thumbnail of A talk with Bobby Seale / interviewed by Elsa Knight Thompson.
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Bobbie I'd I'd like to. To begin this in a different way I think. I'd like to say to the audience. That I don't feel at all objective about this that I have known you both personally and professionally for several years. That I have the utmost admiration and respect for you that I have observed you always driven almost beyond human in durance by your devotion to your own people. And to what you thought their needs were. I remember. That you were one of the first black people that I ever spoke to who pointed out that this was not a racist thing. Who Refused to the idea of hating all white people
and it would help to incorporate that into the philosophy of the Black Panther Party. You know we. And Eldridge and Dave. I don't feel objective. I feel well all through the Second World War in Europe. I thought the shape that I was not a Jewess. And now I feel ashamed that I'm not black. And. I'd like you to talk a little Bobbie if you would as we used to talk when you came to see us about how you got into all this. After all there are ways that anybody as bright as you are and as beautiful as you are. Could have made it. You're a wonderful mimic. You probably could have been a well-known comedian by now.
What what and when and how did you start on the road which is led to where you are now. Well I'd like to say that you are a very beautiful human being Elsa and that's for sure. Regardless of color it is nothing to be ashamed of and to be proud of being a human being. I respect the right for people to survive. This is always been my understanding of your humanism and this shows me more so. That. It's not a race struggle it is in fact a class struggle of. Dominating. Ruling class circles who are oppressive and. Who explored the people. And these ruling class circles were infested in the government and with all their atrocious tactics of
murder and terror against the people. And especially black people and other black brown people and other poor oppressed people. It's necessary that people humanism. It's at the top of the ladder to guide directly. The development of mankind. Even to the extent of getting rid of the. Ruling Class war mongers and while this brutal system of government you know has been brutal black people and others for a long time many many years. I don't know I remember I got kicked out of the US military service over 10 years ago now. I've put in almost 4 years like a month in the US military service an Air Force
and I do would always have remembered supple weird question that wholly in my mind when I was kicked out of the service with what they call a bad conduct discharge. I got the discharge because I refused to accept. The operation on the part of my commanding officer at the time who. Was the friend. Oh I was in fact members of his family who won the collected agency downtown and he was going to put me in the stockade if I didn't bring those bills that I had up to date. I had some drums. I was a musician. We've played drums traps that cost me $600 and I got behind on bills and this collection agency was the was the. Family Man I was a
person of relative to the commanding officer and he got to cussing me out in his office and telling me he's going to put me in the stockade. And I was arguing with him about the fact that I knew I had to pay the bills and I had been to the Credit Union trying to get money to pay the bills and bring them up and I didn't think he should treat me like that. Give me a chance to do it. And he jumped up behind his desk and it was a steel model plane sitting up on his desk and he snatched at it and waved it in my face and I snatched it out of his hand. Sergeant come in there and I think it is going to bodily harm to me so I proceed to defend myself. Military service the nobility and I got back and then discharged after being in the stockade eight months. And this person had the ministration bill of the day I picked up my discharge and left the base told me that
you know in a very snotty hateful manner that when you get your little black gas bag out there you won't be able to get a job and I told him that when I asked him I see first I see what you want to say something like that for. Well that's just it we're going to be for you. And I said I like to reform you that it would no damn jobs out there when I come here. And he said I have five minutes to get up base and I asked him what was he going to do with the other four minutes and 59 seconds closer to take me no time to get off the base I don't have time to stand there. I know that him saying that to me stuck in my mind but I don't think I'm too much different from the average brother girls of the black community. I never finished high school. I finished high school with the regular run of high school I was kicked out of that three days before graduation because of disagreements between a gym teacher and I my left foot is injured and I always want to play football. A career on me
in the exercise room and I knew better of course I'd do 10 or 20 miles a hiking in the hills and stuff like this here. And I guess my family was just a regular family my father is a master carpenter of it. Many times it was times we couldn't get a job and there was times we. Regularly environment the black community. One time we had to defend himself against a man attacking him and he shot him and later they would give him many more government jobs. He's a master carpenter he taught me everything. I got a lot of trees you know but there's a lot of things the same like every time I go through a phase or something. The high school that didn't graduate I went back later and got my high school diploma and I got the service and military service right up to one month before that I didn't come out of there. And it's always that racism
existed in that system. It's subtle. A lot of times it is quite overt. Most of the time. When did you meet Huey to enter the NBA and begin to think in terms of not just what was done to you and what was dead your family and what's done to the people around you but in terms of the fact that something might be done about that. In other words when did you start to think in political terms. Well I really start thinking I guess in political terms. I seen what I seen from politics more with some kind of practice trying to do some about the things that I begin to observe is to do wrong and I begin to observe those things. More concrete. He'd been politically wrong when I did run into Huey when I met Hewitt and Mary College this is about what was it two three years after I got out of the service and I was about eight years ago now. Back in
19 61 I think it was 61 at Merritt college chicks who want to 60 to 61 I was 61 the year the black kid was at 61 I think. So I did it. Kennedy had a blockade on Cuba. That's when I married you and I guess us begin to try to you know do something because I knew something was wrong prior to bed I think I rejected racism quite a while back like most black people. Rejected injustice is the same bad thing which far back is overtly trying to object it was a joke too it was when I was about 16 and I felt it I saw it and I saw myself get regulated you know like the average black brother the black community through the shop courses and I was supposed to be able to deal with academics said the counselor. Things like this here poverty and other things in the black community where we were located brutality is I saw
white cops shoot down a black man as young as 13. And also black saw blacks saw black people shoot down each other that you know and I rejected it. And I always tried I guess to just like anybody else tries to survive to get a job what have you. You know but the development of the political thinking and understanding grasp from that perspective I guess it was around the time when I met Huey and begin to see you a number of organizations around 1961 coming up and cropping up and trying to join these organizations and do things and often all I did I didn't run with Huey very closely but I knew him rather well. In terms of we was always friends towards each other and he was the one of the first he's the first person to give me directions to be able to join the Afro-American Association at the time which now has become of a long time ago it became what we
call a culture a national salvation really hold that people struggle back and we got out of it and later I got out of it and off and on from there has been no when you hear you know I want to get on campus on certain projects here and you know get in and out of different organizations to one day. Three years ago. Well almost four know years ago we resigned from the organization that we helped build on the campus because of cultural nationalism in black racism is cross related with cultural nationalism. Other factors related to. These Most a lot of the colors too is not having the proper perspective about the historical experience of black people and how it is directly related to a correct development to teach the correct development areas of mankind. Where's the
ideology that black people need to purport to put forth is directly related to Marxism Leninism. It is our historical experiences. It will be rather different ideology to some extent to a large extent in fact but it still comes out of the historical spans of black people and it was developed by black people. It comes from as related to. Marxism Leninism because we see Marxism and as a philosophy that relates to the corrective of mankind in trying to solve problems. I think we learned this. I think we begin to see the need you know to move to a level of. Thinking about the necessity to build you know get have control of our own destiny on black communities but when you see something so practical philosophy and philosophical point of view so practical such as when Marx says that the ultimate goal of mankind is better of ending exploitation of
man by man and the oppression instead of that to implement a system. A system that deals with that absolute equality. By starting or beginning to be implemented well on the basis of wood from each person according to his or her ability and to each person according to his or her needs. And so understanding this. And the regulation to the historical experience of black people in America and the oppression we suffered and going forth into infamy. A basic ten point platform and program this. Directly related to the basic desires needs of black people here in America I think. And in fact. The ideology of the whole is placed and been placed into practice I think this would give the Black Panther Party members as a
whole you know an understanding political you know political perspective. And bombing how many times the accusation is made that it's just a sort of governments group and that it is a terrorist group. Now. Again I must put my own experience into this in order to. Say it on the slate. I remember the night when Rich Warren Wells were wounded. And Bobby Hutton was shot. And I was in what was then called defragmenting park the next day and I saw you on top of the truck. Or you could have been picked off from any place for half a mile around with thousands of black people in that park. And oh I remember what you were saying to them what you were saying to them was
don't riot organize. Yeah you were talking about self-defense. You you called them the crowd. You could have started a riot I think that day without too much trouble. And you did the exact reverse. More recently when the there was a brush with the said Francisco police at the black of their headquarters in San Francisco it was Father Eugene Boyle of the Catholic Church who came on the air and testified to our audience that it was the Panthers that averted a riot at that point. Now I wish you would talk. Something about the difference that you mean between self-defense which I guess every American has the right to. I mean white people have always had the right to have guns and terrorism and
shooting cops and the kinds of things which are said about the Black Panther organization and which in my experience of hearing you speak to black people it the two things don't jive. That's correct. In terms of how this demagogic lying misleading politicians. Mislead or lied to the people consistently about the party. And our main concern is with the survival of black people. This again is related to the historical experience even the last five year history history of black people in the black communities where over 250 black rebellions have occurred. Rides spontaneous on the part of the people. And of course we know that is directly in some instances in opposition to
the decadent and oppressive conditions that black people are subjected to in the black community. But. It was not to the people not to ride. We don't believe in rights one because of this historical experience and historical experience showed us showed here we are on the mend. He knew that. The only thing that happens when a spontaneous right breaks out is that thousands of black people are arrested. For example or hypothetically what concretely as related to many real examples of 25 or 50 who kill 150 or 200 or wounded 2000 of three or four thousand are arrested and there's no leadership and there's no organization to direct black people and all those black people cannot say this with that spontaneous
spontaneity movement. And there not being a real you organizations really for the people that will stand up for the people and teach them the correct methods by which to resist the oppression and the brutality and the unjust attacks did cops make in the black community when they come down in the community even during a riot. The over shooting of numerous rounds off into numerous buildings on a block and black people sitting up innocently shot and children be shot cure as what happened in New were the riots were going on there. We teach young blacks that first it must be our own eyes we have us understand the correct methods by which to resist the power structure. And we also teach black people all of them that they have a right to have weapons and they are by this very Constitutional Amendment the Second Amendment of United States and they have a right as human beings to defend themselves when unjustly attacked. And we
have advocated that and we will continue to advocate that because that's the brink of survival. We also teach black people that it's not necessary to go out and. Work on a scale of rock and bottle operations but that in fact the police occupy a community lack of foreign troops occupies territory and we teach them that it's a fascist operation fascist tactics of the use against black people. And then when we were attacked by cops from the politicians what have you and the CIA behind the scene and the FBI are working out maneuvers to tragic spontaneously get back people to come out and test their. Police state ability to corral such we try to show black people that not to fall into those kind of traps that block clubs and block organizations. And if AI community is overtly invaded
then we should be able to learn how to run in small groups of threes and foals and be able to defend ourselves from door to door from house to house from block to block against invasion and attack on the part of the police. Any kind of maneuvers that the fascists try to pull with the regular organized militia. So it was all a no. Primarily I think for black people surviving at the same time. As I've said just as related to experience you know of black people this is with the knowledge of the party years. But I would like to say that self defense is more it's more than just physical self-defense. When we speak about the First Amendment of the Constitution you know that states. There is free speech freedom of press freedom to assemble freedom to protests and redress of grievances you know etc. and we look
back at the experience of black people trying to exercise in many occasions historically and presently those constitutional rights and we look back and see that those very things in any society must exist you know those are written and we are denied those rights. We see the police as a force to intimidate people out of not attempting to organize to put out a newspaper organ or if they do put one out it has to be. Regulated by what the exploding caballus want them to say what have you the status of it. And people were tempted to assemble we have to teach the people that they have a right to defend themselves for those things because what they will be assembling about and what they are summoned about and trying to use free speech about is to use it to organize people to change the system so we can reach that goal of absolutely equality for man of of all men.
This is what it's all about to end that oppression. Use that constitutional right to transform this society. Into something that's functional you know to make that law actually function for the people. In essence as he says a Laws are made by mankind to serve mankind. And once those law stops over mankind they must be changed or referred to. If these laws don't exist then the people have to go for C that they do exist. Speech is simply education of the people through newspapers What have your new ideas about how to survive and how the Saudis should run about the right to determine our own destiny about the need for full employment better schools into political talent etc.. Well the power structure has done everything they can in the last three years. To make political prisoners out with us which hasn't stopped the party though. They've killed numerous members of the Black Panther Party and they've been in battles where the Cubs have attacked
us and we followed our principle. We defend ourselves when I'm just attacked they raided homes and offices all over this country. We use and then the Second Amendment constitutional right to be fair those are and their human right to defend ourselves when they when they do this so I think we begin to see the concreteness of the. Very just struggle. Against oppression. You know black people we don't. Hold to what we're doing is limited to black people. In the black community. We see Indian Americans Chinese Americans are. Chicano people there's 15 million strong in this country population wise black people over 30 million and many other people as we see them using the same basic human tactics and rights constitutional rights even to the level of the court where it has come from as you know. An
overt denial. That's what the whole thing was about. He denied me my constitutional rights to have my attorney there. Now do you need the assistance of Charles R. Gary that in turn I asked for the right to defend myself and I mean that right does. I've heard several lawyers say and I assume that you discussed this with people like councilor who are there in Chicago. Then it is a legal right of a prisoner to defend himself. Oh yes yes that is the opinion of the legal attorneys that you have discussed this with I mean when you ask for the right to defend yourself. As far as you knew you had that right under the law. If you want to get down into the technicalities of it the year 6 a member of the Constitution United States which describes this release is that a person accused should enjoy the right to the assistance of counsel.
If you want to be get technical about it I mean is really defending himself speaking up for himself but he takes and hires a person who is a professional do so. But every defendant you know with their very description in the Constitution assistance of counsel means that a counsel is just me saying so. If I did decide desire not to have you know someone to assist me that in turn are automatically. It's clear that I have that right to defend myself. That's the real technicality and the Supreme Court has interpreted that to be a counsel of choice. Usually when he says he enjoys the right this is a consequence of choice and who is affective. You see that he feels that that defended my feels affected. So I chose one and as we all know child like Gary one who was my choice and who was affected I was denied a service or I demand my right to defend my own self. I was denied that Argot made
motions etc.. I sit in that courtroom for a solid four weeks you know every other day I get up or I get up and have a written motion in my hand and read it into the record and in turn attempt to argue that motion and I was told shut up and sit down. And many times I would just push down and show them my seat and it got to a point that he didn't want to wreck and I saw when he would push me down in my seat I have those marshes push me down in my seat this is the beginning for weeks I would continue arguing my point of view and point out to him another legal fact that as a defendant in this case who has pointed out that I'm being denied my constitutional rights I can deal with legal defense point on law like he was violating section 19 81. Title 42 of the United States government code. That's a whole reconstruction of love. Way back 100 years ago it was me. That said no black man specifically a black man
can be discriminated in any court in America dealing with any legal proceedings and spend his legal defense. That's important. He actually won he outright violated that law. That's a law that backs up the constitutional right. And that's in the United States government code. Now I would argue that you know and in the process of our going it he would begin to try to shout over me and shout holler holler loud so that what I was saying would not go into the record. You know the record record that the recorder takes or makes a transcript of the trial and I begin to shout I holler louder and pointed out to him that's what he was doing after he had rushed the jury out of the room. And it got to a point where shells from the prosecution all the motions were denied and part of the other lawyers for the other defendants all the objections were denied 99 percent when I say oh 98 night I've listened to just over railroaded
with the DA's government prosecution they're accusing me of this accusing me of it. Nobody speaking for me I begin to stop them you know. Show them where they were playing which I raced against clear clear things you know like. The power to the power to the people to salute you know me power to the people know the power of the people salute of your fish being raised now shells jumped up and says I like to enter some evidence and this evidence shows a young man on the picture with the picture drawing of the clinch fish salute which is a black power salute and I says No I say you got it wrong I say the Black Panther party initiated that clenched fist salute I say that's directly related to me in this case. I said is a mischaracterization of the evidence. I say the clenched fist is the power to the people salute. Which means all the people see is not limited as if you try to isolate it only to me and then tried
to mischaracterize it again later somewhere the evidence I see is going to project upon me and I see and that's the Iranians you mischaracterizing the evidence that you are entering. I was trying to defend myself I said it just like bed and war what happens Marshall's Jamey share with me in a chair telling me to sit out on a stump and I sit down and I'm still so I say well as he was handing out to say that you just jab raises and shouts gets up and hollers in the court. Tell the judge I called him a racist and I think that's right you are a racist for trying to continue to mis characterize it in this way because I understand what you do when you try to isolate something specifically on me so you can later mischaracterizing I see it as not right because it really is in fact a power to people salute. I went on our house in case you didn't know what I see. If you want to empower to people mean us is something you can all statement of government of the people by the people or father people.
You know and then he sat down. Those are the kind of things that happen in court. Nothing with that and that particular thing I just got to explain I suppose the one thing that I'm content. Well apart from the. Treatment in the court about which there's been a good deal in the in the papers. How have you been treated. Aside from that. Just in general by the people in whose custody you have been has there been any abuse of you or. Anything you would like to tell us about the only abuse that I received since I've been in jail in terms of physical abuse. Worse than just how often the court has come from just heartless. There's no physical abuse in terms of striking and challenging and I'm pretty sure that they are aware that they do with him. One I will defend myself and to. Readily let the world know. You know because I don't bother them. I don't see
enough of them. If they come up to me and. You know ask me something I answer. I don't. Well she sometimes every once in awhile you find a guy inside of a jail that you might have some human feelings about you know that I've met a number of but a lot of in Chicago a lot of black kids regular kids in the community when they're Gian I'm not trying to justify jails but I'm trying to say that I'm not just going to I don't holler at myself every time when I'm passed by so doing hard calling by the pig and nothing you know. But if you want to I've caught a couple of right here try to get snap me out telling you acting like a fascist little racist pig. And they shut up right away when they get really shitty you know who in the hell do you think you are running around here you go you know I just turn right around and call him that because that's what he's acting like you know. But others they did it was Don't bother me also and I'll say nothing I am saying and gently that we I don't know them they don't bother me they maybe have my
own views that they may have my reasons. I get my commissary and I would suspect that the main reason they don't bother me because they know the people outside about to know about it and I keep a watch out. Well I'm kind of isolated but. Possible. Other forms of brutality which I haven't had a chance to vary so far since I've been in jail or in Chicago other than myself in court. You said earlier on Bobbie that a number of people in the leadership ranks of the Black Panther Party have been jailed and shot some of them. Do you feel that. There is a new leadership arising out of the regs of the party I mean how did you get out of the country in prison. If you were now in jail. And with all the trials and
things that are coming. You probably have faced the fact that you may be for some time. How do you feel about what's going to happen next as far as the people who believe as you do. I mean outside after it's aired and I like to say one of the parties. It's really grown and it's really progressed and. Idiology perspective in politics. Just the way the party itself is you know this is functioning with me in jail with Huey being in prison costs are added and I'll just be in exile shows that the party is really a leadership bargain all in itself. Outside we have David here you're the chief of staff with him. He's the minister of education in other states and other chapters and branches. We have people in those particular areas like in Chicago there's Fred Deputy
Chairman Fred Hammond and Fred Hampton and a deputy minister of defense. Bobby Rush We have brothers we see and on lot of the local chapter levels the brothers are known as leaders of parties throughout the communities in the different areas in other states and other cities and some unknown on the national scale to much of the progressive forces in this country many of the progressive peoples of this country. But as a whole we see the whole party as a leadership bargain. We see that there's numerous people he'd say my brother speak in Jhansi or so that's a shock to me I never imagine my brother speaking he's really they say. David just tell me he's really developed politically and he's big now so he's been apart about a year now and it's like something like Elton said they
can jail or kill us. But when they jail or kill us all it does is bring forever on more you know when they kill Malcolm X. They didn't stop the goals of Malcolm X ject of Malcolm X to liberate black people just move on even to a broader perspective you know soul is something like saying that he is the heir heir of inherited Malcolm X axis job all those brothers and sisters in black and black people and people. The ones who really have the masses desire to change the system and struggle the revolution ideas revolution to each his own from from each according to his belief to each according to his needs. The idea itself is that manifested only in the one person. So when you say they can jail the revolution revolutionary but they can't kill the revolution what he's really saying is. Is that the sum total is not
manifested in one body and one person and that's true. You see in the prison system the demagogic politicians the avaricious businessmen really have no victory. Because the mass of the people are there. The mass of the people of the one who decide to change it. So it's not really stopping the Black Panther Party Black Panther Party started with two people and more they attack us. Stronger it gets. Spread that has some 40 some odd shops and branches scattered throughout the country. I guess we can see that I mean I can see that. I don't see the top of the party. It just makes people mad people work hard to get harder to get us out of prison like we are working hard to keep the gas chamber and I we have to work hard to still get him out of prison. But he is he's in fact a political prisoner. Well you're in pretty deep right now by me. Oh
have you any regrets. Would you change anything. But surely the feeling about your own self at this point. About my own self. I'm just one of the many millions of people who want change. I wish like heck I was right out there right now. I know these are a bunch of trumped up charges and frame up charges and facts as operations in black races to working with them behind the scenes. And. I'll go back up there and I'll do the same thing to try to help the people to teach the people correct methods you know. And they want the power structure to produce the same thing. So I don't want to be in prison. No I don't. You know not even as a political prisoner. No not any of
us don't want to be that. But it's the struggle. We can't worry about. We can't just sit down and stop and worry about every little thing that might happen to us I would never would be able to accomplish anything. So that's kind of the way I think that we all see it. And then about people the masses and the things that are going on out there. They are the ones I remember when I was out there and working hard to Free Huey Newton and help keep you know just out of prison. I remember coordinating a lot of the propaganda work and getting leaflets and materials out and tell the people the truth. That's the way I kind of see and hope people are doing because I'm still one he knew to be set free and all political prisoners all the black brothers and the Black Panther Party who put a bridge in those were not you know white people in the
Mexican-Americans and look at that I say here. Brothers are political prisoners. And. They're right here. I get a chance to holler down the hall I'll see him. I sneak past by myself I want to visit. And say Power To The People to them they need green too. And so I hope to the people out there a movement like the moratorium I was hoping that people in the march arm can see that they're not going to be able to really stop imperialism bra until they stop imperialism at home we're talking about is that imperialism abroad. If there's imperialism abroad. It follows that more likely. That the US. Imperialism is a form of injustice so therefore there's more
next I mean just. Saying. So it follows that they're going to have to get rid of and journalism at home. Before they can get rid of the prism of brown. Just like Ramos and he would put it. I read in the papers you won't be able to stop the war in Vietnam until you come to watch Harlem in the kind of community in a brown community to you begin to demand. You know at the end I declared war against black people and poor oppressed and brown people and other peoples right here in America. This. Was going to have to happen. I would like to see a lot of people in the moratoriums with. Signs saying end the war against the oppressed. People and black people here at home you know. Free all the political prisoners we got 50 political prisoners in America black brothers and sisters Erica Huggins. 14 brothers.
Being railroaded. That's what they intend to do railroad us on this Connecticut these Connecticut charges. I was just an operation to snatch up leaders all over the country and say. We got brothers in Denver that brothers they had brothers out of work or something out of kinetic you know they got me on there. Jamey and that was an operation I like to see as an operation to snatch of as many lives as they could which didn't stop the party. And I like to see the people in the more tolerant we get sad stuff and placards and stuff in the ward home you know. There's imperialism abroad and there's domestic imperialism at home. Domestic terrorism is a rapid rapid rapid rapid growing fascism bred here in America and.
Hope they have some science and free the political prisoners. Oh and another thing about the prisoners of war exchange the proposal that the Vietnamese made I've heard about that Eldridge has had a chance to talk to the North Vietnamese government and they propose it to the party and through other people peace people working in the mobilization against the war that they will release myself and he would if the United States government sent a proposal of releasing myself and you and dropping all charges against us they will really begin to send prisoners of war home you know and even the Vietnamese. The very people that the peace people are demanding that the government stop waging unjust war against the very people that's receiving the blows from this are just war
recognize the fact that imperialism at home has got to stop. And even European peoples I know the Scandinavians We should people love the students demonstrating front of the American embassies over there in support of the liberation struggle here in America and the freedom of political prisoners. Black people Black Panthers in America. You know so I hope to go forth on that there will be some very concrete action that needs to be taken for needs to take place on the part of many of the protesters and the millions of people to link up with the need to end imperialism in domestic imperialism right here at home too. You know while they are doing that against one of them also do that here too because that's very important because ultimately we're not in imperialism to win domestic rabbit growing fascism as we call it in America. Is there anything else you'd like to talk to us about.
Well I guess I could go on talking consistently. About the historical experience of black people about radical or fascism in America and I guess I could talk about the party the party is beautiful it's sticking together we can get pretty frustrated sometimes with the peaceful religion of peace people. We have but we would have been frustrated with John Brown went along at all. Except that. I wish that a lot of peace people especially white piece people wouldn't lag back so much. Just because you're brown trying to help black people and stop what was happening stop the injustice in this country. They can always remember that there's an example to fall of being able to defend themselves right back at the party themselves realize the necessity to do.
Well I think there are many sections of the general radical peace movement in this country and it seems to me from the people who don't want to hear speak on the speeches that I mean they have a great many people today are making the connection between what happens in this country and what happens abroad. I think that's a growing a growing consciousness among among many many people. I was just trying to stress it because it's going to be so many million people millions of people coming up on this November 15th moratorium across the country from Washington D.C. to San Francisco or wherever they are. We hoped they would demand that the US government recognize the Vietnamese people hold them for the release of prisoners of war if the US government will see to it that political prisoners by starting with myself and I would die
and release us not just for us if we're asked by we understand the scope of it. But we hope that they understand that the millions of people. Reason that they've chosen us naturally because we're the most two well-known political prisoners in the country. Presently you know a lot of people could focus in on that to demand the US government recognize the Vietnamese people and if they care a lot of pickets and stuff and stuff like that it will become a part of and will really begin to show some kind of reaction in linking up opposing appeared to them abroad and especially POWs and here at home opposed it at home in America. Thank you very much about me. I thank you for coming up and I guess we'll see each other again sometime else. Yes I hope so and I'm sure it will. Ok power to the people.
Program
A talk with Bobby Seale / interviewed by Elsa Knight Thompson.
Producing Organization
KPFA (Radio station : Berkeley, Calif.)
Contributing Organization
Pacifica Radio Archives (North Hollywood, California)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/28-8k74t6fd9b
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Description
Description
Black Panther Party Chairman Bobby Seale is interviewed by Elsa Knight Thompson in the San Francisco County Jail two days after his return to the Bay Area from the Chicago Conspiracy Trial. Seale talks about first meeting Huey P. Newton, his origins as a revolutionary, and the difference between self-defense and terrorism. First aired the day it was recorded during KPFA's open hour. Later advertised in the Folio and broadcast 1970-01-12.
Broadcast Date
1969-11-12
Genres
Interview
Topics
Social Issues
Race and Ethnicity
Public Affairs
Subjects
Seale, Bobby, 1936-; Black Panther Party; African Americans--Civil rights--History
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:49:18
Embed Code
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Credits
Producing Organization: KPFA (Radio station : Berkeley, Calif.)
AAPB Contributor Holdings
Pacifica Radio Archives
Identifier: 20673_D01 (Pacifica Radio Archives)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Pacifica Radio Archives
Identifier: PRA_AAPP_BB2259_A_talk_with_Bobby_Seale (Filename)
Format: audio/vnd.wave
Generation: Master
Duration: 0:49:14
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Citations
Chicago: “A talk with Bobby Seale / interviewed by Elsa Knight Thompson.,” 1969-11-12, Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 28, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-28-8k74t6fd9b.
MLA: “A talk with Bobby Seale / interviewed by Elsa Knight Thompson..” 1969-11-12. Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 28, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-28-8k74t6fd9b>.
APA: A talk with Bobby Seale / interviewed by Elsa Knight Thompson.. Boston, MA: Pacifica Radio Archives, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-28-8k74t6fd9b