American University’s Kennedy Political Union speakers’ bureau invited Fredrika Newton, former Black Panther Party member, wife of Dr. Huey P. Newton and founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation to speak at the university on Feb. 28.
Revolutionary love is a term that has been associated with Newton time and time again, both in her love story, and her advocacy work. “People that love their community so much that they would be willing to lay down their life, that’s an example of revolutionary love to me,” said Newton.
Newton’s husband, Dr. Huey P. Newton was one of the founders of the Black Panther Party. The two fell in love and were married for five years before he was murdered in 1989.
At the event, Newton told her and her husband’s love story, from meeting him at her mother’s house as a college student to marrying him a few days after he proposed, to the day of his death. She stated that she was inspired to start the Huey P. Newton foundation after his death to create an accurate narrative of the party.
“We were maligned, displayed as thugs, hoodlums and gangsters. Very little is told about the work we did,” said Newton. Telling the truth about the party led Newton to start the foundation, which focuses on art, education and serving the community.
The Black Panther Party served the community through free-ambulance programs, free-breakfast programs which the federal government uses today, advocated for sickle cell anemia and lead poisoning research and other programs that not only supported the Black community, but all people.
The public is misinformed on what the Black Panther Party truly did, and instead depicts them as merely violent and militant. Instead, Newton claimed that “We provided what the government should have done and did not do.”
American education on the Black Panther Party factors into the misconceptions on the party. Many students do not learn about Black movements and organizations aside from Martin Luther King Jr. until much later in life, creating a palatable version of the Civil Rights Movement and erasing truthful narratives of the important players during the historic period. More coverage on the party and the truth of Black movements in schools is “vital— it’s the American story,” according to Newton.
The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation also focuses on art as education because the goal was to “communicate to [Black Americans] in a way that would capture their attention.” The works the foundation highlights include those of Assail Dixon, Emory Douglas and Malice Edwards, so “people could see themselves in these works,” permanently and for “not just organizing, but for spiritual fulfillment,” said Newton.
Newton’s inspiring and courageous story still begs questions about Black movements today and the offensive discourse surrounding their validity, mostly fostered by negative media. The party created the Intercommunal News Service which provided the public with what was really going on internationally, such as in Africa, Mozambique, Vietnam and so on. This news service combated mass media which inaccurately depicted the party and their intentions.
Parallels between the Black Panther Party and Black movements today are strong, including the negative discourse surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement, creating misconceptions. Newton says that “there is a lot of work to be done.”
Students are partakers in revolutionary love through advocacy, “a love that spanned many, many obstacles and continues today, against all odds.” She applauded students’ work, expressing the power that students and young people have.
“You’re doing the work of the Black Panther Party each day.”