Blog Chapter 33: The Life-Story of Huey P. Newton

Who is Huey P. Newton? He is a hero and a lot of people need to know about him. He died fighting for African American rights. Reading this about him will give you a better outlook on things. His teachings taught many and this man died tragically fighting for us. The Government wanted to shut him and the others up because they didn't believe African Americans had the right to live their life. They tried to shut him up because they knew that because of him we had the chance of spreading our culture. Huey P. Newton was the founder of the Black Panther Party. He and his well-known friend Bobby Seale crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto in 1966. Let's not spoil too much in one paragraph, let's begin with his early life.

On February 17, 1942, Huey P. Newton was born. He was raised in Louisiana by a Sharecropper and Baptist lay preacher. I will not state their names due to respect toward his family. The town he lived in was no good. What I mean is, if you were African American you had the chance of being targeted. He lived in Monroe Louisiana. From 1877 to 1950 there were 37 African American victims lynched. Most of the murders happened once the turn of the 20th century came around. Monroe was the fifth-highest total in lynchings. The Newton family was not going to allow themselves to live threw that. So, they moved to Oakland California participating in the migration of blacks leaving the south to California. The Newton family did struggle but Huey did make it known he was fed and had a roof over his head. During his teenage years, he was constantly harassed by the police. He was constantly getting arrested for gun possession and vandalism. He said he felt as if they wanted him to feel ashamed for being black. In his autobiography, he exposed the truth about schools in the US in general. Here he states:

"During those long years in Oakland public schools, I did not have one teacher who taught me anything relevant to my own life or experience. Not one instructor ever awoke in me a desire to learn more or to question or to explore the worlds of literature, science, and history. All they did was try to rob me of the sense of my own uniqueness and worth, and in the process nearly killed my urge to inquire".

What he stated was the truth and still is. I notice in all my 12 years of school the history books never told the truth. Like Native American history, the pilgrims didn't eat with the Native Americans or share their food and land. They actually sat and celebrated stealing their land and killing 700 Native Americans. I noticed the research I did on the internet was most of the time false. I would have to dig deeper and deeper in order to find the truth. I shouldn't have to but sadly that's how it is. Huey P. Newton graduated high school and started his higher education at Merritt College where he earned an Associate of Arts degree in 1966.

Newton ended up being convicted for the death of an officer. Later on, the charges were dropped and Newton was free. It took three trials to prove that the officer that Huey so-called killed set him up. The officer had a huge reputation for being abusive and racist to African Americans. The officer forced Newton out of his car and attacked him in the process by calling him racial slurs. Mind you Newton was trying to get the cop off him. The cop shot Newton in the stomach and the second officer with the cop was injured. Then John Frey the cop shot himself. John Frey as a cop had a history of being racist. He went down to a school and lectured kids on why you should hate black people by calling African Americans the N-word. He would pull innocent African Americans over just to verbally and physically attack them. One of the witnesses at the court hearing lied and said that Newton shot Frey and the other cop. Saying he took a handgun out of his jacket and shot them. The inspectors in court tested the witness's theory and the gun didn't even fit in the pocket. It kept falling out. Later on, Newton was released. They started to realize that Newton was innocent and that the actual truth was because of his race. Sadly though, the officer to this day is being defended and that is not okay. They switched it up on the Black Panther Party and called African Americans Racist. Here is a photo of a description defending a racist. A photo of a description defending a racist flipping the whole situation on us and playing the victim.

He isn't the only cop that has been defended. What a lot of people don't realize is that white supremacists have been doing this for years and decades. I have seen more than just him being defended. Making African Americans look bad. To this day, they are defending Frey and using Newton's innocence making it seem like Newton was the one being racist and a murderer. Yet, many black citizens in the neighborhood have shown and proven that this cop was going into their neighborhood attacking African American Citizens that were just minding their business. He went into a school and told kids as I quote " To hate niggers". I hate to even say that word but that was said by a witness defending Newton. This man was ignored. That man told what he witnessed this racist cop do to African Americans. They ignored him and Newton was forced to be on his own. They sent that man who tried helping Newton to jail. I also feel the bus driver who said Newton was guilty was held against his own will. I feel he was forced by someone who knew Frey to lie and that if he didn't we all know what would happen. The bus driver was black. Just know, they would use a black person in court hearings to win cases. They would use another black person to get the black man convicted of a crime he didn't do. If they didn't even speak up about something they never even saw, they would be sent to jail. If they saw the actual situation and told what actually happen instead of a lie they were supposed to tell, they were sent to jail. They were forced to lie. For years white supremacy would try to hide what they were doing and switch it up to make it seem like we were the bad people. Mainly because white supremacists wanted and still want power. I noticed that once the truth comes out about a racist tragedy that happened to a person of color they try to cover it up and play the victim. They've been doing it for years and they are still doing it.

The heroic things Huey P. Newton did for the Black Community

This man and Bobby Seale helped many African Americans learn how to defend themselves. He and Bobby Seale crafted the Black Panther Party of Self-Defense. Under Newton's leadership, he founded over 60 programs including, food banks, health clinics, sickle cell anemia tests, prison busing for families of inmates, legal advice seminars, clothing banks, housing cooperatives, and their own ambulance service. His most famous program was the free breakfast for children program which fed many struggling children in poverty. We can't forget that he created a newspaper service for mainly African Americans and it became a worldwide newspaper for black people. He taught many people to fight for their rights and stand against those who tried to take their rights away from them. He looked back at his own experience and even said before he never knew what his rights were. He had a point. Living in America as a person of color, you are free but under conditions. You really don't have the same rights as they say you do. If you try to state your rights in court they won't care but if it was a white supremacist who murdered an innocent black man he could state his rights and get away with it.

Sadly, Huey P. Newton was murdered. He was shot on the streets of Oakland and many think it was the Law and not just some random guy knowing that Huey was very well respected and law enforcement in Oakland didn't like him. The media said he was on drugs and was an alcoholic most of the time and I don't believe it. Why don't I believe it is because back then they had this thing called blackface. Where they mimicked us by painting themselves black and making us look like animals. They were making us look like aggressive creatures. Once they saw black people showing that they aren't actually what they say they were and that they were harmless the authorities who were to protect and serve murdered them secretly just to then blame them for drugs and alcohol every time. They mainly targeted the ones who spoke up like Huey P. Newton. They targeted them just to shut them up and blindsight citizens into making them look bad. All I have to say is...Keep fighting. Remember that you have the right to live no matter your race, skin, or ethnicity. America is a country that is free under conditions. Especially if you are a person of color. Keep fighting for your rights and don't stop until they give in.

Thank you for reading!