Case Against Chairman Bobby and Ericka Dismissed

Ericka Huggins joined the Black Panther Party (BPP) in 1968 with her husband John, and soon after, the two were leaders in the Los Angeles chapter. After John was murdered in 1969, she moved to New Haven, Connecticut, to be with John’s family and raise their daughter. Ericka Huggins was recruited by community members and Yale University students to start a party chapter there. Huggins, along with other Panther women like Kathleen Cleaver and Elaine Brown, led the New Haven chapter of the party. That same year, BPP founder Bobby Seale and Huggins were both targeted and arrested on conspiracy charges, sparking “Free Bobby, Free Ericka” rallies across the country. Huggins was a political prisoner for two years awaiting trial. In May 1971, the jury deadlocked 10 to 2 for Huggins’ acquittal, and the charges for both defendants were dropped. In the Black Panther Intercommunal News Service, BPP members shared news of the acquittal and drew attention to other pressing issues of the time.