Activist Bobby Seale and his wife, Leslie M. Johnson-Seale, will deliver the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Lecture for the Assembly Series at 11 a.m. April 2 in Graham Chapel.
More information
All Assembly Series lectures are free and open to the public For more information call 935-5285 or visit the series Web site, http://wupa.wustl.edu/assembly
Bobby Seale is best known for his involvement in the Black Panther Party, a grass-roots activist organization formed in 1966 to address police brutality in African-American neighborhoods and to provide social aid to struggling African-Americans at a community level.
Largely a student activist group initially, the Black Panthers gained popularity throughout the late 1960s, and the organization’s membership grew nationwide.
The party was based on a 10-point program, a concept created by Seale and party co-founder Huey P. Newton. Each point stressed a different goal or belief of the party, including such controversial ideas as the exemption of all African-Americans from military service, an idea that captured considerable attention in the political arena.
Seale is the author of Seize the Time, a history of the Black Panther movement from its conception throughout its peak to its implementation and effectiveness.
Leslie M. Johnson-Seale joined the Black Panther Party in the 1960s, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Working with her husband, she brings a female perspective to the organization, shedding light on the role of African-American women in a political protest movement.
Since the Black Panther Party has faded from the public eye, the Seales have been working to improve social services in poor African-American communities.