Black Power- Bobby Hutton

The black power movement, a new burst of African American activism that emerged in the late 1960s, has some intriguing links to Arkansas. Bobby Hutton of Oakland, California-based Black Panther Party for Self-Defense fame, was born in rural Jefferson County, Arkansas. His family relocated to Oakland after intimidation from white vigilante nightriders when Hutton was just three years old. In 1966, at the tender age of sixteen, Hutton—who became affectionately known as Lil’ Bobby Hutton—became the first and youngest Black Panther Party recruit. Hutton became a familiar figure in the party and was involved in many of its activities. In 1968, Hutton and fellow Arkansan Eldridge Cleaver were involved in a shoot-out with the police that led to Hutton being gunned down and killed in controversial circumstances. His death made him a black power movement icon. I’m John Kirk of the UALR History Department and this has been an Arkansas moment.