John Jerome Huggins Jr. (February 11, 1945 – January 17, 1969) was an American activist. He was the leader in the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party who was killed by black nationalist US Organization members at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

(UCLA) campus in January 1969. As part of COINTELPRO, the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

sent forged letters to Black Nationalists to inflame tensions between the Panthers and US organisation. Lary 'Watani' Stiner and his brother, were accused and charged for Huggins' assassination.

Early life

John Huggins was born February 11, 1945, in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

, where he attended Hopkins School, although ultimately left and graduated from James Hillhouse High School. He was briefly enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

before attending Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he met his wife Ericka Huggins. They moved together to Los Angeles and both became deeply involved in the Black Panther Party. They had one child, Mai Huggins.

Death

On January 17, 1969, Huggins and fellow Party leader Bunchy Carter were gunned down by Claude "Chuchessa" Hubert, a 21–year old member of the black nationalist US Organization during a meeting at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. According to a witness, Huggins got into a scuffle with another man; 19-year old member Harold "Tuwala" Jones when he was shot by Hubert. The FBI had infiltrated the Black Panther Party and the US Organization and created divisions that likely contributed to the murders. An FBI memo dated November 29, 1968, described a letter that the Los Angeles FBI office intended to mail to the Black Panther Party office. The letter, which was made to appear as if it had come from the US Organization, described fictitious plans by US to ambush BPP members. The FBI memo stated, "It is hoped this counterintelligence measure will result in an 'US' and BPP vendetta." Lary 'Watani' Stiner and his brother were accused and convicted of the murders of Huggins and Carter though neither of them fired a weapon. Stiner is out on parole and has steadfastly maintained his innocence. One consequence of Huggins' death was that it contributed to his cousin, Ruth Wilson Gilmore, leaving Swarthmore College.

References

External links

Children of the Revolutionary
LA Weekly feature on the 1969 UCLA shootout that killed John Huggins and Bunchy Carter.
FBI Docs
John Huggins FBI Files {{DEFAULTSORT:Huggins, John 1945 births 1969 deaths Assassinated American activists People from New Haven, Connecticut Members of the Black Panther Party Hopkins School alumni Hillhouse High School alumni Deaths by firearm in California People murdered in Los Angeles People murdered in 1969