Black Panther - Raymond Hewitt

Raymond "Masai" Hewitt (1941 – March 2, 1988) was an American civil rights activist who was one of the leading members of the Black Panther Party.

Previous to joining the Black Panther Party, Hewitt worked as a school teacher and had been a Marxist activist, working with a group called United Front, a socialist organisation which also taught self-defence to its members in the form of Karate. Hewitt joined the Black Panther Party in 1967 and was given the title of Minister of Education. Hewitt was considered by the Panthers to have a strong understanding of political and Marxist theory.

By January 1973, Hewitt had become critical of the ever-increasing domination of the Panthers by Huey Newton.

In return, Newton stripped Hewitt of his role as Minister of Education; within weeks Hewitt had left the party.

Hewitt remained an activist for the rest of his life. He worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Southern Africa Resource Center, the International Human Rights Coalition of Los Angeles, and the Philippine Support Committee.