerated at Vacaville Prison. [2] In January 1973, while serving a sentence of six months to 10 years, he was denied parole. [13]
In his autobiography Revolutionary Suicide , Huey P. Newton claimed the district attorney of Alameda County was attempting to send Hilliard to prison on "trumped up charges". [2]
After being released from prison Hilliard moved to Los Angeles and secured a job at Tom Hayden's organization called the Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED). During this post-prison period, Hilliard struggled with drug addiction. After moving to Connecticut, Hilliard worked as an organizer for the New England Health Care Employees Union. After going through drug treatment, Hilliard relapsed and continued to struggle with addiction. Hilliard lost contact with Huey Newton. [5] Newton was murdered during a drug deal on August 22, 1989. [15] Hilliard gave his eulogy. [5]
With Huey Newton's second wife, Fredrika Newton, Hilliard later formed the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. [2] The mission of this organization is "to preserve and promulgate the history, ideals and legacy of the Black Panther Party and its founder Huey P. Newton through development and distribution of educational materials, establishment of educational conferences and forums, maintenance and exhibition of historical archives." [4]
Robert George Seale is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", the Party's main practice was monitoring police activities and challenging police brutality in Black communities, first in Oakland, California, and later in cities throughout the United States.
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was an American writer, political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party.
Huey Percy Newton was an African American revolutionary and political activist. Newton was most notable for being the co-founder of the Black Panther Party where he operated the organization as the leader. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966.
Robert James Hutton, also known as "Lil' Bobby", was the treasurer and first recruit to join the Black Panther Party. Alongside Eldridge Cleaver and other Panthers, he was involved in a confrontation with Oakland police that wounded two officers. Hutton was killed by the police under disputed circumstances. Cleaver stated Hutton was shot while surrendering with his hands up, while police stated he ignored commands and tried to flee.
Betty Louise Van Patter, was a bookkeeper for the Black Panther Party, although she herself was white.
Merritt College is a public community college in Oakland, California. Merritt, like the other three campuses of the Peralta Community College District, is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. The college enrolls approximately 6,000 students.
The black power movement or black liberation movement was a branch or counterculture within the civil rights movement of the United States, reacting against its more moderate, mainstream, or incremental tendencies and motivated by a desire for safety and self-sufficiency that was not available inside redlined African American neighborhoods. Black power activists founded black-owned bookstores, food cooperatives, farms, media, printing presses, schools, clinics and ambulance services. The international impact of the movement includes the Black Power Revolution in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Black Guerrilla Family is an African-American black power prison/street gang and political organization founded in 1966 by George Jackson, George "Big Jake" Lewis, and W. L. Nolen while they were incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California.
The Free Breakfast for School Children Program, or the People’s Free Food Program, was a community service program run by the Black Panther Party that focused on providing free breakfast for children before school. The program began in January 1969 at Father Earl A. Neil's St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, located in West Oakland, California and spread throughout the nation. This program was an early manifestation of the social mission envisioned by Black Panther Party founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale along with their founding of the Oakland Community School, which provided high-level education to 150 children from impoverished urban neighborhoods. The breakfasts formed the core of what became known as the party's Survival Programs. Inspired by contemporary research about the essential role of breakfast for optimal schooling and the belief that alleviating hunger and poverty was necessary for Black liberation, the Panthers cooked and served food to the poor inner city youth of the area. The service created community centers in various cities for children and parents to simultaneously eat and learn more about black liberation and the Black Panther Party's efforts.
Kathleen Neal Cleaver is an American law professor and activist, known for her involvement with the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party, a political and revolutionary.
A Huey P. Newton Story is a 2001 American film adaptation directed by Spike Lee. The movie was created, written and performed, as a solo performance, by Roger Guenveur Smith at The Joseph Papp Public Theater. In this performance, Smith creates a representation of the activist Huey P. Newton's life and time as a person, a citizen and an activist. During the performance, images are shown up-stage from activist movement era. The simple arrangement of Smith sitting in a chair stage-center makes the audience focus on the dialogue of the performer. Smith captures the attention of the audience throughout the film by putting into play his solo performance skills. Smith's idea for the performance originated in 1989 and took root as a stage play in 1996. Smith's performance attempted to show a shy individual that Huey P. Newton believed himself to be. He did not consider himself a charismatic person, although he had made many contributions to his community. Smith shows Newton as a conservative individual who is disgusted by having microphones and cameras close to him.
The Black Panther Party was a Marxist–Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, California. The party was active in the United States between 1966 and 1982, with chapters in many major American cities, including San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Philadelphia. They were also active in many prisons and had international chapters in the United Kingdom and Algeria. Upon its inception, the party's core practice was its open carry patrols ("copwatching") designed to challenge the excessive force and misconduct of the Oakland Police Department. From 1969 onward, the party created social programs, including the Free Breakfast for Children Programs, education programs, and community health clinics. The Black Panther Party advocated for class struggle, claiming to represent the proletarian vanguard.
Revolutionary Suicide is an autobiography written by Huey P. Newton with assistance from J. Herman Blake originally published in 1973. Newton was a major figure in the American black liberation movement and in the wider 1960s counterculture. He was a co-founder and leader of what was then known as the Black Panther Party (BPP) for Self-Defence with Bobby Seale. The Chief ideologue and strategist of the BPP, Newton taught himself how to read during his last year of high school, which led to his enrollment in Merrit College in Oakland in 1966; the same year he formed the BPP. The Party urged members to challenge the status quo with armed patrols of the impoverished streets of Oakland, and to form coalitions with other oppressed groups. The party spread across America and internationally as well, forming coalitions with the Vietnamese, Chinese, and Cubans. This autobiography is an important work that combines political manifesto and political philosophy along with the life story of a young African American revolutionary. The book was not universally well received but has had a lasting influence on the black civil rights movement and resonates today in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Donald Lee Cox, known as Field Marshal DC, was an early member of the leadership of the African American revolutionary leftist organization the Black Panther Party, joining the group in 1967. Cox was titled the Field Marshal of the group during the years he actively participated in its leadership, due to his familiarity with and writing about guns.
The East Bay Dragons MC is an all-black, all-male, all-Harley Davidson riding motorcycle club founded in Oakland, California, in 1959 by Tobie Gene Levingston, who died in July 2020.
Mark Everett Comfort was a community activist who worked in early Oakland grassroots civil rights movements in the 1960s, before moving to Lowndes County, Alabama.
All Power to the People: Black Panthers at 50 was an exhibition hosted by the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) from October 8, 2016, to February 26, 2017. The exhibit was organized by OMCA's senior curator René De Guzman.
Constance Evadine Matthews, better known as Connie Matthews, was an organizer, a part of the Black Panther Party between 1968 and 1971. A resident of Denmark, she helped co-ordinate the Black Panthers with left-wing political groups based in Europe.
Intercommunalism is an ideology which was adopted by the Oakland chapter of the Black Panther Party after its turn away from revolutionary nationalism in 1970. According to Huey P. Newton the development of intercommunalism was necessary "because nations have been transformed into communities of the world." Intercommunalists believe that most forms of nationalism are obsolescent, because international corporations and technologically advanced imperialist states have reduced most nations down to a series of discrete communities which exist to supply an imperial center, a situation called reactionary intercommunalism. They also believe this situation can be transformed into revolutionary intercommunalism and eventually communism if communities are able to link "liberated zones" together into a united front against imperialism. Intercommunalism is a lesser-known aspect of the Panthers' legacy as much of its development occurred at the height of the party's suppression and reorientation towards survival programs.
And I've never known to this day where it came from, but the first thing that came out for us to study was "The Foundations of Leninism", by Josef Stalin. And as far as I'm concerned, that was the beginning of the end, because that was the book that was used to turn the emphasis from the struggle to the party. Instead of the struggle for the liberation of Black people becoming the most important thing, it was the party that became the most important thing. Then the democratic centralism, and all that Marxist-Leninist paraphernalia that most of the organizations calling themselves communist was based on. But the so-called central committee, and I'm gonna tell the truth, was David Hilliard at that time.
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