Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an African American writer, political activist, and fashion designer. He was also a convicted rapist and an early leader of the Black Panther Party, where he served as Minister of Information. While in exile, he became the Head of the International Section of the Panthers. As editor of the official Panthers' newspaper, The Black Panther, Cleaver’s influence on the party was second only to the founders, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.

In 1966, Cleaver was found guilty of crimes including burglary, assault, rape, and attempted murder. He served time in Folsom and San Quentin prisons until his release on parole. In 1968, he published Soul on Ice, a collection of essays that received both praise and criticism for its strong opinions about American society and its controversial statements. That same year, he became a fugitive after attacking two Oakland police officers in an ambush. During the attack, Cleaver was injured, and fellow Black Panther Bobby Hutton was killed. Cleaver and Newton later had a disagreement, which caused a split that made the party weaker.

After spending seven years in exile in Cuba, Algeria, and France, Cleaver returned to the United States in 1975. He designed clothing for men and later joined religious groups, including the Unification Church and the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles (CARP). He eventually joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and became a conservative Republican, attending Republican events.

Biography

Eldridge Cleaver was born on August 31, 1935, in Wabbaseka, Arkansas. As a child, he moved with his family to Phoenix and later to Los Angeles. His parents were Leroy Cleaver and Thelma Hattie Robinson. He had four siblings: Wilhelima Marie, Helen Grace, James Weldon, and Theophilus Henry. Both of his grandfathers were Protestant preachers.

As a teenager, Cleaver was involved in small crimes and spent time in youth detention centers. At 18, he was convicted of a felony drug charge for marijuana and sent to an adult prison at Soledad. In 1958, he was convicted of rape and assault with intent to murder and was sent to Folsom and San Quentin prisons. There, he became more extreme in his political views. He read widely about economics, philosophy, literature, and political theory. He joined the Nation of Islam (NOI) and led a radical group of Black Muslims at San Quentin. Cleaver later left the NOI around the same time Malcolm X left the NOI and formed the Organization of Afro-American Unity (OAAU).

Cleaver was released from San Quentin on December 12, 1966, with a planned release date of March 20, 1971. His release was helped by Edward Michael Keating, who published Cleaver’s prison writings and promised him a job in San Francisco.

After his release, Cleaver wrote for Ramparts magazine and worked to rebuild the OAAU. The Black Panther Party (BPP) had been formed only two months earlier. Cleaver joined the BPP in Oakland as Minister of Information, or spokesperson. He was drawn to the BPP because of its support for armed struggle.

In 1967, Cleaver helped create the Black House, a political and cultural center in San Francisco. Many Black artists and activists, including Amiri Baraka and Huey Newton, were part of the Black House. That same year, Cleaver married Kathleen Neal Cleaver. They divorced in 1987. They had a son, Ahmad Maceo Eldridge, born in 1969 in Algeria, who died in 2018 in Saudi Arabia, and a daughter, Joju Younghi, born in 1970 in North Korea.

In 1968, Cleaver was arrested for breaking his parole and for possessing firearms. He asked a court to free him, and he was released after paying $50,000 in bail.

Cleaver ran for president in 1968 as a candidate for the Peace and Freedom Party. He was not old enough to be president, as the Constitution requires a president to be at least 35 years old. Courts in Hawaii and New York said he could not be on the ballot because he did not meet the age requirement.

After the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, riots broke out across the country. On April 6, Cleaver and 14 other Panthers attacked Oakland police officers, wounding two officers. Cleaver was hurt during the attack, and 17-year-old Panther Bobby Hutton was killed. They used M16 rifles and shotguns. Cleaver later said he planned the attack.

Some reporters were surprised because Cleaver also criticized the Black Panthers, saying police should be seen as heroes. He claimed that groups that review police actions were not helpful. Some people thought he admitted to the attack to avoid going to prison. A PBS documentary said Bobby Hutton was shot more than 12 times after surrendering.

After the attack, Cleaver was charged with attempted murder and fled to Cuba. He was welcomed at first, but later Cuban leader Fidel Castro said the CIA was trying to influence the Black Panthers. Cleaver then went to Algeria and asked his wife to join him. Elaine Klein helped him by getting an invitation to a Pan-African festival, which made him safe from arrest.

At the festival, Cleaver met revolutionaries from Africa and talked about fighting against racism and colonialism. He called for violence against the United States and wanted the Panthers to be seen as part of a global movement. Cleaver set up an international office for the Panthers in Algeria. He also stayed with Timothy Leary in Algeria, but later put Leary in “revolutionary arrest” for promoting drug use.

In 1969, Cleaver formed an alliance with North Korea. Black Panther publications began sharing parts of writings by North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. Few leftists had focused on North Korea before, but Cleaver believed its ideas could help African-Americans fight for freedom. He visited North Korea twice and praised its government for providing food, jobs, and housing to all people.

In 1970, Cleaver traveled to China with other Panthers as part of a U.S. anti-imperialist group.

Byron Vaughn Booth, a former Panther leader, said Cleaver discovered his wife had an affair with another Panther, Clinton Robert Smith Jr. Booth told the FBI he saw Cleaver kill Smith with an AK-47 in Algeria. Elaine Mokhtefi, a writer, said Cleaver told her about the murder shortly after it happened.

In 1972, Huey Newton officially removed Cleaver from the Black Panthers after Cleaver, while in Algeria, called for the removal of party leader David Hilliard.

In his 1978 book Soul on Fire, Cleaver claimed he received money from North Vietnam while in exile. He said other former criminals, including Booth and Smith, traveled to Algeria by hijacking planes.

Cleaver and Newton later disagreed about the need for armed struggle.

Soul on Ice(1968)

Eldridge Cleaver wrote the book Soul on Ice while in prison. The essays in the book were first published in Ramparts magazine and later released as a book in 1968.

In one part of Soul on Ice, Cleaver admitted to committing acts of rape. He said he first raped Black women in poor neighborhoods "for practice" and later raped white women repeatedly. He claimed these actions were politically motivated, believing that raping white women was "an insurrectionary act." However, when he began writing Soul on Ice, he clearly rejected rape and all his earlier beliefs about it.

Despite these controversial statements, The New York Times Book Review praised Soul on Ice as "brilliant and revealing."

The essays in Soul on Ice are divided into four sections:
1. "Letters from Prison" – describes Cleaver’s experiences with crime and prison life.
2. "Blood of the Beast" – discusses race relations and supports Black liberation ideas.
3. "Prelude to Love – Three Letters" – includes love letters written to Cleaver’s attorney, Beverly Axelrod.
4. "White Woman, Black Man" – explores topics such as gender relations, Black masculinity, and sexuality.

Books

• Cleaver, Eldridge (1968). Soul on Ice. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company. ISBN 0070113076.
• Cleaver, Eldridge (1969). Eldridge Cleaver: Post-Prison Writings and Speeches, edited by Robert Scheer. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-3944-2323-2.
• Il-Sŏng, Kim; Cleaver, Eldridge (Foreword) (1972). JUCHE! The Speeches and Writings of Kim Il Sung, edited by Li, Yuk-Sa. New York: Grossman Publishers. ISBN 9780670410118. {{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link).
• Cleaver, Eldridge (1978). Soul on Fire. Waco, Texas: Word Books. ISBN 0-8499-0046-8.
• Cleaver, Eldridge (2006). Target Zero: A Life in Writing, edited by Kathleen Cleaver. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 1-4039-6237-5.