Eldridge Cleaver Birthday & Fun Facts

Eldridge Cleaver Birthday Highlights

Birth Name

Leroy Edridge Cleaver

Place Of Birth

Wabbaseka, USA

Age

88 years old

Birth Date

August 31 1935

Eldridge Cleaver Facts

Child Star?

no

Occupation

Writer, Political Activist.

Education & Qualifications

Correctional Institutions in California

Net Worth

$600,000

Current Partner

Kathleen Cleaver

Children

Joju Younghi Cleaver, Ahmad Marco Eldridge Cleaver.

Parents

Leroy Cleaver, Thelma Hattie Robinson.

Siblings

Wilhelma Marie, Elen Grace, James Weldon, Theophilus Henery

Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was a writer, and political activist, who was constantly surrounded by problems and controversies in the United States.

Eldridge Cleaver later became one of the leaders of the Black Panther Party, founded in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. This party aimed to patrol African American neighborhoods to protect the residents from police brutality.

Eldridge Cleaver was convicted, and during his time in prison, he wrote 'Soul on Ice.' It is a collection of essays acclaimed by The New York Times Book Review at its publication in 1968 as 'brilliant and revealing'. This memoir Cleaver wrote from the Folsom state prison while serving time was considered a great insight into the black community in a white American world. Before this book was published, Eldridge Cleaver published his political and philosophical essays in Ramparts Magazine.

Eldridge Cleaver acquired the title of the Minister of Information and Head of the International Section of the Panther while spending his time in exile from Cuba and Algeria. Please continue reading to learn more about this writer and political activist, Eldridge Cleaver, including his involvement in the Black Panther movement.

What was Eldridge Cleaver's net worth?

Eldridge Cleaver's net worth is estimated to be around $600,000.

How much did Eldridge Cleaver earn per year?

Details on his annual income are unavailable.

How tall was Eldridge Cleaver?

Eldridge Cleaver was 6 ft (185 cm) tall.

How old was Eldridge Cleaver?

At the time of his death on May 1, 1998, Eldridge was 62 years old.

Born in Wabbaska, Arkansas, Eldridge Cleaver moved to Phoenix with his large family before settling in Los Angeles. Thelma Hattie Robinson was his mother. His father was Leroy Eldridge Cleaver. His four siblings are Helen Grace, Wilhelmina Marie, Theophilus Henry, and James Weldon.

Eldridge Cleaver lived with his family and spent most of his childhood in Los Angeles, California. The Cleavers then moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and finally settled in Los Angeles. Throughout his childhood, Eldridge Cleaver attended many reform schools for minor offenses.

Who was Eldridge Cleaver's partner?

Eldridge Cleaver married Kathleen Cleaver. She is an American Law professor who was a part of the Black Panther Party and had involvement in the Black Power Movement. The couple married in 1967 and had two children together, Joju Younghi Cleaver and Ahmad Maceo Eldridge Cleaver. However, the couple divorced in 1987, twenty years after their marriage.

Best Known For…

Founder of Ramparts magazine Edward Michael Keating helped release Eldridge Cleaver from prison on December 12, 1966. In addition to writing for Ramparts magazine, he laid the groundwork for revitalizing the Organization of Afro-American Unity. It had only been two months since the birth of the Black Panther Party (BPP). Afterward, he was appointed Minister of Information at the Oakland-based BPP. Eldridge Cleaver was initially drawn to the Panthers because of their commitment to armed struggle rather than other prominent groups.

Regarding his exile in Algeria, Eldridge Cleaver made several claims in his 1978 book 'Soul on Fire.' He claimed that the U.S. was bombing North Vietnam then and that he received frequent payments from the government of North Vietnam. According to Clever, many revolutionaries (including Booth and Smith) hijacked planes to reach Algeria after he became a former criminal turned rebel.

Huey Newton and Eldridge Cleaver ultimately disagreed over whether armed struggle was necessary to respond to COINTELPRO and other federal actions against the Black Panther Party. This led to Cleaver's eventual expulsion from the BPP. Further, other BPP members felt Cleaver neglected the needs of African-Americans within the United States when he showed an interest in North Korea and the global anti-imperialist struggle. North Korea's ties to the Black Panthers were quickly forgotten after he was expelled from the group in 1971.

Charity Work

Details on his charitable works are unavailable. Though a social activist, Eldridge Cleaver has worked for different social causes.

What awards did Eldridge Cleaver win?

Elridge Cleaver has not won any awards as a political activist in his career.

Eldridge Cleaver's Hobbies And Interests

Elridge Cleaver had a keen interest in politics.

• Cleaver became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints after recovering from addiction and later recommitted himself to evangelical Christianity.
• At 62 years old, Cleaver died in Los Angeles on May 1, 1998. He worked as a diversity consultant at the University of La Verne near Los Angeles.
• As a Republican candidate for a Senate seat in California in 1986, Cleaver failed to win the nomination.
• During his imprisonment, he was inspired by the teachings of Malcolm X, who was assassinated.
• Eldridge Cleaver was inspired to write a collection of essays on race and the black revolution in prison based on their writings.
• This memoir Cleaver wrote from the Folsom state prison while serving time was considered a great insight into the black community in a white American world.
• The founder of Ramparts magazine Edward Michael Keating helped release Eldridge Cleaver from prison on December 12, 1966.
• In the book' Soul on Ice,' his essays were published two years after he was released from prison.
• Cleaver's reading list during his confinement included Thomas Paine, Karl Marx, and Voltaire, Richard Wright.
• Eldridge Cleaver was initially drawn to the Panthers because of their commitment to armed struggle rather than other prominent groups.
• Eldridge Cleaver became one of the most recognizable Panther leaders due to Soul on Ice, a position he enhanced by running for president with the Peace and Freedom Party in 1968.
• Eldridge Cleaver acquired the title of the Minister of Information and Head of the International Section of the Panther while spending his time in exile from Cuba and Algeria.
• When Black Panthers and Oakland Police engaged in a shootout, Eldridge Cleaver was severely injured. He fled the United States after being charged with attempted murder, living as an exile.
• As a counter-revolutionary, Eldridge Cleaver placed Timothy Leary under 'revolutionary arrest' as a counter-revolutionary for promoting drug use after Timothy Leary's Weather Underground prison escape.
• When he was a fugitive, Eldridge Cleaver visited North Vietnam, Algeria, North Korea, China, and the Soviet Union.
• During the 70s, he started a West Hollywood Shop for exploiting his cleavers.
• Eldridge Cleaver graduated from Oxford University.
• Cleaver has also been associated with the Black Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco, United States of America.
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