On this day in 1967, Huey Newton was wounded in a fatal shootout with police after being pulled over by Oakland police officer John Frey. His subsequent imprisonment led to the "Free Huey!" campaign; Newton was freed on August 5th, 1970.

Huey Newton was a revolutionary activist who, along with fellow Merritt College student Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party (BPP). In the 1960s, under their leadership, the BPP founded over 60 community support programs, including food banks, free medical clinics, legal advice seminars, clothing banks, housing co-ops, and their own ambulance service.

On October 28th, 1967, Newton was wounded in a shootout with police. The incident occurred after he was pulled over by Oakland cop John Frey, who called for backup after realizing who Newton was. When a second officer arrived, shots rang out; Frey was killed, while Newton and the other officer were wounded.

The "Free Huey!" campaign began in December, the phrase originating out a coalition between the BPP and the Peace and Freedom Party. The trial, which began on July 15th, 1968, quickly ascended beyond the scope of Newton himself.

Newton was initially convicted of voluntary manslaughter in September 1968. In May 1970, the California Appellate Court reversed the conviction and ordered a new trial. The charges were finally dismissed by the Alameda County Superior Court, and Huey was freed on August 5th, 1970.

"If you so much as touch a hair on Huey's pretty head, you better give your soul to the Lord because your ass belongs to the Black Panther Party."

- Earl Anthony, Spitting in the Wind

"Yeah they freed Huey. Then Huey came out and they wanted Huey to free them and I keep trying to tell the people, I say people, that's the true power of the people, you freed me, you freed Huey, now why don't you all go ahead and free yourself?

But see, they can't do that can they? They can't do that cause the people always have to create what they call a leader and a leader is everything that the people want to be but the leader is everything that the people can never be so then when the leader fails, he's gonna fail, he's just flesh and blood, he's gonna fail, when the leader fails then the whole construction of the concept of leadership fails and then it just becomes a matter of contempt.

And that's when they assassinate you and then put your image on a postage stamp so they can keep lickin' you in the grave."

- Huey Newton