'My mother announced that he (Huey) was coming over for breakfast,' Fredrika said. I remember being struck by that.'įollowing this experience, Fredrika went off to college in Oregon, but she returned home on school break to an encounter that would change her life. 'You know, he looked like a God and the crowd around me was so diverse. 'I remember being really close to him when he was standing on top of the Volkswagen and being kind of mesmerized by it,' Fredrika went on. The rally drew a massive crowd of supporters outside of the Alameda County Courthouse. 5, 1970, Fredrika's neighbors took her to the 'Free Huey' rally as he was released from prison. But I, like many teenagers, I wanted to do exactly the opposite of what my parents were doing.'įredrika credits her neighbors, including Tom Hayden who was a prominent social activist and at one time married to Jane Fonda, for her formal introduction to the party. My mother was an activist and we were marching in demonstrations from the time we could walk. I didn't have a loud enough voice and that I really wasn't Black enough to be a part of this vanguard organization. 'What intimidated me was that I just felt that I wasn't enough. 'I wasn't intimidated by what the party did or stood for,' she continued. VIDEO: The story behind the legendary Black Panther Party's revolutionary newspaper, art I wasn't politically active.'įredrika was born and raised in Oakland, Calif. 'I didn't have any intimate knowledge of the party. 'Everyone knew about the Black Panther Party,' Fredrika said. It quickly morphed into an international party that developing social, educational and health programs to serve Black and other oppressed communities. It began as a grassroots organization that dispatched legally armed members to monitor police misconduct and inform people of their rights. The Black Panther Party, originally called the Black Panther Party for Self Defense, was founded in Oakland in 1966 during the Black Power Movement. To better understand the man, it's important to get to know the party he helped create. The location is the site of a bronze bust created to honor Dr. The interview took place on a median along Mandela Parkway in West Oakland. She sat down with ABC7 News anchor Jobina Fortson for a conversation about her late husband's life, the revolution he led, and their love. His life story has been shared by many, but no one knows it quite like his widow, Fredrika Newton.

Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, would have turned 81 this year. Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, sat down to share details on his life, the revolution he led, and their love.

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