Eldridge Cleaver was an American writer, political activist, and convicted felon. He spent seven years in prison for robbery before becoming a member of the Black Panther Party. He also was a writer for Ramparts magazine. In 1967, he published Soul on Ice: Confessions of a Black Panther
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The book was later adapted into a documentary film and a television series about the Black Panther Party. Cleaver was born in 1945 and raised in Oakland, California. At age 19 he was expelled from high school for his involvement in a murder and received his GED while serving time in prison.
After receiving his GED, Cleaver went to Los Angeles to study at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He became involved with the Black Panthers and attended their weekly meeting where he joined the party's chapter at UCR. In particular, he participated in armed robberies of gas companies and other businesses to raise funds for the organization.
He was arrested in 1968 and sentenced to five years in prison; he served seven years, including four months at Pelican Bay State Prison and one month in Vacaville State Prison Medical Facility (Vacaville), where he received psychotherapy treatment for his homosexuality.