![]() ![]() Like many others in the black community, Huey Newton had become a crack addict. Only 27 members could claim membership by 1980, and in 1982 the Oakland Panther-sponsored school closed after it had become known that Newton was embezzling funds from the school to pay for his drug addiction. Some say that by the time Wilson took over the BPP it was already on its death bed, but the influence and numbers of the Black Panthers continued to decline. Several BPP candidates or BPP-backed candidates, made runs for various offices, culminating in the election of Lionel Wilson as the first black mayor of Oakland. Under Brown, the party became a significant force in local politics. Before he jumped bail in 1974, Huey Newton appointed Elaine Brown as the first female BPP chairwoman. These internal political disputes and the costs of so many legal battles were decimating the BPP. Arrested and charged with the murder and the assault, he managed to post $80,000 bond and flee to Cuba with a girlfriend. He also pistol-whipped his tailor, Preston Callins, for making the same mistake. In August of 1974, Huey Newton shot and killed 17-year-old prostitute Kathleen Smith for calling him "Baby," a moniker he hated. Seale would later deny the incident, but he ended his association with the Black Panther Party. Newton allegedly had Seale beaten severely, and Seale went into hiding for a year. His relations with Newton became strained and in 1974 they argued about a proposed movie to be made about the Black Panther Party. He ran for the office of mayor of Oakland, and paced a respectable second in the election. In 1972, Bobby Seale was released from prison following the Alex Rackley murder trial. However, Cleaver went on to lead the Black Liberation Army, which had previously existed as an underground paramilitary wing of the party. ![]() As a result Cleaver was expelled from the BPP's Central Committee. Others such as Eldridge Cleaver, the m inister of information, embraced a more militant strategy.Ĭleaver deepened the schism in the party when he publicly criticized the party for adopting a "reformist" rather than "revolutionary" agenda. Panther leaders Huey Newton and David Hilliard favored a focus on community service coupled with self-defense. A serious split occurred within the party. The remaining BPP leaders could not agree on how to overcome these issues. Many of the Black Panther Party leadership had become entangled in criminal trials or were serving long prison sentences. They also listened to allegations of Newton's mismanagement and murders within the Black Panther organization. Many of the former Black Panther members had, like Jackson, become BGF members in prison and had become disenchanted with Newton for his perceived neglect of imprisoned black people. ![]()
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