List of members of the Black Panther Party

This is an alphabetical referenced list of members of the Black Panther Party, including those notable for being Panthers as well as former Panthers who became notable for other reasons. This list does not include outside supporters, sympathizers, or allies.

• JoNina Abron-Ervin, reporter and editor of The Black Panther.^[1]
• Mumia Abu-Jamal, Lieutenant Minister of Information, Philadelphia chapter. In prison for the murder of a police officer.^[2]
• Sundiata Acoli, Finance Minister of the Harlem chapter who served 49 years in prison for murdering a New Jersey state trooper, and was released in 2022.^[3][4]
• Ashanti Alston, anarchist activist.^[5]
• Richard Aoki, Field Marshal^[6] and FBI informant.^[7] Committed suicide in 2009.
• Kuwasi Balagoon, former member Harlem chapter and one of the Panther 21.
• Charles Barron former member Harlem chapter, community activist and Democratic New York City Councilmember^[8]
• Lucille Berrien, political activist from Milwaukee.^[9]
• Dhoruba bin Wahad, New York activist and one of the Panther 21.
• Veronza Bowers, Jr., served 50 years in prison for murdering a park ranger.^[10] Released on May 7, 2024.^[11]
• William Lee Brent, hijacked a plane to Cuba in 1968, lived in exile there until his death in 2006.^[12]
• Elaine Brown, Chairwoman, Minister of Defense (mid 1970s), for a time was a 2008 Green Party presidential candidate.^[13][14]
• H. Rap Brown, Former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader, Justice Minister, currently serving life sentence for murder.^[15]
• Safiya Bukhari, member of Harlem chapter.
• Ed Bullins, Minister of Culture in San Francisco, and renowned playwright.^[16]
• Stokely Carmichael, Former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader and Honorary Prime Minister. He lived in exile in Africa from 1969 until his death in 1998.^[17]
• Bunchy Carter, Deputy Minister of Defense, Southern California chapter, killed in 1969.^[18]
• Mark Clark, Defense Captain, Illinois chapter, killed by police in 1969.^[19]
• Eldridge Cleaver, Minister of Information^[20] Died in 1998.
• Kathleen Neal Cleaver, Party spokesperson and law school professor.^[14]
• Paul Coates, defense captain of the Baltimore chapter.
• Mark Comfort, community activist.
• Marshall "Eddie" Conway, Minister of Defense of the Baltimore chapter. Served 44 years in prison for the murder of a police officer, until his conviction was overturned.^[21]
• Donald L. Cox, Field Marshall of the party. Died in exile in France in 2011.^[22]
• Aaron Dixon, community activist, former captain of the Seattle chapter of the Party. Ran with the Green Party for U.S. Senate on his opposition to the Iraq War.^[23]
• Emory Douglas, artist, Minister of Culture, and strongly associated with The Black Panther (newspaper).^[24]
• B. Kwaku Duren, coordinator of the Southern California chapter from 1976 to 1981^[25]
• Barbara Easley-Cox, wife of Donald L. Cox.
• Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, anarchist activist.
• Glen Ford, journalist.^[26]
• Kent Ford, co founder of Portland chapter.^[27]
• Reggie Forte, member of Oakland chapter.
• Larry Gossett, member of Seattle chapter.
• Stanley Greene, photojournalist.
• Bashir Hameed, deputy chairman of Jersey City chapter.
• Fred Hampton, Deputy Chairman, Illinois chapter; killed in a 1969 raid by the Chicago police and the FBI.^[19]
• Tim Hayes, founder of Atlanta chapter, writer and community activist.^[28]
• David Hilliard, chief of staff, university lecturer and party archivist.^[29]
• Raymond Hewitt, civil rights activist.^[30]
• Elbert Howard, founding member of the party and first editor of its newspaper, The Black Panther.^[31]
• Ericka Huggins, longtime party leader, professor of sociology.^[14]
• John Huggins Los Angeles chapter leader. Killed in 1969.^[18]
• Bobby Hutton, first party recruit, treasurer; killed by police in 1968.^[32]
• George Jackson, author and prison activist. Killed in prison in 1971.
• Jamal Joseph, film professor, author and Oscar nominee.^[33]
• Judy Juanita, Author who served as editor of The Black Panther (newspaper).^[34]
• Magora Kennedy, LGBT activist.^[35]
• Chaka Khan, former member of the Chicago chapter, and singer who has won ten Grammy awards.^[36]
• Warren Kimbro, convicted in the murder of Alex Rackley, prisoner rehabilitation activist; died in 2009.^[37]
• Robert Hillary King, author, lecturer and former member of the Angola Prison Chapter^[38]
• Art Lassiter, musician.
• Joan Tarika Lewis, graphic artist associated with the newspaper The Black Panther and the first woman to join the party.^[39]
• Connie Matthews, International Coordinator of the BPP.
• Lonnie McLucas, Bridgeport, Connecticut member convicted in the murder of Alex Rackley.^[40]
• Huey P. Newton, Minister of Defense, co-founder. Killed in 1989.^[41]
• Kojo Nnamdi, radio host who was a member from 1968 to 1969 in Brooklyn.^[42][43]
• Jalil Muntaqim, former political prisoner.
• Salim Muwakkil, journalist.
• Kiilu Nyasha, journalist.
• Sekou Odinga, activist.
• Charlotte Hill O'Neal, community organizer.
• Pete O'Neal, Chairman, Kansas City chapter, who lives in exile in Tanzania.^[44]
• William O'Neal, FBI informant whose role was dramatized in the film Judas and the Black Messiah.
• Pat Parker, Black lesbian-feminist poet and activist. Died in 1989.
• Larry Pinkney, served nine years in prison in Canada and the U.S., and was also a member of the Republic of New Africa.^[45]
• Geronimo Pratt, Deputy Minister of Defense, died in 2011.^[46]
• Alex Rackley, New York member murdered by fellow Panthers in 1969. His killing resulted in the New Haven Black Panther trials.^[37]
• Malik Rahim, early New Orleans chapter organizer, currently a co-founder of Common Ground Collective, a post Hurricane Katrina relief organization.^[47]
• Nile Rodgers, guitarist for rock/disco band Chic and music producer.^[48]
• Bobby Rush, Minister of Defense, Illinois Chapter, and since 1993, U.S. Representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district.^[19]
• George W. Sams, Jr., convicted in the 1969 murder of Alex Rackley. He testified for the prosecution.^[37]
• Reggie Schell, Defense Captain, Philadelphia chapter.^[49]
• Bobby Seale, Chairman and co-founder of the Black Panthers.^[50]
• Afeni Shakur, one of the New York 21 and mother of Tupac Shakur.
• Assata Shakur, political activist still in exile in Cuba who remains on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist list.
• Russell Maroon Shoatz, served 49 years in prison for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer.^[51]
• Marion Stamps, member of Chicago chapter.
• Michael Tabor, New York activist and one of the Panther 21.^[52]
• Robert Trivers, evolutionary biologist.^[53]
• Denise Oliver-Vélez, professor, Contributing Editor for Daily Kos, and former activist and community organizer.^[54]
• John Watson, Detroit chapter leader and activist with the League of Revolutionary Black Workers.^[55]
• Michael Zinzun, activist.

Courtroom sketch of Black Panthers Bobby Seale, George W. Sams, Jr., Warren Kimbro, and Ericka Huggins, during the 1970 New Haven Black Panther trials.

References

1. Spencer, Robyn C. (2016). ""I Am We": The Demise of the Black Panther Party, 1977-1982". The Revolution Has Come: Black Power, Gender, and the Black Panther Party in Oakland. Duke University Press. pp. 188–193. doi:10.2307/j.ctv11cw9mt.11. ISBN 9780822362753. JSTOR j.ctv11cw9mt.11. LCCN 2016023568.
2. Williams, Timothy (7 December 2011). "Execution Case Dropped Against Mumia Abu-Jamal in Officer's Killing". New York Times. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
3. Juang, Richard M. (2008). Africa and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9781851094417.
4. Funk, Luke (10 May 2022). "NJ Supreme Court orders Sundiata Acoli eligible for parole; killed state trooper in 1973". Fox 5 New York. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
5. "Anarchist Panther". Anarchist Panther. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
6. "Richard_Aoki". Itsabouttimebpp.com. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
7. Rosenfeld, Seth (20 August 2012). "Activist Richard Aoki named as informant". San Francisco Chronicle.
8. Allah, Dasun, Black Panther Charles Barron Invades New York City Council, Hip Hop Wired, 11 March 2010
9. Snyder, Molly (25 February 2020). "Profiles in Milwaukee history: activist Lucille Berrien". OnMilwaukee. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
10. Fimrite, Peter (23 February 2005). "Park ranger killer's parole is delayed". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
11. "Inmate Locator".
12. Fimrite, Peter, William Lee Brent – former Black Panther hijacked jet to Cuba, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 November 2006
13. Grigsby, Karen. "Green Party Black Caucus Journal: Elaine Brown Withdraws From Green Party Presidential Race". Gpblackcaucus.blogspot.com. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
14. Tillet, Salamishah (2 October 2015). "The Panthers' Revolutionary Feminism". New York Times. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
15. "Ex-Black Panther convicted of murder". CNN. 9 March 2002.
16. Risen, Clay (17 November 2021). "Ed Bullins, Leading Playwright of the Black Arts Movement, Dies at 86". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
17. Kaufman, Michael T. "Stokely Carmichael, Rights Leader Who Coined 'Black Power,' Dies at 57", New York Times, 16 November 1998. Accessed 27 March 2008. (alternate url)
18. Gordon, Larry, UCLA students memorialize 1969 Black Panther slayings, Los Angeles Times, 26 May 2010
19. Haas, Jeffrey (2011). The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and the Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781569767092.
20. Kifner, John (2 May 1998). "Eldridge Cleaver, Black Panther Who Became G.O.P. Conservative, Is Dead at 62, Cleavers Lieutenant and former Panther Bud Williams (mid 1970s) was shocked by the passing of his former brother". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
21. "Ex-Black Panther leader, convicted of killing cop, released from prison". The Baltimore Sun. 4 March 2014.
22. Weber, Bruce (13 March 2011). "D.L. Cox, a Leader of Radicals During 1960s, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
23. Modie, Neil, "As an Anti-war Candidate, Dixon Says he is no Spoiler" Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 9 March 2006
24. Zack, Jessica Werner,"The Black Panthers advocated armed struggle. Emory Douglas' weapon of choice? The pen," San Francisco Chronicle 28 May 2007.
25. "Duren (B. Kwaku) papers". Online Archive of California. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
26. Kimberley, Margaret (31 July 2021). "Glen Ford's Journalism Fought for Black Liberation and Against Imperialism". Truthout. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
27. "New play celebrates Kent Ford, co-founder of Portland's Black Panther Party". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
28. Hartle, Robert (2010). The Highs & Lows of Little Five: A History of Little Five Points. The History Press. ISBN 9781596298743.
29. "Black Panther Founder to Teach Courses at U. New Mexico". New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
30. Mitchell, John (11 March 1988). "Ex-Panthers Reunite at Leader's Funeral". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
31. Hunt, Emily (10 August 2011). "As Big as Ever: Over 40 years ago, Elbert 'Big Man' Howard helped found the Black Panthers. Now living in Sonoma County, he's still on the prowl". North Bay Bohemian. Santa Rosa, California. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
32. Shelton, Gwendolyn L. "Bobby James Hutton (1950–1968)". The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
33. Moynihan, Colin, Oscar Nomination Caps Columbia Film Professor’s Long Journey, New York Times, 21 February 2008
34. Tobar, Hector (19 April 2013). "Judy Juanita and her 'Virgin Soul'". Los Angeles Times.
35. "Magora Kennedy: Meet The 83-Year-Old Reverend And Stonewall Veteran". The Advocate-. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
36. Mitchell, Russ (21 October 2007). "The Incomparable Chaka Khan". CBS News. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
37. Bass, Paul; Rae, Douglas W. (2009). Murder in the Model City: The Black Panthers, Yale, and the Redemption of a Killer. Basic Books. ISBN 9780786735853.
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42. "Kojo Nnamdi Biography". The HistoryMakers. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
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45. Mandel, William (1999). Saying No to Power: Autobiography of a 20th Century Activist and Thinker. Berkeley, California: Creative Arts Book Company. ISBN 9780887392863.
46. Olsen, Jack (2001). Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt. Anchor Books. ISBN 9780385493680.
47. Garcia, Michelle (4 December 2005). "For a Former Panther, Solidarity After the Storm". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 June 2006.
48. Lester, Paul (8 April 2011). "Nile Rodgers: 'Your music is your soul'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
49. Abu-Jamal, Mumia (2004). We Want Freedom: A Life in the Black Panther Party. South End Press. pp. 194, 257. ISBN 9780896087187.
50. Eppstein, Jason (4 December 1969). "A Special Supplement: The Trial of Bobby Seale". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
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52. Hevesi, Dennis. "Michael Tabor, Black Panther Who Fled to Algeria, Dies at 63", The New York Times, October 23, 2010. Accessed October 15, 2022.
53. Rosenberg, Scott (6 July 1979). "Sociobiology Pioneer Joins Black Panthers". The Harvard Crimson. The Harvard Crimson, Inc.
54. "Denise Oliver-Velez – She's Beautiful When She's Angry". Shesbeautifulwhenshesangry.com. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
55. Georgakas, Dan; Surkin, Marvin (1998). Detroit, I Do Mind Dying. South End Press. pp. 50, 73, 77. ISBN 9780896085718.