Film, Video Elbert "Big Man" Howard oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Santa Rosa, California, 2016 June 30.

More Resources

View Enlarged Image
[ 1 transcript ]

About this Item

Title
Elbert "Big Man" Howard oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Santa Rosa, California, 2016 June 30.
Summary
Elbert "Big Man" Howard founded the Black Panther Party in Oakland with Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale and others in 1965. Howard speaks of the Party's accomplishments in establishing the free community food programs, free medical clinics, and other service initiatives. He recounts the harassment by the FBI's COINTELPRO initiative, and recounts instances of everyday racist oppression by the state and local officials. Howard talks about the failed attempt by the Panthers to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the Attica Prison Uprising (NY) in 1971. Howard talks of his leaving the organization due to various pressures and internal conflicts that eventually led to the demise of the Party.
Contributor Names
Howard, Elbert, 1938-2018, interviewee.
Cline, David P., 1969- interviewer.
Bishop, John Melville, videographer.
Civil Rights History Project (U.S.)
Created / Published
2016.
Subject Headings
-  Howard, Elbert,--1938-2018--Interviews
-  Aoki, Richard,--1938-2009
-  Cleaver, Eldridge,--1935-1998
-  Huggins, Ericka
-  Newton, Huey P
-  Seale, Bobby,--1936
-  Black Panther Party
-  Cointelpro
-  US (Organization)
-  African American civil rights workers--California--Interviews
-  Civil rights movements--California
-  Civil rights movements--United States
-  Prison riots--New York (State)--Attica
-  Trials (Murder)--Connecticut--New Haven
-  Underground press publications--California
-  Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--Japan
Genre
Personal narratives
Filmed interviews
Interviews
Oral histories
Video recordings
Notes
-  Recorded in Santa Rosa, California, on June 30, 2016.
-  Civil Rights History Project collection (AFC 2010/039: 0145), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
-  Copies of items are also held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.).
-  Elbert "Big Man" Howard was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1938. After serving four years in the military, he enrolled in Merritt College in Oakland, where he met Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton. Together they founded the Black Panther Party. As one of the Party's early organizers, he played a key role in creating the Ten-Point Program, organizing defense committees and developing programs and opportunities for activism. After leaving the party in the 1970s, he returned to the South and worked in retail in various locations for several years. Eventually he returned to California where he wrote, lectured, and was a jazz disc jockey.
-  The Civil Rights History Project is a joint project of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement.
-  In English.
-  Finding aid http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/eadafc.af013005
Medium
9 video files (Apple ProRes 422 HQ, QuickTime wrapper) (2:13:36) : digital, sound, color.
transcript 1 item (.pdf) : text files.
Source Collection
Civil Rights History Project collection AFC 2010/039: 0145
Repository
Library of Congress Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, DC USA 20540-4610 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.home
Digital Id
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/afc2010039.afc2010039_crhp0145
afc2010039.afc2010039_crhp0145_ms01
Library of Congress Control Number
2016655436
Rights Advisory
Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.
Access Advisory
Collection is open for research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact
Online Format
image
pdf
video
LCCN Permalink
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016655436
Additional Metadata Formats
MARCXML Record
MODS Record
Dublin Core Record

Rights & Access

The individuals documented in these collection items retain copyright and related rights to the use of their recorded and written testimonies and memories.  They have granted the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution permission to provide access to their interviews and related materials for purposes that are consistent with each agency’s educational mission, such as publication and transmission, in whole or in part, on the Web. Their written permission is required for commercial, profit-making distribution, reproduction, or other use beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. See our Legal Notices and Privacy and Publicity Rights for additional information and restrictions.

The American Folklife Center, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and the professional fieldworkers who carry out these projects feel a strong ethical responsibility to the people they have visited and who have consented to have their lives documented for the historical record. The Center asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here. Researchers are also reminded that privacy and publicity rights may pertain to certain uses of this material.

Researchers or others who would like to make further use of these collection materials should contact the Folklife Reading Room for assistance. 

Credit Line

Civil Rights History Project collection (AFC 2010/039), American Folklife Center, Library of Congress

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Howard, Elbert, Interviewee, David P Cline, John Melville Bishop, and U.S Civil Rights History Project. Elbert "Big Man" Howard oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Santa Rosa, California. 2016. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655436/.

APA citation style:

Howard, E., Cline, D. P., Bishop, J. M. & Civil Rights History Project, U. S. (2016) Elbert "Big Man" Howard oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Santa Rosa, California. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016655436/.

MLA citation style:

Howard, Elbert, Interviewee, et al. Elbert "Big Man" Howard oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in Santa Rosa, California. 2016. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2016655436/>.

More Films, Videos like this