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BLACK IN TIME: A Moment In OUR History

Hugh Gaddy · Thursday, June 18th 2009 at 12:52AM · 154 views
Eldridge Cleaver



On June 18, 1954, Eldridge Cleaver Took His First Trip To Soledad Prison On A Marijuana Possession Charge.

The Former Convict Went On To Become A Major Civil Rights Activist And Leader In The Black Panther Party. He Served As The Group's Minister Of Information.

Eldridge Cleaver Was born On August 31, 1935, In Wabbaseka, Arkansas. His Family Moved To Phoenix, And Finally To Los Angeles, Where Cleaver, In His Teens, Would Become Involved With Petty Crime. In 1957 He was Convicted Of Assault With Intent To Murder.

Cleaver's Book Of Memoirs From Prison, Soul On Ice (1968), Earned Him Credit As "one of the best cultural critics" Of The 1960's."

At One Point Cleaver Fled To Cuba To Avoid Another Term In Prison. He Spent Several Years In Exile There, As Well As In Algeria And France.

Upon Returning To The United States He Adopted Capitalism And Became A Republican And Fundamentalist Preacher. He Described His Political And Religious Conversions In The 1978 Book, Soul On Fire.


In The 1980's Cleaver Became Addicted To Cocaine. He Kicked His Habit And Became Involved In Fighting Addiction With Healthy Nutrition.

Cleaver Died Of Prostate Cancer In 1998. He Was 62 Years Old.

Eldridge Cleaver Is Generally Given Credit For The Quote, "You're either part of the solution or part of the problem."

"In Order For Black History To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.

About the Author

Hugh Gaddy Hagerstown, MD

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Comments (4)

Harry Watley Thursday, June 18th 2009 at 9:11AM

Greetings,

Please come out of the past. You will never see the future by looking backwards.

What say you?

Hugh Gaddy Thursday, June 18th 2009 at 9:30AM

Brotha, You have a lot f time on your hands!! LOL I've dealt with brothers like you over the years. My question is always the same. Besides offering this constant pseudo intellectual argument about Black sovereignty and independence, what have you ACTUALLY done to make it a reality? Brother, it's time for YOU to go beyond the "paralysis of analysis" and show us in a REAL, demonstrative way, what you are doing besides talking. PEACE & BLESSINGS To You

Hugh Gaddy Friday, June 19th 2009 at 10:11PM

Hi Irma it has been a while since I read Cleaver's book also. I will make a point to re-read it before the year is over.

ROBINSON IRMA Thursday, April 10th 2014 at 6:47PM

Thanks Hugh, I will give my Soul on Ice to my friend who is in the hospital right now to read. When I get it back I will reread it myself.

I can not tell you how much I appreciate your posts on our people as this should be 365 days a year and 8 no 9 days a week that we study a little of how we keep on getting better and better as a people(smile)

PEACE...

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