Bobby Seale facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bobby Seale
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Seale in 1971
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| Born |
Robert George Seale
October 22, 1936 Liberty, Texas, U.S.
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| Education | Merritt College |
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Notable work
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Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton |
| Political party | Black Panther |
| Spouse(s) |
Leslie Johnson
(m. 1974) |
Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American engineer, activist, and author. He is best known for helping to create the Black Panther Party with his friend Huey P. Newton. The Party's main goal was to watch police activities and speak out against unfair treatment of people in black communities. This started in Oakland, California, and later spread across the United States.
Seale was one of eight people charged by the U.S. government after protests against the Vietnam War in Chicago, Illinois, during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. His appearance in court was widely known. During the trial, Seale was sometimes bound and gagged in court because the judge said he was causing disruptions.
His case was later separated from the others, changing the "Chicago Eight" to the "Chicago Seven". The government decided not to try him again on those charges. Even though he was never found guilty in that case, the judge sentenced Seale to four years for showing disrespect to the court. This sentence was later overturned.
In 1970, while in prison, Seale faced charges as part of the New Haven Black Panther trials. The jury could not agree on a verdict in his trial, and the charges were eventually dropped.
Seale has written several books, including A Lonely Rage: The Autobiography of Bobby Seale, Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton, and Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers (with Stephen Shames).
Contents
Early Life and Education
Bobby Seale was born in Liberty, Texas. His father, George Seale, was a carpenter, and his mother, Thelma Seale, was a homemaker. His family lived in poverty for much of his early life. After moving around Texas, his family moved to Berkeley, California, when he was eight years old. This move was part of the Great Migration, when many African Americans moved from the Southern U.S. to other parts of the country.
Seale went to Berkeley High School. He left school in 1955 and joined the United States Air Force. Three years later, he was discharged from the Air Force after a military trial found him guilty of fighting with a commanding officer.
After leaving the Air Force, Seale worked as a sheet metal mechanic in different aerospace factories. At the same time, he studied at night to earn his high school diploma. He later attended Merritt Community College where he studied engineering and politics until 1962.
While in college, Bobby Seale joined the Afro-American Association (AAA). This group focused on learning about African and African-American history, as well as discussing philosophy, religion, economics, and politics. Through this group, Seale met Huey P. Newton.
In 1966, Seale started working at a summer youth program in North Oakland. He aimed to teach young people about Black American History and encourage them to help their communities. During this program, Seale met Bobby Hutton, who later became the first person to join the Black Panther Party.
Seale married Artie Seale, and they had a son named Malik Nkrumah Stagolee Seale.
Activism and Leadership
Founding the Black Panther Party
Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton were greatly inspired by the ideas of activist Malcolm X, who had been killed in 1965. In October 1966, Seale and Newton came together to create the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense. They adopted Malcolm X's idea of "freedom by any means necessary."
Before starting the Black Panther Party, Seale and Newton formed a group called the Soul Students Advisory Council. This group aimed to help develop leaders who would go back to the black community and serve it in a revolutionary way.
After this, Seale and Newton founded the Black Panther Party. They wanted to organize the black community to express their needs and desires. They also wanted to resist the unfair treatment and class differences they saw in society. Seale described the Panthers as an organization that represented black people. He said many white activists understood that the Black Panther Party was a righteous group fighting against a racist and unfair system.
Party Principles and Surveillance
Seale and Newton wrote important documents for the Black Panther Party. These included "What We Want Now!", which listed practical things they believed were needed, and "What We Believe," which explained the Party's philosophical ideas. These writings were part of the Party's Ten-Point Program. This program was a set of guidelines for the Party's goals and how it would operate.
Newton was named Minister of Defense, and Seale became the Chairman of the Party. During his time with the Panthers, Seale was watched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as part of a secret program called COINTELPRO.
In 1968, Seale wrote Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton, which was published in 1970.
The Chicago 8 Trial
Bobby Seale was one of the original "Chicago Eight" defendants. They were charged after protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Seale said that being a revolutionary meant being an enemy of the state, and being arrested for this struggle meant being a political prisoner. The evidence against Seale was not strong. He had not planned the protests and went to Chicago at the last minute. He was only in Chicago for two days of the convention.
During the trial, Judge Julius Hoffman ordered Seale to be bound and gagged in the courtroom. This happened because Seale spoke out about not having his own lawyer present, as his attorney was in the hospital. He was bound and gagged for several days of the trial.
Although he was never found guilty in the main case, on November 5, 1969, Judge Hoffman sentenced Seale to four years in prison for showing disrespect to the court. The judge eventually ordered Seale's case to be separated from the others. The remaining defendants became known as the "Chicago Seven".
New Haven Black Panther Trials
While serving his four-year sentence, Seale was tried in 1970 as part of the New Haven Black Panther trials. The jury could not reach a decision in Seale's trial, and the charges were eventually dropped. His sentence for disrespecting the court was also suspended, and Seale was released from prison in 1972.
Later Activities
In 1973, Seale ran for Mayor of Oakland, California as a Democrat. He received the second-highest number of votes among nine candidates. However, he lost in a second round of voting to the current Mayor, John Reading.
In 1974, Seale ended his connection with the Black Panther Party. Seale has said that he and Huey Newton remained friends.
The Ten Point Platform
Seale worked with Huey Newton to create the Ten Point Platform. This document included political and social demands they believed were necessary for Black people in the United States to survive and thrive. The two men developed the Ten Point Platform in the late 1960s, and these ideas led to the creation of the Black Panther Party.
The document talked about the unfair economic treatment of Black people and addressed the mistreatment of the Black community. It suggested that a mix of racism and capitalism led to unfair systems in the United States. The Ten Point Platform called for full employment for Black people, good housing, and good education. They defined good education as learning the full history of the United States, including the displacement of Native Americans and the enslavement of Africans. The platform also called for the release of political prisoners.
Other Work
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In 1978, Seale wrote his autobiography called A Lonely Rage. In 1987, he wrote a cookbook titled Barbeque'n with Bobby Seale: Hickory & Mesquite Recipes. The money from this book went to different non-profit organizations. Seale also appeared in advertisements for Ben & Jerry's ice cream.
In 1998, Seale appeared on the television documentary series Cold War, where he discussed events from the 1960s. Bobby Seale was also a main person in the 1999 documentary Public Enemy by Jens Meurer.
In 2002, Seale started focusing his time on Reach!, a group that creates education programs for young people. He has also taught black studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. Also in 2002, Seale moved back to Oakland. There, he worked with young political activists to help bring about social change. In 2006, he appeared in the documentary The U.S. vs. John Lennon to talk about his friendship with John Lennon. Seale has also visited over 500 colleges to share his experiences as a Black Panther and to give advice to students interested in community organizing and social justice.
Since 2013, Seale has been working to produce a screenplay he wrote. It is based on his autobiography and is called Seize the Time: The Eighth Defendant.
Seale co-authored Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers, a book published in 2016 with photographer Stephen Shames.
See also
In Spanish: Bobby Seale para niños
