THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 22nd October 1936

Bobby Seale was born in Dallas, Texas, the United States (US). Seale co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense in Oakland, California, US, with Huey P. Newton on 15th October 1966.

The Party's initial aim was the protection of African-American neighbourhoods from police brutality and racism. The Black Panthers also ran medical clinics and provided free food to school children. They gained notoriety for their fearlessness and militant demand for Black rights and eventually developed a socialist based ideology.

The Black Panther Party came to the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and was described as "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country" by its Director, J. Edgar Hoover. In November 1968 Hoover ordered the FBI to employ "hard-hitting counter-intelligence measures to cripple the Black Panthers". It should be noted that Hoover and the FBI pursued other black organisations and individuals other a period spanning almost fifty years, including Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).

In 1968 Seale was charged with conspiring to incite riots. When Seale repeatedly interrupted court proceedings the judge ordered him to be bound and gagged. Seale was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison for 16 counts of contempt of court.

After being released from prison in 1972, Seale renounced political violence and concentrated on conventional politics. In 1973 Seale ran for mayor of Oakland and came second out of nine candidates with 43,710 votes. Claiming combat weariness, Seale left Oakland and the Panthers in 1974.