Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an influential American writer, political activist, and early leader of the Black Panther Party during the 1960s civil rights era. Born in rural Wabbaseka, Arkansas, Cleaver experienced a turbulent youth marked by family instability and involvement in petty crime, leading to multiple incarcerations in reform schools and state prisons. While serving a nine-year prison sentence for assault with intent to murder and rape (convicted in 1958 for assaulting a white woman), he underwent a profound ideological transformation, influenced by reading Malcolm X, Thomas Merton, and other black nationalist and revolutionary thinkers. During this period, he penned essays that were later published as the bestselling book 'Soul on Ice' (1968), which critiqued racism, capitalism, and American society, catapulting him to prominence as a voice for black liberation. Upon parole in 1966, Cleaver joined the Black Panther Party, rising quickly to become its Minister of Information. He co-founded the party's newspaper, 'The Black Panther', and advocated for armed self-defense against police brutality, aligning with black nationalism and socialism. His activism included high-profile confrontations, such as the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which he blamed on government forces, and a violent clash with Oakland police on April 6, 1968, that resulted in the death of Panther member Bobby Hutton and forced Cleaver into exile in Cuba and Algeria. In exile, Cleaver's ideology evolved; he broadcasted radical messages but grew disillusioned with Marxism and authoritarian regimes, eventually returning to the U.S. in 1975 after facing legal troubles, including a plea deal on charges related to the 1968 shootout. Over the next decades, Cleaver underwent dramatic personal and political shifts, converting first to the Unification Church (not the Mormon Church) in the mid-1970s and later to evangelical Christianity. He renounced his Panther past, embracing conservatism and Reagan-era politics, criticizing affirmative action and feminism in works like 'Soul on Fire' (1978). Cleaver ran unsuccessfully for political office, including as a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in California in 1968 and for the California State Assembly in 1986, and became a born-again Christian speaker, focusing on themes of redemption and anti-communism. His later life was marred by struggles with drug addiction and further legal issues, including arrests for cocaine possession in the 1980s and burglary in 1994. Cleaver died of prostate cancer in 1998, leaving a complex legacy as both a revolutionary icon and a controversial figure accused of misogyny and violence—his rape conviction and admissions in 'Soul on Ice' of past sexual assaults drew significant criticism from feminists and civil rights advocates. Despite these controversies, his writings remain studied for their raw portrayal of racial injustice.