Black History Month: The Revolutionary Minds That Molded and Led The Black Panther Party
Kathleen Cleaver
The former wife of Eldridge Cleaver originally became involved in the civil rights movement when she joined the New York chapter of the SNCC in 1966. The following year, after meeting Eldridge (and later marrying him), she relocated to San Francisco and joined the Black Panther Party. She served as the party’s national communications secretary and organized the “Free Huey” campaign.
Kathleen struggled with Eldridge’s exile in the 1970s and later divorced him in 1987. Currently, she teaches law at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga.