At the age of 18, he was convicted of a felony drug charge (marijuana) and sent to the adult prison at Soledad. Īs a teenager, he was involved in petty crime and spent time in youth detention centers.

Both of his grandfathers were Protestant preachers. He had four siblings: Wilhelima Marie, Helen Grace, James Weldon, and Theophilus Henry. He was the son of Leroy Cleaver and Thelma Hattie Robinson. As a child he moved with his large family to Phoenix and then to Los Angeles. Biography Early life Įldridge Cleaver was born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas. Īfter spending seven years in exile in Cuba, Algeria, and France, Cleaver returned to the US in 1975, where he became involved in various religious groups ( Unification Church and CARP) before joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as becoming a conservative Republican, appearing at Republican events. Cleaver and Newton eventually fell out with each other, resulting in a split that weakened the party. As editor of the official Panthers' newspaper, The Black Panther, Cleaver's influence on the direction of the party was rivaled only by founders Huey P. Cleaver was wounded during the clash and Black Panther member Bobby Hutton was killed. In 1968 he became a fugitive after leading an ambush on Oakland police officers, during which two officers were wounded. Cleaver was convicted of a series of crimes including burglary, assault, rape, and attempted murder and eventually served time in Folsom and San Quentin prisons until being released on parole in 1968. Cleaver stated in Soul on Ice: 'If a man like Malcolm X could change and repudiate racism, if I myself and other former Muslims can change, if young whites can change, then there is hope for America.' Ĭleaver went on to become a prominent member of the Black Panthers, having the titles Minister of Information and Head of the International Section of the Panthers, while a fugitive from the United States criminal justice system in Cuba and Algeria. In 1968, Cleaver wrote Soul on Ice, a collection of essays that, at the time of its publication, was praised by The New York Times Book Review as 'brilliant and revealing'. Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (Aug– May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the political organization, Black Panther Party.

Soul on ice by eldridge cleaver