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Abbie Hoffman, Dave Dellinger, Jerry Rubin,
and Tom Hayden were not the only radical organizers against the Vietnam War. There
were hundreds if not thousands. These four simply have the most attention paid to
them. Other leaders, especially in the black community, were equally as active
against the war. Black Panthers Bobby Seale and Eldridge Cleaver were active against
the war, but their main concern was equal rights and protection for
African-Americans. They opposed the war because they felt young black Americans
should not have to fight for the freedom of the Vietnamese when they had no freedom in the
United States. Bobby Seale was one of the Chicago Seven. Eldridge Cleaver
wrote that the Vietnam War was an outgrowth of white supremacy and imperialism. He
wrote in his influential book Soul on Ice, "The Black Man's interest lies in
seeing a free and independent Vietnam, a strong Vietnam which is not the puppet of
international white supremacy" (p. 125).
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The original founders of the Black Panther Party, in
Oakland, California in 1966 |
Cleaver, Seale, and countless others dedicated their lives to their beliefs,
whether it be Civil Rights or the Peace Movement. They made many mistakes and
caused some pain, but they stood up for what they believed in. |
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