To Die for the People

by Huey Newton, Toni Morrison, Elaine Brown

Overview

A fascinating, first-person account of a historic era in the struggle for black empowerment in America.

Long an iconic figure for radicals, Huey Newton is now being discovered by those interested in the history of America's social movements. Was he a gifted leader of his people or a dangerous outlaw? Were the Black Panthers heroes or terrorists?

Whether Newton and the Panthers are remembered in a positive or a negative light, no one questions Newton's status as one of America's most important revolutionaries. To Die for the People is a recently issued classic collection of his writings and speeches, tracing the development of Newton's personal and political thinking, as well as the radical changes that took place in the formative years of the Black Panther Party.

With a rare and persuasive honesty, To Die for the People records the Party's internal struggles, rivalries and contradictions, and the result is a fascinating look back at a young revolutionary group determined to find ways to deal with the injustice it saw in American society. And, as a new foreword by Elaine Brown makes eminently clear, Newton's prescience and foresight make these documents strikingly pertinent today.

Huey Newton was the founder, leader and chief theoretician of the Black Panther Party, and one of America’s most dynamic and important revolutionary philosophers.

"Huey P. Newton's To Die for the People represents one of the most important analyses of the politics of race, black radicalism, and democracy written during the civil rights-Black Power era. It remains a crucial and indispensible text in our contemporary efforts to understand the continuous legacy of social movements of the 1960s and 1970s."
—Peniel Joseph, author of Waiting Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America

"Huey P. Newton's name, and more importantly, his history of resistance and struggle, is little more than a mystery for many younger people. The name of a third-rate rapper is more familiar to the average Black youth, and that's hardly surprising, for the public school system is invested in ignorance, and Huey P. Newton was a rebel — and more, a Black Revolutionary . . . who gave his best to the Black Freedom movement; who inspired millions of others to stand."
—Mumia Abu Jamal, political prisoner and author of Jailhouse Lawyers

"Newton's ability to see theoretically, beyond most individuals of his time, is part of his genius. The opportunity to recognize that genius and see its applicability to our own times is what is most significant about this new edition."
—Robert Stanley Oden, former Panther, Professor of Government, California State University, Sacramento

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780872865297
Publisher:	City Lights Books
Publication date:	09/01/2009
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	149,518
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Huey Newton was co-founder and leader of the Black Panther Party, and its chief theoretician. In 1967 Newton was arrested and charged with killing an Oakland police officer during a dispute, leading to a much-publicized "Free Huey" campaign. In 1980, Newton earned a doctorate in philosophy from the Universityof California. He died in 1989.

Toni Morrison is a Nobel-prize winning American author, editor and professor. Among the best known of her novels are The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon and Beloved, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1988.

Elaine Brown became, in 1974, the first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party. Today, as an activist, writer and popular lecturer, she promotes the vision of an inclusive and egalitarian society, focusing on resolving problems of race, gender oppression and class disparity in the United States.

Table of Contents

Foreword xiii

Introduction xxv

I The Party 1

The Ten-Point Program 3

Executive Mandate No. 1: May 2, 1967 7

Executive Mandate No. 2: June 29, 1967 9

The Correct Handling of a Revolution: July 20, 1967 14

Speech Delivered at Boston College: November 18, 1970 20

Resolutions and Declarations: December 5, 1970 39

On the Defection of Eldridge Cleaver from the Black Panther Party and the Defection of the Black Panther Party from the Black Community: April 17, 1971 44

Statement: May 1, 1971 54

On the Relevance of the Church: May 19, 1971 60

II The People 75

Black America

Fear and Doubt: May 15, 1967 77

From "In Defense of Self-Defense" I: June 20, 1967 80

From "In Defense of Self-Defense" II: July 3, 1967 85

To the Black Movement: May 15, 1968 90

To the Republic of New Africa: September 13, 1969 94

Black Capitalism Re-analyzed I: June 5, 1971 99

Black Capitalism Re-analyzed II: August 9, 1971 109

He Won't Bleed Me: A Revolutionary Analysis of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: June 19, 1971 112

White America

On the Peace Movement: August 15, 1969 149

The Women's Liberation and Gay Liberation Movements: August 15, 1970 153

To the Revolutionary People's Constitutional Convention: September5, 1970 157

Reply to William Patterson: September 19, 1970 164

The Third World

To the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam: August 29, 1970 180

Letter from Nguyen Thi Dinh: October 31, 1970 184

Reply to Roy Wilkins re: Vietnam: September 26, 1970 188

On the Middle East: September 5, 1970 194

Repression Breeds Resistance: January 16, 1970200

Attica Statement: October 16, 1971 208

Uniting Against the Common Enemy: October 23, 1971 210

III The Bound and the Dead 219

Prisons: July 12, 1969 221

Eulogy for Jonathan Jackson and William Christmas: August 15, 1970 225

Lonnie McLucas and the New Haven 9: August 29, 1970 227

On the Capture of Angela Davis: October 17, 1970 232

Eulogy for Samuel Napier: May 1, 1971 234

On the Dismissal of the Case Against Bobby and Ericka: May 29, 1971 235

Editorial Reviews

"Huey P. Newton's To Die for the People represents one of the most important analyses of the politics of race, black radicalism, and democracy written during the civil rights-Black Power era. It remains a crucial and indispensible text in our contemporary efforts to understand the continuous legacy of social movements of the 1960s and 1970s."—Peniel Joseph, author of Waiting Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America

"Huey P. Newton's name, and more importantly, his history of resistance and struggle, is little more than a mystery for many younger people. The name of a third-rate rapper is more familiar to the average Black youth, and that's hardly surprising, for the public school system is invested in ignorance, and Huey P. Newton was a rebel—and more, a Black Revolutionary . . . who gave his best to the Black Freedom movement; who inspired millions of others to stand."—Mumia Abu Jamal, political prisoner and author of Jailhouse Lawyers

"Newton's ability to see theoretically, beyond most individuals of his time, is part of his genius. The opportunity to recognize that genius and see its applicability to our own times is what is most significant about this new edition."—Robert Stanley Oden, former Panther, Professor of Government, California State University, Sacramento

"The former leader and chief theoretician of the Black Panther Party, Huey Newton was (and for some, remains) an iconic figure. This new edition of writings and speeches from between 1967 and 1971 moves Newton out of the haze of memory and brings his ideas (as well as the early history of the Panthers) into sharp focus. Recording the Party's internal struggles, rivalries, and contradictions, selections trace the development of Newton's personal and political thinking during these tumultuous five years. A new introduction by activist and former Panther Elaine Brown puts Newton's writings and political ideas into broader perspective. This book will greatly appeal to both political activists and readers interested in the history of social movements."—Book News

"Golden Gate Park has once again become a nexus for huge music concerts. . . . Politically speaking, it's especially important to bridge a sense of then and now. One person who will be doing exactly that is David Hilliard, former chief of staff in the Black Panther Party, author of many books, and current-day teacher. 'Our purpose was always to ensure that art was part of our revolutionary political process,' says Hilliard."—Johnny Ray Huston, San Francisco Bay Guardian

From the Publisher