Recent from talks
Nothing was collected or created yet.
Raymond Hewitt
View on WikipediaRaymond "Masai" Hewitt (January 1, 1941 – March 2, 1988)[1] was an American civil rights activist and one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party.
Key Information
Black Panther
[edit]Previous to joining the Black Panther Party, Hewitt worked as a school teacher and had been a Marxist activist, working with a group called United Front, a socialist organization which also taught self-defence to its members in the form of karate.[2] Hewitt joined the Black Panther Party in 1967 and was given the title of Minister of Education. Hewitt was considered by the Panthers to have a strong understanding of political and Marxist theory.[3]
Target of COINTELPRO
[edit]Hewitt was a target of COINTELPRO, a controversial FBI scheme intended to undermine radical organizations, which FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had specifically directed to destroy the Black Panther Party.[4] In 1970, the FBI created the false story, from a San Francisco-based informant, that he impregnated married actress Jean Seberg.[5][6] Seberg was a supporter of the Black Panther Party, giving them a number of donations, and in the course of her interactions with the Panthers had befriended Hewitt. The story was reported by gossip columnist Joyce Haber of the Los Angeles Times,[7] and was also printed by Newsweek magazine.[8] Seberg went into premature labor and, on August 23, 1970, gave birth to a 4 lb (1.8 kg) baby girl. The child died two days later.[9] She held a funeral in her hometown with an open casket that allowed reporters to see the infant's white skin, which disproved the rumors.[10]
Seberg and her husband later sued Newsweek for libel and defamation, asking for US$200,000 in damages. She contended she became so upset after reading the story, that she went into premature labor, which resulted in the death of her daughter. A Paris court ordered Newsweek to pay the couple US$10,800 in damages and ordered Newsweek to print the judgment in their publication, plus eight other newspapers.[11]
Departure from the BPP
[edit]By January 1973, Hewitt had become critical of the ever-increasing domination of the Panthers by Huey Newton. In a meeting of the Party's Central Committee, Hewitt suggested that the Central Committee by that point served only to confirm Newton's decisions:
In a central committee meeting, I did not attend, Masai brazenly stated, like the boy who announced the emperor was nude, that the Party operated on the basis of Huey's will. The Central Committee had become no more than a rubber stamp for it. The party had to address that weakness, to allow for a true consensus of will, at least the will of the central committee under the principles of democratic centralism. Huey had reduced the governing body of the party to little more than glorified members of the rank and file, Masai added. He concluded claiming that he was not in truth, therefore, a member of the central committee, as were none of the rest.
— Elaine Brown[12]
In return, Newton stripped Hewitt of his role as Minister of Education; within weeks Hewitt had left the party.
Hewitt remained an activist for the rest of his life. He worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Southern Africa Resource Center, the International Human Rights Coalition of Los Angeles, and the Philippine Support Committee.[13]
Personal life
[edit]Hewitt fathered one daughter with fellow Black Panther leader Elaine Brown.[14] Hewitt was married to activist Ester Soriano, with whom he had three sons.[15]
Death
[edit]On March 2, 1988, Hewitt suffered a heart attack while he watched the Grammy Awards on television with his wife.[16] He was taken to Midway Hospital where he died a short time later.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Raymond "Masai" Hewitt 1941-1988" (PDF). March 1988. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ Pharr, Wayne. Nine Lives Of A Black Panther. Chicago Review Press, 2014, p. 124.
- ^ Joshua, Bloom; Martin, Waldo (2016). Black Against Empire: The History And Politics Of The Black Panther Party. University of California Press. p. 245.
- ^ Mitchell, John (March 11, 1988). "Ex-Panthers Reunite at Leader's Funeral". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ Richards, David. Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story. Éditions Lacombe, 1982. p.234–38
- ^ Munn, Michael. Clint Eastwood: Hollywood's Loner. Robson, 1992, p. 90.
- ^ Richards, David. Played Out: The Jean Seberg Story. Éditions Lacombe, 1982, p. 239
- ^ Richards, p. 247
- ^ Richards, p. 253
- ^ Friedrich, Otto (1975). Going crazy: An inquiry into madness in our time. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 230. ISBN 0-671-22174-4.
- ^ "Seberg awarded $20,000 in Newsweek libel suit". The Telegraph-Herald. 1971-10-26. p. 18. Retrieved 2012-12-02.
- ^ Brown, Elaine (1992). "'A Taste of Power': The Woman Who Led the Black Panther Party". longreads.com. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Raymond "Masai" Hewitt 1941-1988" (PDF). March 1988. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ Brown, Elaine (1992). "'A Taste of Power': The Woman Who Led the Black Panther Party". longreads.com. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ "Ester Soriano, Mediator, Filipino activist, foreperson in Rodney King civil trial, dies at 61". meditate.com. 20 April 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
- ^ a b Mitchell, John L. (March 11, 1988). "Ex-Panthers Reunite at Leader's Funeral". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
Raymond Hewitt
View on GrokipediaHewitt rose in the BPP's Southern California chapter, contributing to community survival programs such as free breakfast initiatives for children and advocating for revolutionary education through Panther-operated schools that emphasized black history and self-reliance.[2][1] He participated in the party's 1971 delegation to China to study socialist models, reflecting the BPP's internationalist outlook, and maintained discipline during high-stakes actions like boycott lines against exploitative businesses.[3][2] However, internal power struggles led him to leave the organization in 1973 amid criticisms of Huey P. Newton's authoritarian control.[1]
Post-BPP, Hewitt continued activism with groups including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Southern Africa Resource Center and the International Human Rights Coalition of Los Angeles, focusing on anti-apartheid efforts and human rights.[1] He fathered a daughter with BPP chairwoman Elaine Brown and later married Ester Soriano, with whom he had three sons.[1] Hewitt's tenure in the BPP drew federal attention through the FBI's COINTELPRO program, which falsely implicated him in scandals like actress Jean Seberg's pregnancy to discredit both, though such smears were later litigated as libelous.[1] He died of a heart attack at age 47.[4]
Early Life
Childhood and Formative Influences
Raymond Hewitt was born on January 1, 1941.[1] Hewitt grew up in the Slauson neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, during an era marked by racial segregation, economic hardship, and urban gang activity among Black youth. As a young man, he became affiliated with the Little Slausons street gang, maintaining close ties with Bunchy Carter, who lived a few blocks away and later founded the Southern California chapter of the Slauson gang.[2][5] This environment exposed Hewitt to the harsh realities of street life, fostering survival instincts, loyalty to peers, and a search for principled alternatives to unchecked violence, which gang involvement often lacked justification for in his later reflections.[2] During his formative years, Hewitt developed proficiency in martial arts, earning a black belt in Taekwondo, which instilled discipline, physical resilience, and self-defense capabilities amid pervasive threats of police brutality and interracial conflict in Los Angeles.[2] These experiences, combined with the socio-political ferment of the 1950s and early 1960s—including the Civil Rights Movement's distant echoes and local Watts riots in 1965—likely primed Hewitt's transition from gang dynamics to organized activism, as he sought structured outlets for empowerment and community defense.[1] Prior to his political involvement, Hewitt pursued teaching, indicating an emerging commitment to education as a tool for upliftment, honed possibly through personal encounters with inadequate schooling in under-resourced Black communities.[1]Pre-Activism Career and Skills
Prior to his entry into the Black Panther Party in 1967, Raymond Hewitt worked as a schoolteacher, leveraging his educational background to develop skills in instruction and community outreach.[1] This professional experience equipped him with pedagogical expertise that later positioned him for leadership in the party's educational programs, though his pre-activism tenure focused on standard classroom teaching rather than ideological training. Hewitt also demonstrated proficiency in Marxist theory and political analysis during this period, reflecting an early intellectual commitment to socialist principles.[1] Before formal activism with the BPP, Hewitt affiliated with the United Front, a socialist organization, where he honed organizational skills applicable to grassroots mobilization, though details of his specific contributions remain limited in available records.[1] His teaching career, spanning the early 1960s, involved direct engagement with students in Los Angeles-area schools, fostering abilities in public speaking and curriculum delivery that emphasized critical thinking—skills not explicitly tied to radical politics at the time but evident in his later ideological articulation.[1]Black Panther Party Involvement
Entry into the BPP and Los Angeles Chapter
Prior to formally joining the Black Panther Party (BPP) in 1967, Raymond Hewitt, adopting the name Masai, had immersed himself in Marxist activism as a schoolteacher and participated in Maoist study groups in Los Angeles, including efforts to recruit figures like Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter from local gang circles such as the Slausons.[1][2] His background also included gang membership in the Little Slausons alongside Carter and proficiency as a black belt in tae kwon do, experiences that informed his transition from street-level affiliations to structured revolutionary organizing.[2] These connections in Southern California's activist and gang milieu provided a foundation for his entry into the BPP, aligning with the party's emphasis on disciplined cadre drawn from urban Black communities. Hewitt's integration into the Los Angeles chapter occurred amid its formative phase, as the BPP expanded southward; the chapter was officially established in 1968 under Carter's direction following his recruitment to the national organization.[6] Early on, he contributed to community survival programs, notably leading boycott lines in Los Angeles where he imposed strict rotations for participants to maintain food intake via peanuts for protein and prevent fatigue, reflecting the party's operational rigor.[2] As part of the chapter's initial leadership alongside Carter, Geronimo Pratt, Elaine Brown, and others, Hewitt helped solidify its presence amid tensions with rival groups and law enforcement.[7] His swift ascent within the LA structure underscored the BPP's strategy of elevating experienced local militants, positioning Hewitt for national roles while anchoring chapter activities in direct action against economic exploitation and police presence in Black neighborhoods.[4]Ascendancy to Leadership Roles
Hewitt joined the Black Panther Party's Los Angeles chapter in 1967, leveraging his background as a schoolteacher and former U.S. Marine to contribute to the organization's operations.[1] His expertise in education and discipline facilitated rapid integration into chapter activities, where the Los Angeles branch faced intense police pressure following early confrontations. In 1969, Hewitt was appointed national Minister of Education, replacing George Murray, a position that elevated him to the party's Central Committee.[8][9] This role encompassed overseeing political indoctrination, weapons training for security units, and the development of specialized cadres such as the Buddha Samurai.[10][11] As one of the few central leaders not incarcerated or exiled at the time, Hewitt handled key responsibilities amid internal and external challenges. Hewitt's ascendancy reflected the BPP's emphasis on ideological proficiency and organizational utility, with his Marxist orientation and practical skills positioning him for national influence despite the Los Angeles chapter's decimation by raids.[1] He represented the party in public forums and international outreach, including tours to garner support in Europe.[12] By 1971, he continued in leadership until shifts in party direction prompted his eventual departure.[4]
