: The Demonstrators The Demonstrators But the main reason for doing work around the Black Panthers is that it offers a chance to talk to whites about racism in our society, to explain how racism permeates the entire society-the courts, the prisons, the police, Demonstrations-Aims and Perceived Effects everything. I think the May Day demonstration was very signifi­ cant in that it was the biggest demonstration up until that time in support of the Black Panther Party. It was also important because the speakers tied together the Ann Froines issues that concern people now-war and repression. In the movement, to some extent, you can now see the I wanted to work on the New Haven trial for a couple effects of this new pulling together of the issues. You of reasons. First, I had witnessed the manner in which don't see the war as one thing and the repression of the Bobby Seale had been treated in Chicago-the binding Black Panther Party as another any more. 19 and the gagging-and I wanted to work for his political Trying to have an effect on the courts is very delicate defense. Another thing, which outraged all of us in Chi­ politically. Mobilizing a lot of young people around the cago, was the murder of Fred Hampton. The fact that trial, given the types of juries which are selected in New the Chicago pigs would go that far and knew nothing Haven County, could boomerang. People might feel that would ever happen to them made a great impression on the Panthers are more of a threat and thus be less likely many people. We knew that we could no longer talk to give them a fair verdict-if such a thing is possible. loosely about organizing political support for the Pan­ In Lonnie's trial, the jurors, when interviewed after­ thers but that it was essential we do it. And third, I read wards, stated that they knew that the trial dealt with a letter that Frances Carter wrote describing how she felt some very serious issues other than those which were about having her baby in jail and then having it taken presented in the courtroom because of the way people away from her. It touched me deeply. mobilized around the trial in May and during the sum­ After I came to New Haven, I spent much of my time mer. The presence of people had opened their eyes to attempting to organize the May Day demonstrations, things, forced them to look at the trial in a different speaking to local groups, making arrangements. I dealt light. Perhaps it resulted in the jury finding Lonnie mostly with movement groups. Other organizations were guilty of only one of the counts. working in the liberal community. I felt strongly that The question of whether to organize demonstrations is the movement had to mobilize around the trial. increasingly a complicated one. If you think something Even with the Mclucas trial over, there are many rea­ is unjust, you protest it and try to mobilize more and sons for continuing to hold demonstrations. We have to more people to protest it. But people are very confused defend Bobby Seale and Ericka Huggins now because we about what to do now. They no longer want to spend are locked in a struggle with the people who want to put time either organizing or attending mass demonstrations them in jail. It would be negligence on our part, and a because they have a sense that demonstrations don't defeat, if we were not able to show those forces that produce the effects which they want. As people become want to destroy the.Black Panther Party and jail Bobby more and more politicized, they understand the limited Seale that we will not stand for it. importance that mass demonstrations do have; but they The courts are political: they respond to pressure from still take time out of their long-term organizing activities the power structure and perhaps to pressure from the to attend them. people. The sentencing of David Hilliard and Emory At present, there are two things which must be done. Douglas for contempt is a perfect example. Judge Mul­ The most important is local organizing, mobilizing peo­ vey responded to pressure, not a legal provision, in al­ ple to change their own situations. But it must be lowing those two men to go free after 'apologizing.' He coupled with political education. People must under­ made a mistake, and the community, especially Yale stand how the fate of the Black Panther Party is tied in University, did not approve of his overreaction to the with their own struggle. Then they will take time out to small altercation in the courtroom. To me, it showed participate in mass demonstrations protesting the repres­ that if people protested the trial enough, it would affect­ sion of the Panthers. The emphasis has to be-even in the situation. That incident gave a considerable amount this trial-on local action. People demonstrate their soli­ of impetus to my work and to the work of others in darity with the Panthers by launching new revolutionary New Haven. programs in their own communities. Published by Yale Law School Legal Scholarship Repository, 1971 1 Yale Review of Law and Social Action, Vol. 1 [1971], Iss. 2, Art. 4 Peter Hughes On the other hand, I was trying to reach community college students around May Day. But May Day and the weeks leading up to it totally closed off communica­ When I was in New Haven in the fall of 1969, not tions. You couldn't talk to anyone about the trial, be­ enough was being done around the trial. I was disturbed cause they were so freaked out by the boarded windows by that, so I decided to work on it, as a stopgap, until and the scare headlines. People no longer cared about more people joined in. I helped start a coalition, a broad the case. They only talked about the 10,000 Weather­ group which would include liberals, to talk about civil men they thought were coming to New Haven. So May liberties and repression. We did general educational work Day was great in some ways, but in terms of the people I for several months; I mostly worked on press releases was trying to talk to, it was not particularly useful. and public relations. We spent our time trying to inform people about the complexity of the case. We began to talk about the judicial process-pre-trial detention, why 20 the defendants couldn't get a fair trial. We told people that even if they didn't like the Panthers and what they The Lieutenant of Information for the Connecti­ stood for, they couldn't allow the state to railroad this cut Chapter of the Black Panther Party one through. Thus, my own organizing efforts were initially aimed at rallying liberal and broad community support. After a We had people engaged in a number of different activi­ time, although I was glad that the coalition existed, I ties. There was a Panther Defense Committee, made up wanted to do more than just talk about civil liberties. I primarily of white people, which did some organizing on spen.t some time telling people about the Panthers-why the campus and in the white community. In the black they were being repressed, why they were a good group community, we put out leaflets and talked to the people politically. I spent a lot of time with community college over the radio and face-to-face. We did a lot of organiz­ students. I wanted to talk to them about racism and how ing. We held a number of rallies; there was a rally almost it worked against the Panthers, who were both black and every week of the trial. Some people organized the ral­ revolutionary. To help them see that, I tried to make lies. Others encouraged the people to go back to their them feel that they were treated like the Panthers in communities and mobilize other people. I worked in the some ways. I talked about the legal system and how they · Panther Ministry of Information, wrote articles about are screwed because they use drugs in the same way the the trial and helped disseminate the information to the Panthers are screwed because of their race and politics. people. If we didn't get the other side of the story out The necessity for such work was fairly clear. We knew through our papers, then the people around the world that from the moment of the bust, the Panthers were in would only have gotten the pigs' point of view. the jaws of the lion. We were working in the enemy's Basically, our organizing and our publicity were not territory. The only power we had to help was in building aimed at swaying the jury. We were concerned about up public pressure around the trial, informing people educating and mobilizing the people out there, our about the sham which the legal system was, talking peers. We got people interested in the trial, told them about the case. I felt that the only thing which would the truth about it. benefit the Panthers was outside pressure. The people in the black community really responded The demonstrations were successful, I think. We did to the trial. They came down to the courtroom only to manage to get liberals to think about the trial; we made find that they couldn't get inside.