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Elbert Howard | |
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 Howard lecturing in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in January 1970 | |
| Born | (1938-01-05)January 5, 1938 Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | July 23, 2018(2018-07-23) (aged 80) Santa Rosa, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Big Man |
| Occupations | Activist, author, lecturer |
Elbert Howard (January 5, 1938 – July 23, 2018),[1] better known asBig Man, was an Americancivil rights activist and author who was one of the founding members of theBlack Panther Party.[2][3][4][5]
Howard spent several years in theUnited States Air Force in Europe. After receiving an honorable discharge from the Air Force, Howard moved toOakland, California. While attendingMerritt College, Howard metBobby Seale andHuey P. Newton. In 1966, at the age of 28, he became one of the six original founding members of the Black Panther Party, along with Bobby Seale, Huey Newton,"L'il" Bobby Hutton,Reggie Forte, and Sherman Forte. Howard was an active member of the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense from 1966 through 1974,[6] and acted as the Party's "Deputy Minister of Information", often functioning as a lead spokesperson for the party while other members were imprisoned.[7]
After leaving the party in 1974, Howard returned to Tennessee. InMemphis, he served on the boards of directors of several African American progressive educational institutions.
In 2001, Howard self-published his memoir,Panther on the Prowl, covering the rise and fall of the Black Panthers.[8] In 2003, he was a coordinator for the All of Us or None Ex-Offender Program, and also was a member of the Millions for Reparations committee.
Until his death, Howard lived inForestville, California[9] with his wife, Carole Hyams. They married in 2007.[10] He was a founder of the Police Accountability Clinic & Helpline ofSonoma County, and a board member ofKWTF, a community radio station. Howard was a lifelong lover ofjazz and hosted jazz and blues programs at several radio stations.
In 2016, he provided an oral history of his life in the freedom struggle for the national Civil Rights History Project, a joint undertaking of the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture :Elbert Howard interview from the Library of Congress & NMAAHC
Howard died on July 23, 2018.[11]
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