Cleaver, a child of six, lived in a household where his father abused his mother. The Cleavers moved to Phoenix, Arizona and finally settled in Los Angeles, California where Cleaver spent much of his childhood in and out of reform schools for petty crimes. He was also inspired by the teachings of Malcolm X who was assassinated during his incarceration.
Their writings influenced him to write, in prison, a collection of essays on race and the black revolution. Those essays were published as the book Soul on Ice in , two years after his release from prison. Due to the popularity of Soul on Ice , Cleaver soon became one of the best known Panther leaders, a position enhanced by his run for U.
That same year Cleaver was severely wounded during a shootout between Black Panthers and Oakland police. Facing attempted murder charges, he skipped bail and fled the United States, living in exile in Mexico , Algeria , Cuba , and France. When Cleaver returned to the U. While there, he wrote a powerful set of essays outlining his views on racial issues and revolutionary violence. In , they were published as the book "Soul on Ice," which became the philosophical foundation of the Black Power movement.
In one essay, Cleaver described his rape of white women as "an insurrectionary act. It delighted me that I was defying and trampling upon the white man's law And he did. Ronald Reagan expressed outrage. After he was released from prison in , Cleaver helped found the Black Panthers, a militant, leftist, anti-establishment black nationalist group based in Oakland, California.
Cleaver became its information minister, or spokesman. In addition to its revolutionary rhetoric, the Panthers operated social programs for the African-American community. But in , the same year he ran for U. Faced with criminal charges, he jumped bail and fled the United States for a life of exile in Algeria, Cuba and France. When Cleaver returned in , he began a remarkable political transformation. He renounced the Black Panthers and told reporters that he believed he would be treated fairly by the American judicial system.
In , Cleaver attempted to create a new religion, Christlam, which was a combination of Christianity and Islam. In the early s, he joined the Republican Party and endorsed Ronald Reagan in his presidential reelection campaign.
He made several runs for political office between and , including an unsuccessful candidacy for the Republican nomination in the U. Senate race in California. Cleaver had several drug-related arrests in the late s and early s but kicked his drug habit and rededicated himself to Christianity.
Yet, when I take these experiences, I have been attacked for doing so. Cleaver died on May 1, , in Pomona, California, of undisclosed causes. At the time of his death, he was employed by the University of La Verne in La Verne, California, as a diversity consultant. He is buried in Altadena, California. For additional information: Cleaver, Eldridge. Soul on Fire. Waco, Texas: Word Books, Lavelle, Ashley. Manditch-Prottas, Zachary.
Malloy, Sean L. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. When a tribute gift is given the honoree will receive a letter acknowledging your generosity and a bookplate will be placed in a book.
For more information, contact or calsfoundation cals. Read our Privacy Policy. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. Creating an account gives you access to all these features.
Go Back.
0コメント