Elbert “Big Man” Howard Obituary - July 23, 2018

Above all else, Elbert “Big Man” Howard loved his comrades and all oppressed people, who he never stopped fighting for.

“All Power Belongs to the People”

There will be a Celebration of Life Event on Saturday, August 25th at Bobby Hutton Grove inside of DeFremery Park, at 18th and 1651 Adeline in Oakland starting at 1pm. Speakers include Emory Douglas & Kathleen Cleaver. For information, call 916-455-0908 On FB: It’s About Time/BPP

Elbert “Big Man” Howard is a community and human rights activist, lecturer, political educator, author and disc jockey. Born in Tennessee 77 years ago, he experienced southern segregation firsthand, witnessing struggles for basic human rights which laid the framework for his social consciousness and political activism.

After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he attended Oakland City College, where he met Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton, whom he joined in 1966 as one of the six founding members of the Black Panther Party. He was the first editor of the BPP’s newspaper and traveled the world as a BPP spokesperson.

He moved to Sonoma County in 2005 to share life and community with his devoted wife, Carole Hyams. After the fatal shootings of Jeremiah Chass and Richard DeSantis by law enforcement officers in 2007, Big Man helped found PACH, the Police Accountability Clinic and Helpline of Sonoma County, which records and catalogs complaints of law enforcement misconduct. Big Man was a host on several community radio stations in Sonoma County.

“Big Man” lived his life with purpose and will be missed by many.