William Lee "Bill" Brent (1931 – November 4, 2006) was an American member of the Black Panther Party and defector, best known for hijacking a passenger jet and diverting it to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

in 1969, where he spent the last 37 years of his life in

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

Biography

William Lee Brent was born in 1931, in Franklin, Louisiana, and when he was 13 his family moved to Oakland,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Brent was selling drugs and committing petty crimes by the time he was in junior high school, and at age 17 he enlisted in the U.S. Army by using a fake birth certificate. He was discharged from the army after only eight months, later serving time in juvenile hall for stealing a bicycle. In 1955, he was convicted of armed robbery and auto theft, for which he spent seven years in San Quentin State Prison. On April 21, 1964, Brent married Gloria L. Harness, age 30, in Oakland.

Black Panther Party activity

In November 1968, Brent and two accomplices in a van marked "Black Panther Black Community News Service" allegedly robbed a gas station in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

's Bayview district of $80. Police caught up to them on Seventh Street near the Hall of Justice, prompting a shootout, where one of the officers, Lieutenant Dermott Creedon, was critically wounded. When Brent was arrested and identified as the triggerman, Eldridge Cleaver kicked him out of the Black Panther Party, accusing him of "banditry". After his arrest, Brent was released on bail, and on June 17, 1969, he stepped onto Trans World Airlines Flight 154 from Oakland to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Brent held a .38 Caliber revolver to the pilot's head, and ordered him to fly to

instead. Brent spent 22 months in an immigration jail in Cuba when he arrived, and after his release he earned a Spanish literature degree from the University of Havana, and taught English at various junior and senior high schools. He never became a Cuban citizen, but remarried to travel writer Jane McManus (–2005) whom he had met in Cuba. In a 1996 interview with the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, Brent said he missed the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the African-American community, but he was unwilling to return to possibly face life imprisonment for air piracy and kidnapping. Around 1996, Times Books published his memoirs, ''Long Time Gone'' (), and for several years prior to his death Brent was working on a book about discrimination against Black people in Cuba.

Death

Brent died from pneumonia on November 4, 2006, at age 75, while still living in Cuba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brent, William Lee 1931 births 2006 deaths Members of the Black Panther Party American defectors American emigrants to Cuba Trans World Airlines accidents and incidents Deaths from pneumonia in Cuba People from Franklin, Louisiana United States Army soldiers University of Havana alumni