Voting Station

Huey P. Newton

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The Resume

    (February 17, 1942-August 22, 1989)
    Died in Oakland, California after being shot by a drug dealer
    Co-founded the Black Panthers with Bobby Seale

Why he might be annoying:

    He helped form the Black Panthers.
    He was the only member of the Black Panthers to be singled-out and listed in President Richard M. Nixon's Enemy List.
    He smoked.
    He claimed to study law so he could 'become a better burglar.'
    He was arrested several times for petty crimes prior to forming the Black Panthers.
    He was a fan of Malcolm X, Mao ZeDong and Che Guevara.
    He enjoyed hating and blaming 'the system.'
    He was called a 'fire-breathing revolutionary.'
    He hated the police.
    He was accused of murdering police officer John Frey (1967).
    He would be prosecuted and found guilty, being ordered to serve 2-15 years in 1968. The California Appellate Court reversed the decision and order Huey a new trial, which would see the charges against him dropped.
    He unsuccessfully ran for Congress (1968).
    He was accused of murdering a 17 year old prostitute, Kathleen Smith.
    After skipping out on his court appearance, his bail was revoked and he was added to the FBI's Most Wanted List. He relocated to Cuba (1974) only to return three years later because 'the climate in the United States had changed' and he believed he could get a fair trial. He wound up being acquitted of all charges.
    He was convicted of embezzling state and federal funds from the community programs he and the Black Panthers helped form (1989).
    He was shot and killed by a drug dealer (1989).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was the youngest of seven children.
    His intention for forming the Black Panthers was to 'defend the [black] community against the aggression of the power structure.'
    He chose a woman, Elaine Brown, to replace him.
    He was a teacher while living in Cuba.
    He was called a 'modern day American revolutionary.'
    He didn't like the idea of a 'New' Black Panthers forming.
    He said: '... during those long years in the Oakland public schools, I did not have one teacher who taught me anything relevant to my own life of experience. Not one instructor ever awoke in me a desire to learn more or to question or to explore the worlds of literature, science and history. All they did was try to rob me of the sense of my own uniqueness and worth and in the process, they nearly killed my urge to inquire.'
    He taught himself how to read well.
    He was a fan of Vincent Price.
    He earned a PhD at the University of California in 1978.
    Spike Lee took his life story and made it into a movie, 'A Huey P. Newton Story.'

Credit: His Name is Robert


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 40 Votes: 17.50% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1760 Votes: 46.88% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 311 Votes: 57.56% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 153 Votes: 45.10% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 316 Votes: 47.78% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 84 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 177 Votes: 58.76% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 105 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 20 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 113 Votes: 53.98% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 139 Votes: 51.80% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 76 Votes: 65.79% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 672 Votes: 77.38% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 201 Votes: 78.11% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 523 Votes: 63.86% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 220 Votes: 74.09% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 204 Votes: 78.43% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 149 Votes: 71.81% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 165 Votes: 70.91% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 537 Votes: 69.09% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 281 Votes: 61.57% Annoying