Richard Aoki

Richard Aoki is an American civil rights activist. He was one of the first members of the Black Panther Party and was eventually promoted to Field Marshall.

Aoki was born in San Leandro, California in 1938. He and his family were interned at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah from 1942 to 1945. They moved to Oakland, California after World War II ended. Aoki spent eight years in the US Army, first as a medic and later in the infantry. Aoki attended Merritt College for two years. Here he became close friends with his longtime acquaintances Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They Black Panther Party was founded in October 1966, one month after Aoki transferred to the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated with a BA in Sociology in 1968 and a MSW degree in 1970. Although there were several Asian American members of the Black Panther Party, Aoki was the only one to have a formal leadership position. [Richard Aoki, [http://www.itsabouttimebpp.com/Our_Stories/Chapter3/Richard_Aoki.html "Another shade of Black Panther"] .] ["AsianWeek", [http://www.asianweek.com/2001_04_27/feature_richardaoki.html Back in the Day...] , 2001.] [Chang, Momo. "Oakland Tribune" [http://mindfully.org/Reform/2006/Black-Panthers-Led8oct06.htm The struggle wasn't just black and white] Oct 8 2006]

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