BRTW Salutes Kathleen Cleaver

Activist, Professor of Law, and Black Panther Badass

Listen to “BHM Heroes Ep 1 Kathleen Cleaver” on Spreaker.

Podcast episode transcript below:

Hey Revolutionaries! This is Heather Harvey, Black Revolutionary Theatre Workshop Co-founder and Producing Ensemble Member. Welcome to BRTW’s Black History Month Heroes. Every day throughout the month of February we’ll be telling you about the black folks who inspire us to be better, badder, and more revolutionary. Today’s hero is: Kathleen Cleaver

Kathleen Cleaver was born Kathleen Neal in Dallas, Texas in 1945. Both of her parents were activists and U of M graduates. Cleaver and her family didn’t stay in Texas for long. In fact, she spent much of formative years traveling. From Texas to Alabama, India, Liberia, and the Philippines, Cleaver was exposed to different political and religious ideologies before returning to the United States shortly after her brother’s death and finishing high school in 1963. She went onto Oberlin College (Obie love!) before transferring to Barnard and becoming involved with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in NYC. While organizing a student conference in Tennessee, Cleaver met then Minister of Information, Eldridge Cleaver who had recently published Soul on Ice.

In 1967, Kathleen Cleaver moved to San Francisco to create and assume the position of Communications Secretary for the Black Panther Party. She held press conferences, created and disseminated information, and held rallies on behalf of the Party. She also organized the national campaign to free Huey P. Newton. Later that year, she married Eldridge Cleaver, who went on to run on the Peace and Freedom ticket in the 1968 presidential election. But he wasn’t the only one with political ambition. That same year, Kathleen Cleaver ran for California’s 18th state assembly district. While she didn’t win, she did finish 3rd in a 4-candidate race.

Of course, 1968 was one of the most impactful years in recent history, especially as it relates to the civil rights era. As Black rights and the Vietnam War continued to reveal extremes within our country, social and political discord spilled into American streets. The Panthers became a larger target, and California police raided the Cleaver’s San Francisco apartment.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in April, which was the prime motivation for the conflict Eldridge Cleaver lead with 12 other Panthers against Oakland police just 2 days later. The conflict turned into a shoot-out, which resulted in Cleaver surrendering. As the Panthers surrendered, Oakland police opened fire, shooting and killing Bobby Hutton. Bobby Seale, one of the founders of the Black Panther Party, later said that the police likely assumed it was Seale they were shooting when they killed Hutton. Eldridge Cleaver and 2 officers were injured, but Cleaver was charged with attempted murder. He then jumped bail and fled the country.

Kathleen Cleaver reunited with her husband in Algeria in 1969. While abroad, she gave birth to 2 children. In 1971 the International branch of the Black Panther Party dissolved. Kathleen and Eldridge Cleaver then formed the Revolutionary People’s Communication Network. Kathleen Cleaver returned to NYC with her children to promote the new organization, which was beginning to ruffle feathers in Algeria. Eldridge Cleaver had to leave Algeria and secretly fled to France, where Kathleen Cleaver later reunited with him in 1974. Only a year later, however, the couple returned to the states, and Eldridge Cleaver was jailed.

Kathleen Cleaver worked on the Eldridge Cleaver Defense Fund, and Eldridge Cleaver was freed in 1976, sentenced to 5 years probation and 2000 hours of community service. By 1980, Eldridge Cleaver’s political views started sounding much more conservative, and in an uncharacteristic speech, he advocated for police and stated that he deliberately ambushed the police in the 1968 conflict. His tone had changed so much that some speculate that his later statements about the event were actually part of a concession plan to receive community service instead of serious jail time.

Kathleen Cleaver left Eldridge Cleaver in 1981 and received a full scholarship to Yale University. Her divorce finalized in 1987, and she graduated from Yale Law School in 1989. She went on to join the faculty at Emory University, Yale University, and Sarah Lawrence. In addition to her role in the academy, she also works on a number of campaigns, including the campaign to free Mumia Abu-Jamal.

BRTW salutes Kathleen Cleaver for her sheer bad-assery. She traveled the globe fighting the good fight. Tune in tomorrow for another BHM hero. PEACE!

Don’t Miss BRTW’S

Live Black History Month Heroes Celebration

Friday 2.23.18 & Saturday 2.24.18 from 8:00 – 9:30 pm
353 Studios in Manhattan

There will be booze, Black history, and bad-assery