Bobby Seale - Definition and Overview

Bobby Seale (born October 22, 1936) and Huey P. Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966.

He joined the African American Association in college and this is said to have inspired him to start the Black Panthers, which at one point had over 2000 members. Seale went on to become the chairman of the party and underwent FBI surveillance as part of its COINTELPRO program. In 2002 he began dedicating his time to Reach!, a group that focuses on youth education programs.

Seale was one of the original Chicago Eight defendants charged with conspiracy and inciting to riot, in the wake of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, Illinois. Judge Julius Hoffman sentenced him to four years of imprisonment for contempt of court because of his outbursts, and eventually ordered Seale severed from the case, hence the "Chicago Seven." During one of the court trials Bobby Seale's many outbursts led the judge to have him bound and gagged.

"Seize the Time: The Story of the Black Panther Party" was written by Bobby Seale and published by Arrow Books and Hutchinson & Co in 1970.