Kwame Montsho Ajamu Somburu (born Paul Benjamin Boutelle; October 13, 1934 – May 3, 2016) was an activist, politician, black nationalist, and member of the Socialist Workers Party. In 1979, he changed his name to Kwame Montsho Ajamu Somburu.

Activism

Boutelle campaigned as a socialist candidate for Mayor of New York City, Mayor of

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three times,

New York State Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

in 1966, and Borough President of Manhattan. Boutelle was also active in the Freedom Now Party (an all-

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

party that existed from 1963 to 1965) and was its candidate for the New York State Senate in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, New York City in 1964. In December 1965, Boutelle organized the Afro-Americans Against the War in Vietnam (AAAWV) group. Boutelle was the first chairman of the AAAWV and a secretary of the Black United Action Front, both instrumental in organizing the Harlem portions of the April 15, 1967

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

march staged by the

Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam The Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, which became the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, was a coalition of American antiwar activists formed in November 1966 to organize large demonstrations in o ...

. Boutelle appears in the 1968 film, ''No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger'', photographed by Michael Wadleigh and directed by fellow Socialist Workers Party member

David Loeb Weiss David Loeb Weiss (c. 1911 - August 11, 2005) was a Polish-born American socialist activist, filmmaker, and co-founder of the Socialist Workers Party (United States), Socialist Workers Party in 1938. Early life David Loeb Weiss was born in Warsa ...

Vice-Presidential Candidate (1968)

Boutelle was the Socialist Workers Party candidate for U.S. Vice President in 1968. He and presidential candidate Fred Halstead were on the ballot in 19 states. Boutelle toured throughout the United States during that campaign and appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including

William F. Buckley, Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...

's ''Firing Line'' (episode 111, taped on July 10, 1968), and in interviews with

Joey Bishop Joseph Abraham Gottlieb (February 3, 1918 – October 17, 2007), known professionally as Joey Bishop, was an American entertainer who appeared on television as early as 1948 and eventually starred in his own weekly comedy series playing a talk ...

and Dick Cavett. He spoke at numerous community meetings, universities, forums, conferences, and other venues. Boutelle also toured internationally during the 1968 campaign to Canada, England, Scotland, and France. His national tour of France was cancelled because of the nationwide worker and student strikes and protests during the spring of 1968. His sponsoring organization was one of 22 banned by the French government.

References

External links

*
The Black Uprisings: Newark 1967 Detroit
Socialist Workers Party pamphlet with introduction by Paul Boutelle. - via Marxists.org * Paul Boutelle and Fred Halstead on William Buckley's ''Firing Line'' television program, July 10, 1968 (episode 111): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpV5xr3tQoE - via Hoover Institution Library and Archives, Stanford University.

Bibliography

*(1969). "2 Socialist Parties File For Mayoralty." ''The New York Times''. September 5. *Alexander, Robert (1991). ''International Trotskyism, 1929-1985: A Documented Analysis of the Movement''. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. *Jones, Charles E., ed (1998). ''The Black Panther Party (Reconsidered)''. Baltimore: Black Classics Press. *(1967). "Socialist Workers Party Names Antiwar Slate for '68 Election." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. August 31. 1934 births 2016 deaths African-American candidates for Vice President of the United States Members of Socialist Action (United States) People from Harlem Politicians from New York City Socialist Workers Party (United States) politicians from California Socialist Workers Party (United States) politicians from New York (state) Socialist Workers Party (United States) vice presidential nominees 1968 United States vice-presidential candidates {{NewYork-politician-stub