Hoover described the Panthers as 'the greatest threat to the internal security of the country' and ordered the FBI to employ 'hard-hitting counter-intelligence measures to cripple the Black Panthers'. The activities of the Black Panthers came to the attention of J. The following year he published his memoirs, Soul on Ice (1968), established him as one of African American's the most important political figures.

Cleaver was now a committed revolutionary and called for an armed insurrection and the establishment of a black socialist government.Ĭleaver married Kathleen Neal on 27th December, 1967. Soon afterwards he was appointed the organization's minister of information. While in San Quentin he began reading books on black civil rights and was particularly influenced by the writings of Malcolm X.Īfter leaving prison in 1966 Cleaver joined the Black Panther Party (BPP). Found guilty, he was sentenced to a term of two to fourteen years in prison. While in prison Cleaver became interested in politics and read the works of Karl Marx, Tom Paine, William Du Bois and Lenin.Ĭleaver was released in 1957 but the following year he was arrested and charged with attempted murder. Found guilty he was sentenced to 30 months in Soledad Prison.

Soon after his release he was arrested for possession of marijuana. As a teenager he was sent to reform school for stealing a bicycle and selling marijuana. Eldridge Cleaver, the son of a nightclub piano player, was born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas, in 1935.

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