Eldridge Cleaver Archives

Elementos de identidade

Código de referência

US TxAM-C C000011

Nome e localização da entidade custodiadora

Nível de descrição

Coleção

Título

Eldridge Cleaver Archives

Data(s)

  • 1959-1981 (Produção)

Dimensão

3.00 Boxes

Nome do produtor

(1935-1998)

História biográfica

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.

Elementos de conteúdo e estrutura

Âmbito e conteúdo

Eldridge Cleaver, a founding member of the Black Panther Party, was also an author, Black power activist, who in his later life became a patriot and Mormon.

The Eldridge Cleaver Archives contains over 1000 individual items of his writings and letters from his prison stints from 1959 to 1966 after he published his seminal work, “Soul on Ice;” BPP writings, his exile in Cuba, Algiers, Paris and other writings; newspapers and other publications. The collection contains rare and unique items from founding members and insider within one of the most notorious and progressive organizations this country has ever witnessed.

There is extensive correspondence from his wife Kathleen that includes correspondence written by and to her, writings to and correspondence from journalists, activists, and from friends.

Sistema de arranjo

This collection is arranged into the following series:

  • Series 01, Cleaver's Prison Years. 1959; 1964-1966
  • Series 02, Black Panther Party, Writings as Minister of Information. 1967-1971
  • Series 03, Shootout in Oakland/Vacaville Prison. 1968
  • Series 04, Peace and Freedom Party: Candidacy for President. 1968
  • Series 05, Cleaver's Exile in Cuba. 1968-1974
  • Series 06, International Section of the Black Panther Party. 1966-1971
  • Series 07, Cleaver's Exile in Algiers. 1969-1972
  • Series 08, Cleaver in Paris. 1970-1975
  • Series 09, Cleaver's Legal Issues & Other Activities. 1975-1977
  • Series 10, Eldridge Cleaver Crusade. 1977
  • Series 11, Eldridge Cleaver Unlimited Clothing Line. Undated
  • Series 13, Cleaver Materials Related to Published Books. 1968-1971
  • Series 14, Book of Lives Unpublished Manuscript, and Short Stories. Undated
  • Series 14, Other Black Panther Material. 1967-1981
  • Series 15, Cleaver - Brochure. Undated
  • Series 16, Cleaver - Various Papers. 1971-1981

Condições de acesso e uso dos elementos

Condições de acesso

Contact the repository.

Acesso físico

Acesso técnico

Condiçoes de reprodução

Contact the repository.

Idiomas do material

  • inglês

Escrita do material

Notas ao idioma e script

Instrumentos de descrição

Elementos de aquisição e avaliação

História custodial

Fonte imediata de aquisição

Ingressos adicionais

Elementos de materiais relacionados

Existência e localização de originais

Existência e localização de cópias

Material arquivístico relacionado

Descrições relacionadas

Elemento de notas

Notas especializadas

Identificador(es) alternativo(s)

Elemento de controle de descrição

Regras ou convenções

Fontes utilizadas

Nota do arquivista

© Copyright 2019 Cushing Library. All rights reserved.

Pontos de acesso

Pontos de acesso - Assuntos

Pontos de acesso - Locais

Pontos de acesso - Nomes

Pontos de acesso de género

Zona da incorporação

Assuntos relacionados

Pessoas e organizações relacionadas

Géneros relacionados

Locais relacionados