Robert James Hutton (April 21, 1950 – April 6, 1968), also known as "Lil' Bobby", was the treasurer and first recruit to join the Black Panther Party.Bobby Hutton bio
from '' A Huey P. Newton Story''. Alongside

Eldridge Cleaver Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Cleaver wrote '' Soul on Ice'', a collection of essays that, at the time of i ...

and other Panthers, he was involved in a confrontation with Oakland police that wounded two officers. Hutton was killed by the police under disputed circumstances. Cleaver stated Hutton was shot while surrendering with his hands up, while police stated he ignored commands and tried to flee.

Early life

Bobby Hutton was one of three children, born in

Jefferson County, Arkansas Jefferson County, Arkansas is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas in the area known as the Arkansas Delta that extends west of the Mississippi River. Jefferson County consists of five cities, two towns, and 20 townships. The county ...

, to John D. Hutton and Dolly Mae Mitchner-Hutton. When he was three years old, his family moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

during the second wave of the Great Migration, after they were visited by nightriders intimidating and threatening Black residents in the area.

Black Panther Party

Hutton met Black Panther Party founders

Huey Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966. Under Newton's leadership ...

and

Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...

at the North Oakland Neighborhood Anti-Poverty Center, a "government-funded agency that employed local youth to work on community service projects." In October 1966, the 16-year-old Hutton became the first member and the first treasurer of the Black Panther Party. In May 1967, Hutton was one of thirty Panthers who traveled to the California state capitol in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

to demonstrate against the

Mulford Act The Mulford Act was a 1967 California bill that prohibited public carrying of loaded firearms without a permit. Named after Republican assemblyman Don Mulford, and signed into law by governor of California Ronald Reagan, the bill was crafted ...

, a bill that would prohibit carrying loaded firearms in public. The group walked into the state assembly armed; Hutton and four other Panthers were arrested.

Death

On the night of April 6, 1968, Hutton was killed by Oakland Police officers after

led him and twelve other Panthers in a confrontation with the Oakland Police, during which two officers were seriously wounded by multiple gunshots. The confrontation turned into a shoot-out between the Panthers and the Oakland police at a house in

West Oakland West Oakland is a neighborhood situated in the northwestern corner of Oakland, California, United States, situated west of Downtown Oakland, south of Emeryville, and north of Alameda. The neighborhood is located along the waterfront at the P ...

. About 90 minutes later Hutton and Cleaver surrendered after the police tear-gassed the building. The impetus for the confrontation was the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Despite the fact that he had instructed Hutton to strip down to his underwear to demonstrate that he was unarmed, Eldridge Cleaver stated that police shot Hutton more than twelve times as he was surrendering. Another account from

Kathleen Cleaver Kathleen Neal Cleaver (born May 13, 1945) is an American law professor and activist, known for her involvement with the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party, a political and revolutionary. Early life Juette Kathleen Neal was born ...

states that Hutton was embarrassed to remove his clothing and so he only took off his shirt and kept on his pants. While the police maintained that he attempted to run away and ignored orders to stop, Eldridge Cleaver stated that Hutton was shot by the police with his hands up.Seale, B. (1970). Seize the time: The story of the Black Panther Party and Huey P. Newton. Arrow Books Cleaver also claimed that an Oakland police officer who witnessed the shoot-out later told him: "What they did was first-degree murder." Cleaver and two police officers were also wounded.

, a fellow Black Panther, has since speculated that the police shot Bobby Hutton thinking they were shooting him. Hutton's funeral was held on April 12 at the Ephesians Church of God in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and E ...

. About 1,500 people attended the funeral. A rally held afterwards at the Alameda County Courthouse near Lake Merritt in Oakland which was attended by over 2,000 people, and included a eulogy by actor Marlon Brando. He was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. Bobby Hutton's death at the hands of the Oakland police was seen by those sympathetic to the Black Panther Party as an example of police brutality against blacks. Hutton was the first Panther to die and "immediately became a martyr for the cause of black power."

Legacy

DeFremery Park in West Oakland, California, was unofficially named after Bobby Hutton not long after his death and is now known locally as "Lil' Bobby Hutton Park". "Lil' Bobby Hutton Day" has been held annually at the park since April 1998. Organized by family members and former Black Panther Party members, the memorial event features speakers, performers, and art works commemorating Hutton's black consciousness and dedication to the party.

In popular culture

Hutton has been referenced frequently in popular culture. He was portrayed by Wesley Jonathan in the 1995 movie ''

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **'' Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. *** Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in So ...

''. He is mentioned in

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

's " Ghetto Gospel",

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

' " Panther Power" (1990),

The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political ...

's "

Get Up Get or GET may refer to: * Get (animal), the offspring of an animal * Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law * GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request * "Get" (song), by the Groggers * Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia * Get AS, a ...

", (2001), Smif-N-Wessun’s " Still Fighting", (2007), Sa-Roc's "Lost Sunz" (2014),

Bhi Bhiman Bhi Bhiman is an American singer-songwriter. After co-founding the rock band Hippie Grenade in 2002 in Santa Cruz, he later moved to San Francisco, where he released his debut solo album ''Cookbook'' in 2007. His second album, '' Bhiman'', was ...

's "Up in Arms" (2015), Bambu's verse from Rocky Rivera's "Headhunter," and

Clipping Clipping may refer to: Words * Clipping (morphology), the formation of a new word by shortening it, e.g. "ad" from "advertisement" * Clipping (phonetics), shortening the articulation of a speech sound, usually a vowel * Clipping (publications) ...

's "Blood of the Fang" (2019). A photo of Hutton in front of the Oakland City Jail appeared on the cover of Primal Scream's 1997 single " Star". Country Joe And The Fish dedicated their 1968 LP ''Together'' to Hutton. Hutton's story is featured in the young adult novel One Crazy Summer by

Rita Williams-Garcia Rita Williams-Garcia (born 1957) is an American writer of novels for children and young adults . In 2010, her young adult novel ''Jumped'' was a National Book Award finalist for Young People's Literature. She won the 2011 Newbery Honor Award, C ...

References

External links

Violence in OaklandFBI Docs
Information on Bobby Hutton FBI files {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Bobby 1950 births 1968 deaths People from Jefferson County, Arkansas People from Oakland, California Members of the Black Panther Party African Americans shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States History of Oakland, California Deaths by firearm in California Activists from California