David Hilliard

David Hilliard (born May 15, 1942) is a founding member of the Black Panther Party, having served as Chief of Staff. He would later go on to become a visiting instructor at the University of New Mexico in 2006. He also is the founder of the Dr. Huey P. Newton foundation.

Early life

David Hilliard was born on May 15, 1942, in Rockville, Alabama, to Lela and Lee Hilliard. David had six brothers and five sisters: Theodore, Allen, Nathaniel, Van, Roosevelt, Arthur, Rose Lee, Sweetie, Dorty Mae, Vera Lee, and Eleanora. His parents met in 1916, when his mother was 16 years old, a little less than half the age of his father. In his childhood, Hilliard met Huey Newton, who would later become the leader of the Black Panther movement.

Family life David Hilliard married Patricia (Pat) Hilliard in 1959. They met at David's friend Melvin Newton's (Huey Newton’s) fraternity party. Pat initially resisted David advances, as she was still in a relationship with her first child (Dennis) father, but she eventually agreed to date David. At the age of 17, David and Patricia discovered that she was pregnant with their first child together, Patrice; this event led to David to dropping out of high school to provide for his family. David and Patricia then proceeded to get married at Berkeley City Hall in Berkeley, CA. David Hilliard acted as the interim leader of the Black Panther Party.

Influences After reading Malcolm X's autobiography as a teenager, David Hilliard had a deep respect for his militancy. Although he admired the charisma of Martin Luther King Jr. he did not agree with MLK's advocacy for non-violent resistance.

Hilliard's arrests

In January 1968 Hilliard was arrested for handing out pamphlets outside of Oakland Technical High School. The April 6, 1968 encounter led to the death of party member Bobby Hutton and the capture of Eldridge Cleaver, who masterminded the botched operation. According to Cleaver, Hutton was shot by police while surrendering with his hands up. Hilliard left this standoff unscathed having taken shelter under a family friends bed. This threat was announced in Hilliard's speech given on November 15, 1969, at Golden Gate Park. In his speech Hilliard was quoted saying "We will kill Richard Nixon." Hilliard gave his eulogy.

Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation With Huey Newton's second wife, Fredrika Newton, Hilliard later formed the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. The mission of this organization is "to preserve and promulgate the history, ideals and legacy of the Black Panther Party and its founder Huey P. Newton through development and distribution of educational materials, establishment of educational conferences and forums, eventually starting a record label (Black Panther Records) clothing line (Black Panther Clothing)with his youngest son, maintenance and exhibition of historical archives."