Eldridge Cleaver, born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas on August 31, 1935, was a founding member of the Black Panther Party, remains a controversial figure within the Black Power Movement of the 1960s-1970s. Cleaver was one of the leading spokesperson for the revolutionary organization. He traveled extensively, nationally and internationally, on behalf of the group as Minister of Information, including a long period of hiding in exile with his then wife, Kathleen Cleaver (married on December 27, 1967), to avoid a murder charge. He represents a powerful symbol, both negative and positive, within African American history.

Timeline:

• Convicted of rape and assault in 1958, he is sent to San Quentin Prison, transferred to Folsom Prison in 1964, transferred to Soledad Prison in 1965, and released on parole in December of 1966.
• In early 1967, Cleaver meets Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, founders of the Black Panther Party (BPP). Cleaver becomes Minister of Information.
• On December 27, 1967 Eldridge Cleaver and Kathleen Cleaver are married.
• In 1968, Soul on Ice is released.
• In April 1968, Cleaver is involved in a gun shoot-out with police in Oakland California. He flees the United States in November before his scheduled hearing.
• From 1968 to 1970, Cleaver travels to Cuba, USSR, North Korea, Vietnam, China, and Algiers. In September of 1970, he establishes the International Office for the BPP in Algiers.
• On February 26, 1971, Cleaver splits with Huey Newton and the BPP.
• In late 1972, Cleaver relocates to Paris.
• After eight years of living abroad, Cleaver returns to the United States and surrenders to the FBI in 1975, telling Reader's Digest that he'd "rather be in jail in America than free anywhere else." He makes a deal and by pleading guilty to assault charges, the attempted murder charges are dropped. He is sentenced to 1,200 hours of community service in 1980.
• During the 1980s to the end of his life, Cleaver is involved in many endeavors: he starts his own clothing line, joins the Mormon Church, establishes a recycling business, attends Harvard Law School, becomes a recovering drug addict, and has many unsuccessful runs for political office.
• In 1985, Eldridge Cleaver and Kathleen Cleaver divorce.
• On May 2, 1998, Eldridge Cleaver dies in Pomona, California.