In honor of Black History Month, Kennedy Political Union will host Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, in Kay Spiritual Life Center on Wednesday.
"We wanted to show the role black nationalism played in the Civil Rights movement," said Emily Fuller, KPU director.
Seale created the Black Panther Party in Oakland, Calif., with Huey Newton in order to guard against police brutality in black neighborhoods and provide social services. Seale and Newton were inspired by Malcolm X's later views, including a call for international working class unity and joint action with white revolutionary groups. The group later developed into a Marxist group.
"Our view was: If you don't attack us, there won't be any violence; [but] if you bring violence to us, we will defend ourselves," said Seale in a 1996 CNN interview.
Although Seale has a controversial past, KPU does not feel that student reaction will be negative.
"KPU brings speakers with various viewpoints. Bringing radical views evoke discussion," Fuller said.
In 1968, FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover considered the party to be "...the greatest threat to the internal security of the United States." Later that year, Seale and seven other members of the Black Panther Party were charged with conspiracy to riot during the Democratic National Convention.
The prosecution used excerpts from Seale's speech at a rally during the convention to prove his guilt: "If the police get in the way of our march, tangle with the blue-helmeted motherf***ers and kill them and send them to the morgue slab."
During the trial, Seale had several angry outbursts about the defense lawyer who was chosen for him, whom Seale considered inadequate. Charges were later dropped.
In 1971, Seale was tried for the torture murder of former Black Panther member Alex Rackley, who was suspected of being a police informant. The trial ended in a hung jury, and the judge dropped all other charges.
After the trial Seale lightened his militant views and ran for the mayor of Oakland, Calif. He placed second in the election out of nine other candidates for mayor that year.
KPU and the history, philosophy, and sociology departments, Graduate Leadership Council, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and Community Action and Social Justice group are co-sponsoring the event.
Black History Month events this week includes creative writing readings from black graduate students on Feb. 23 in the School of International Service Lounge at 8 p.m., Dance Dance Revolution in Hughes on Thursday and ice skating at the sculpture garden on Friday (both at 7:20 p.m. sponsored by ZPhiB), The Mic on Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. in Davenport and a community service event from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Feb. 26, both sponsored by the Black Student Alliance. For details contact Melva Jones at mjones@american.edu.
