OXFORD, MS – One of the most famous black activists of the 60's visited the mid-South Thursday to preach a new form of activism. Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panthers, told students and faculty at Ole Miss about the history of the group, and he talked about how students can be activists today.
"The Black Panther Party was about all people, that was our slogan," Seale explained. “The government and others and Ronald Reagan and the politicians were so busy trying to call us hoodlums and thugs, they said nothing about the fact that Huey Newton had been to two years at night in law school. Nothing about the fact that Bobby Seale had done four years in the United States Air Force working with high performance aircraft.”
He said today's college students live in a new era, one that calls for a different kind of activism.
“You don't need guns, not nowadays,” he said. “In the hard days we needed our guns, but you don't need the guns.”
His message carried weight on campus.
“It shows how far we've come, and how far we have to go,” said University of Mississippi senior Maggie Gage.
Seale believes young people getting involved with grassroots activism will make the difference.
“As you live your life, hitch your wagon to the human liberation struggle,” he said.
Seale visited the university as part of the "Know Your History" lecture series organized by the student chapter of the NAACP.
