Seale, Bobby (1936–)

Born as Robert George Seale, he became the chairman and cofounder of the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (BPP) from 1966 to 1974. Seale, spurred by the assassination of Malcolm X and an increasing call for civil rights activism, formed the BPP to guard against police brutality and provide social services in African American neighborhoods. Merging community welfare programs, political education, armed defense of civil rights, and defiant calls for “power to the people,” the Black Panthers were once described by J. Edgar Hoover as the greatest threat to the internal security of the country.

Seale was born in Dallas, Texas, and relocated several times with his family during his youth before [Page 1273]settling in Oakland, California. Seale left high school to enlist in the Air Force, but returned to Oakland 3 years later, after a court-martial that led to his dishonorable discharge. While attending Merritt College in Oakland, Seale became involved in the school's Afro-American Association (AAA), where his growing awareness of African American social history and disenfranchisement spurred him to become active in the civil rights movement. It was also through his association with the AAA that, in 1962, Seale met Huey Newton, his cofounder of the Black Panther Party.

Together with Newton, Seale authored the BPP's 10-point program, designed to oppose institutionalized racism and gain justice, equity, and self-determination for the African American population and other disem-powered groups. The BPP evolved rapidly into a militant Marxist revolutionary group, opening recruiting centers across the country, and sponsoring the Free Breakfast for Children Program, preventative medical health care clinics, “liberation” schools, and a newspaper with 250,000 readers. By 1968, BPP listed 5,000 members, 45 chapters nationwide, and had forged coalitions with a wide range of grassroots activist groups.

Seale was arrested in 1968 as one of the Chicago Eight for conspiracy and crossing state lines to incite a riot at the Democratic National Convention. During the trial, his case was severed from those of his codefendants, when he was charged with 16 counts of contempt of court, and sentenced to 4 years in prison. While serving this sentence, he was also accused of the Free 1970 torture-murder of Alex Rackley, a former Black Panther suspected of being a police informant. A hung jury led to the dismissal of charges in 1971, and the following year, the federal government also overturned the earlier charges of contempt. During his incarceration, Seale authored Seize the Time: The Story of the BPP and the Political Views of Huey Newton (1970).

After his release from prison in 1972, Seale moderated his more militant political views, and entered the Oakland mayoral race, finishing second of nine candidates. In 1974, Seale severed ties with the BPP, and left Oakland, in a series of moves that ultimately brought him to work with youth in the Philadelphia area, and also to serve 10 years as community liaison officer for Temple University's Afro-American Studies Department. Since leaving Oakland, he has authored his autobiography, A Lonely Rage (1978), and Barbeque'n with Bobby (1987), as well as holding roles in the films Malcolm X (1992) and Rude Awakening (1989), and appearing as himself in numerous television and film productions. Seale, who refers to himself as a “political revolutionary humanist,” returned to Oakland in 2002, where he continues to work with youth for social and political change.

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