Finding Aid to the Eldridge Cleaver Photograph Collection, 1966-circa 1982
Finding Aid written by Chris McDonald
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
© 2007
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Finding Aid to the Eldridge Cleaver Photograph Collection, 1966-circa 1982
Collection Number: BANC PIC 1991.078--PIC
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
- Finding Aid Written By:
- Chris McDonald
- Date Completed:
-
September 2007
© 2007 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Eldridge Cleaver photograph collection
Date (inclusive): 1966-circa 1982
Collection Number: BANC PIC 1991.078--PIC
Collector :
Cleaver, Eldridge, 1935-1998
Extent:
Number of containers: 10 boxes, 1 oversize folder (circa 1,720 photographic prints, circa 480 negatives,
circa 440 slides).
Repository: The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/
Abstract: Collection consists primarily of snapshots of Eldridge Cleaver's career from the
mid-1960s to the early 1980s. Earliest materials relate to his affiliation with the Black Panther Party. Also
contains photographs taken during his exile abroad from 1968 to 1975. The majority of photographs was taken
after Cleaver's 1975 return to the United States and relate primarily to his activities in conservative politics
and the evangelical Christian movement.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English.
Physical Location: COLLECTION STORED, IN PART, OFF-SITE: Advance notice required for
use.
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research, with the following exceptions: RESTRICTED NEGATIVES: Use of negatives only
by permission of the appropriate curator. Inquiries concerning these materials should be directed, in writing,
to the Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or reproduce
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of
The Bancroft Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of
the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the user. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Eldridge Cleaver Photograph Collection, BANC PIC 1991.078--PIC, The Bancroft
Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Alternate Forms Available
There are no alternate forms of this collection.
Related Collections
Eldridge Cleaver Papers BANC MSS 91/231 c.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public
access catalog.
Cleaver, Eldridge, 1935--Pictorial works
Newton, Huey P.--Portraits
Carmichael, Stokely--Pictorial works
Allende Gossens, Salvador, 1908-1973--Pictorial
works
Cleaver, Kathleen--Portraits
Colson, Charles W.--Pictorial works
Stapleton, Ruth Carter--Pictorial works
Axelrod, Beverly--Pictorial works
Black Panther Party--Pictorial works
African Americans--Photographs
Evangelists--California.--Photographs
Political activists--California--Photographs
Gay pride parades--California--San Francisco--Photographs
China--Pictorial works
Korea--Pictorial works
Vietnam (Democratic Republic)--Pictorial
works
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Eldridge Cleaver Photograph Collection was transferred from the Eldridge Cleaver Papers, which were given
to The Bancroft Library by Eldridge Cleaver in November 1990. Subsequent additions were received in later
years.
Accruals
No additions are expected.
Arrangement
The collection has been divided and stored by medium: photographic prints, slides, and negatives. Images are
arranged chronologically, followed by categories representing miscellaneous, often undated activities and
themes (e.g. speaking engagements, press conferences, portraits, and family).
Processing Information
Processed by Chris McDonald.
Biographical Information
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was born on August 3, 1935 in Wabbaseka, Arkansas. In 1956 his family moved to Los
Angeles. During his youth he was convicted for various theft and drug offenses and spent time in reformatories
and the California State Prison at Soledad. In 1958 he was convicted of assault and spent 8 years in the San
Quentin and Folsom prisons. During this period of incarceration he became a member and minister of the Nation of
Islam and a follower of Malcolm X. With the assistance of attorney and lover Beverly Axelrod, Cleaver had
several of his prison writings published in the left-wing periodical
Ramparts. The
support which his writings earned him from the U.S. intellectual community was influential in gaining Cleaver's
release from prison in 1965. In 1967, while living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cleaver married Kathleen Neal,
an activist in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. That same year he befriended Huey P. Newton and
Bobby Seale, co-founders of the Black Panther Party, and soon became the Party's Minister of Information. The
following year Cleaver published
Soul On Ice -- a collection of essays named Book
of the Year by the
New York Times -- and ran as a candidate for the U.S. Presidency
for the Peace and Freedom Party. Later that year Cleaver and fellow Black Panther Bobby Hutton were involved in
a shootout with Oakland Police. Hutton was killed and Cleaver was charged with murder. While awaiting trial,
Cleaver fled to Cuba. He would spend the next seven years in exile, living also in Algeria and Paris during that
time. During his exile, Cleaver formed the International Section of the Black Panther Party in Algeria; met with
political leaders in North Vietnam, North Korea and China; quickly became disillusioned with Marxist-Leninist
beliefs; and eventually broke ties with the Black Panthers. During this time he and Kathleen had two children,
Antonio Maceo and Joju. While in Paris, Cleaver experienced a spiritual transformation which led to his
conversion to Christianity and conservative politics. In 1975 Cleaver negotiated with the F.B.I. for his return
to the United States as a prisoner. In 1977, after his renunciation of his earlier political activity and his
release from prison, he founded the Eldridge Cleaver Crusades, an evangelical Christian movement. Cleaver would
later have affiliations with Sun Myung Moon's Collegiate Association of Research Principles and the Mormon
Church. In the 1980s Cleaver ran two unsuccessful campaigns for U.S. Congress. He later became addicted to crack
cocaine and was arrested on several drug-related charges. In 1987 Kathleen Cleaver divorced him. In the 1990s
Cleaver kicked his addiction and worked as a diversity consultant for the University of La Verne in Southern
California. Eldridge Cleaver died May 1, 1998.
[Biographical information abridged from that of the finding aid for the Eldridge Cleaver Papers, BANC MSS
91/231 c.]
Scope and Content of Collection
Collection consists primarily of snapshots of Eldridge Cleaver's career from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s.
Earliest materials relate to his affiliation with the Black Panther Party and include snapshots, portraits and
negatives of party leaders such as Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter, John Higgins, Stokley Carmichael and attorney
Beverly Axelrod. Also contains photographs taken during his exile abroad from 1968 to 1975, including his stays
in Cuba, Algeria and France; visits to China, North Korea and North Vietnam; and a meeting with Chilean
President Salvador Allende. The majority of photographs was taken after his 1975 return to the United States and
relate primarily to his activities in conservative politics and the Evangelical Christian movement, including
speaking engagements at various California churches and universities. Approximately fifty snapshots of a San
Francisco Gay Pride Parade, dated June 1977, are included. Also contains photographs of his wife Kathleen
Cleaver and children Antonio Maceo and Joju, various friends, and such associates as Huey Newton, Charles Colson
and Ruth Carter Stapleton.
Container List
Prints
Note
Please note: some prints taken during Cleaver's exile from 1968-1975 were printed a number of years after
his return and bear laboratory date markings to that effect.
PIC Box 1
Black Panther Party
1966-1971
PIC Box 1
Black Panther Party: people, campaigns
PIC Box 1
Eldridge Cleaver and Beverly Axelrod
PIC Box 1
Black Panther Party: Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter portrait
1969
PIC Box 1
Exile: Cuba and Algeria
1968-1969
PIC Box 1
Exile: Portraits of Black Panther Party International members in Algeria
circa 1969-1972
PIC Box 1
Exile: U.S. People's Anti-Imperialist Delegation tour of North Korea, China and Vietnam
1970
Physical Description:
[5 folders]
PIC Box 2
Exile: U.S. People's Anti-Imperialist Delegation tour of North Korea, China and Vietnam
1970
Physical Description:
[3 folders]
PIC Box 2
Exile: Salvador Allende's visit to Algeria
1972 Dec.
PIC Box 2
Exile: Paris street scenes
circa 1973-1975
PIC Box 2
Exile: Paris portraits
1974
PIC Box 2
Exile: Paris portraits; preparing to return to U.S.
1975
PIC Box 2
Meeting press upon return to U.S.
1975
PIC Box 2
Press conference after release from prison
1976 Aug. 13
PIC Box 2
Pamphlet: "Eldridge Cleaver at Exile's End"
1976
PIC Box 2
Church: "25 Years of Miracles"
1976
PIC Box 2
Church: Eldridge Cleaver baptism
circa 1977
PIC Box 2
Church: Youth For Christ rally, San Diego
1977 Feb. 25
PIC Box 2
Church: speech at St. Stephen's, San Diego
1977 July
Physical Description:
[3 folders]
PIC Box 2
Church: Melodyland Christian Center, Anaheim, with Rev. Ralph Wilkerson and Charles Colson
1977 Aug.
PIC Box 2
Church meetings
1977 Aug.
PIC Box 2
Church: Chico testimony
1977
PIC Box 2
Church: "Eldridge Cleaver Crusades"
1977
PIC Box 3
Church meetings [from disassembled album]
circa late 1970s
PIC Box 3
Miscellaneous church meetings and speeches
late 1970s - early 1980s
Physical Description:
[5 folders]
PIC Box 3
Hope College speaking engagement
1977 Oct.
PIC Box 3
Speaking engagement: Prison Fellowship Banquet, Denver
1977 Oct. 15
PIC Box 3
Speaking engagement: Oahu Prison
1978 Feb.
PIC Box 3
Miscellaneous speaking engagements
circa late 1970s
PIC Box 3
Speaking engagement: U.S. out of El Salvador
1981
PIC Box 3
Speaking engagement: San Jose
circa 1981
PIC Box 3
Speaking engagement: San Jose State University
1982
PIC Box 3
Miscellaneous speaking engagements
circa early 1980s
Physical Description:
[2 folders]
PIC Box 4
Interview: "Meet the Press"
1976
PIC Box 4
Miscellaneous interviews
1970s-1980s
Physical Description:
[2 folders]
PIC Box 4
Interview with KCBS and others at home
1982
PIC Box 4
4th of July Political Campaign
late 1970s?
PIC Box 4
Clothing store
circa 1975
PIC Box 4
Gay Pride Parade, San Francisco
circa 1977
PIC Box 4
Eldridge Cleaver office?
circa 1976
PIC Box 4
Eldridge Cleaver office "Going-Away Party" for staff member
1977
PIC Box 5
Family: children Joju and Maceo
late 1960s - early 1970s
PIC Box 5
Family and friends
1960s - 1980s
Physical Description:
[2 folders]
PIC Box 5
Huey Newton [unidentified event]
1970s
PIC Box 5
Eldridge Cleaver and Ruth Carter Stapleton
PIC Box 5
Eldridge Cleaver and Sen. Frank Church at Vanderbilt University
1977
PIC Box 5
Eldridge Cleaver with Charles Colson
PIC Box 5
Eldridge Cleaver with others, unidentified
PIC Box 5
Eldridge Cleaver portraits
Physical Description:
[5 folders]
PIC Box 5
Eldridge Cleaver miscellaneous snapshots
AX Box
Proofs: Korea, Vietnam, China
1970
AX Box
Proofs: Algeria, including Allende visit (Dec. 1972) and family
1972 Dec., undated
AX Box
Proofs: France
circa 1973 - 1975
AX Box
Eldridge Cleaver filling out papers at American Embassy in Paris to return to U.S.
1975 Nov. 17
AX Box
Enlarged snapshots: Eldridge Cleaver Crusade, clothing shop
1977,
circa 1975
AX Box
Unidentified church events
Physical Description:
[2 folders]
AX Box
Kathleen Cleaver at a protest and Black Panther Party rally
AX Box
Proofs: portraits
circa 1970s
AX Box
Portraits: Eldridge Cleaver speaking
circa 1970s
AX Box
S.F. Examiner portraits
1984
AX Box
Unidentified construction site
B Folder
Eldridge Cleaver family
Scope and Content Note
[homemade poster found with items in AX box folder Eldridge Cleaver family]
PIC Box 6
Speech at St. Stephen's
1977 July
PIC Box 6
Gospel concert, Center of Hope Church, Oakland Calif.
1977 Aug.
PIC Box 6
Eldridge Cleaver at Christian Businessmen's Club
1977 Aug.
PIC Box 6
Eldridge Cleaver Crusade
1977 Aug.- Oct.
PIC Box 6
Melodyland with Charles Colson
1977 Sept.
PIC Box 6
Hope College visit with Charles Colson
1977
PIC Box 6
Unidentified speaking engagements
PIC Box 6
Campaigns?
Physical Description:
[2 folders]
PIC Box 6
Eldridge Cleaver at unidentified events and at his office
Physical Description:
[3 folders)
PIC Box 6
Los Altos home with family
1977 Aug.
Negatives
Note
Prints are available for many negatives. Roll numbers noted on negative sleeves are transcribed from
original negative envelopes.
NEG Box 1
Black Panther Party: Stokely Carmichael and Eldridge Cleaver speaking at U.C.
Berkeley
NEG Box 1
Exile: Asia (N. Korea, Vietnam, China)
1970
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 2
Exile: Asia (N. Korea, Vietnam, China)
1970
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 2
Exile: N. Korea: birthday party for Maceo Cleaver given by Madame Kim Il Sung
1970
NEG Box 2
Exile: Family in Algeria
circa 1969-1973
NEG Box 2
Exile: Salvador Allende in Algeria
1972 Dec.
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 2
Exile: Paris
circa 1973-1975
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 2
Church: Youth for Christ rally, San Diego
1977 Feb. 25
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 2
Church: Portland, Ore.
1977 April
NEG Box 2
Church: Mother's Day, San Francisco Christian Center
1977 May 9
NEG Box 2
Church: St. Stephen's, San Diego
1977 July
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 2
Church: Cleaver Crusades
1977
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 3
Church: San Francisco Christian School
NEG Box 3
Church: Paradise Baptist Church
NEG Box 3
Church: National Evangelical Convention San Francisco
NEG Box 3
Church: Cow Palace, San Francisco, meeting
NEG Box 3
Church: Vancouver B.C. and Seattle
NEG Box 3
Speaking engagement: Vanderbilt University
1977 Mar.
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 3
Speaking engagement: Prison Fellowship Banquet, Denver
1977 Oct. 15
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 3
Speaking engagement: Hope College, Mich.
1977 Oct.
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 3
Speaking engagement: U.S. out of El Salvador
1981
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 3
Yosemite vacation, miscellaneous speeches
circa 1981
NEG Box 3
Speaking engagement: U.C. Davis
NEG Box 3
Speaking engagement: Father's Day
NEG Box 3
Press conference on civil rights suit
NEG Box 3
Gay Pride Parade, San Francisco
NEG Box 3
Kathleen Cleaver speaking
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 3
Family: Joju and Maceo
Note
[some prints available]
NEG Box 3
Eldridge Cleaver home, Los Altos, Calif.
NEG Box 3
Eldridge Cleaver and unidentified friends
NEG Box 3
Eldridge Cleaver and Ruth Carter Stapleton
NEG Box 3
Portraits
Note
[some prints available]
