Murder in the Model City: The Black Panthers, Yale, And the Redemption of a Killer

by Paul Bass, Douglas W. Rae

May 20, 1969: Four members of the revolutionary Black Panther Party trudge through woods along the edges of the Coginchaug River outside of New Haven, Connecticut. Gunshots shatter the silence. Three men emerge from the woods. Soon, two are in police custody. One flees across the country. Nine Panthers would be tried for crimes committed that night, including National Chairman Bobby Seale, extradited from California with the aide of Panther nemesis, California Governor Ronald Reagan. Activists of all denominations descended on the New England city -- and the campus of Yale. The Nixon administration sent 4,000 National Guardsmen. U.S. military tanks lined the streets outside of New Haven. In this white-knuckle journey through a turbulent America, Doug Rae and Paul Bass let us eavesdrop on late-night meetings between Yale President, Kingman Brewster, and radical activists, including Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, as they try to avert disaster. Meanwhile, most heartrending of all is the never-before-told story of Warren Kimbro -- star community worker turned Panther assassin -- who faces an uphill battle to turn his life around.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 7, 2006

Reviews

[Beckett Zinn-Rowthorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Insightful but often impartial to a fault. A prescient lesson on how it’s possible for universities to successfully handle mass student protests.

[Stuart · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading Douglas Rae's previous book, 'City', I was pretty stoked to learn that he'd co-authored another book about my hometown, New Haven, CT. Moreover, it was about the semi-legendary days surrounding the trial of Erica Huggins and Bobby Seale, a time I'd heard occasional mentions of from long time New Haven activists while growing up. While the authors describe their project well, bringing rich detail to figures on both sides of the political divide that had previously been reduced to caricatures, and providing the historical context to understand the emotions that surrounded the trial, they fail to pull this off. Although the clunky, awkward prose doesn't help matters (I have to assume the first author Paul Bass is the responsible party here, as Rae's other book was competently written), the real failure lies with the authors deep rooted mistrust for radical or revolutionary agendas.

For example, the authors advance the thesis that the real reason Hoover and Nixon pursued COINTELPRO, etc, wasn't to oppose radical activists. Rather, COINTELPRO was intended to politically weaken white, pro-establishment liberals. By creating fear of the radical left in middle America, Nixon, et al., would put these moderate liberals, who the authors believe were the only credible threat to the 'silent majority' Nixon conservatives, in an awkward position. In
another section, the narration of the large May Day protest is dominated by the stories of Archibald, Kingsley, and Chauncey, administrators from Yale and Harvard who heroically picnicked in the countryside to plan Yale's response to the protests at the expense of the stories of people who actually organized the protests. This exemplifies a pattern that continues throughout the book, where individuals who fit well within a liberal academic framework - the credentialed, the cooler-headed, the better educated, the well spoken, and so on - are given the authors attention and sympathy.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in the narrative surrounding the book's principle protagonist, Warren Kimbro. Kimbro was a community organizer working for CPI and other 'War on Poverty' programs that came out of New Haven's ill fated urban renewal projects. He was swept up in (what the author's dismissively refer to as) 'panthermania', separated from his first wife after starting a relationship with Erica Huggins, and eventually killed a suspected police informant on orders from the party. After his arrest he was, in the authors words, 'redeemed', by turning state's witness and
returning to his earlier efforts at organizing assistance programs within the establishment. He parlayed his cooperation with the prosecutors and prisons into an early release and spent the rest of his working life working either at universities or government social service programs. The author's are only too happy to overlook domestic violence, estranged children, unhappy coworkers, and inconvenient events to tell their story of a man redeemed from the
excesses of his youth. Photographs of Warren and his son standing with Connecticut's own Joe Lieberman to receive and award for a black father's involvement organization, and another showing Kimbro presenting an community service award plaque to Nick Pastore, the officer who illegally wiretapped the Panther headquarters and arrested Kimbro after the murder before rising to Chief of Police, further illustrate the qualities the authors are seeking to lionize in Kimbro.

Ultimately, I think the authors made a genuine effort at achieving the goals they set out. They fell short because they were not prepared to engage meaningfully with this legacy of the Panthers, instead seeing the events surrounding the trial, and the fate of the BPP, as evidence in support of the agendas of establishment liberals. Original research and interviews do make this book worth reading for anyone with a particular interest in the events it covers.

[Brayden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating true story about the murder of a Black Panther associate who was thought to be a spy by his fellow Panthers and as a result was executed. It's both a tragedy, involving the fall of a once-promising local youth leader in the New Haven black community, and his subsequent redemption in prison and return to society. The book gives you a full flavor of the radical 60s, complete with characters like Abbie Hoffman and Bobby Seale (the latter who was put on trial for conspiracy to commit the murder and the former who led demonstrations against the trial). The book does a wonderful job of discussing the conflicts of the time, as well as pointing to the reasons that the radical student movement gradually crumbled into non-existence. It's a very accessible read.

[Harriett Milnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this treatment of the Panther Trial in New Haven, from hindsight of 33 years, to be very complete. Paul Bass has interviewed most of the important characters and provided a much more complete picture than I realized at the time. I was attending college in the Northeast at the time of the Mayday demonstration and came down to take a look. Don't remember the demonstration on the Green but I do remember Allen Ginsburg in one of the Yale courtyards, chanting. I think. I do remember, much more clearly, the New Haven Festival of Arts and Ideas where the Panthers were featured. The information on the Model Cities programs and the statistics also were unknown to me, until reading this book.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rae and Bass begin with the story of New Haven’s first “pig trial” involving the alleged relations between George Spencer and his porcine friend. I initially thought I might have accidentally picked up Weird US; Volume II. Indeed it is an incongruous inclusion. Presumably the point was that this represented the first example of white, Puritan oppression within the Elm City, foreshadowing subsequent histories. Yet, as they fast forward to 1969, it’s not about “black versus white” but rather an expose of the misunderstandings, abuse, and dysfunction among all involved sides. The questionable machinations of the FBI, Panthers, and local law enforcement are supplemented by a sea of “spoiled,” seemingly gullible Yale students and annoying white “radicals” such as Jerry Rubin. It’s an interesting story and the authors structure it heavily from the vantage point of personal recollection (at least from those still alive and willing to talk) mixed with basic research. This of course offers an implicit danger that biased subjectivity might run rampant but overall this is a balanced book. The writing is not as bad as a friend warned, but it’s a bit choppy and, especially at the beginning, there are odd fusions of street lingo with academic syntax. In one paragraph I struggled to determine whether the authors were stating something or if it was a quote from a semi-illiterate Panther. Nonetheless, it mostly came together. I certainly recommend for Elm Citi-ers.

[Kameka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting to me having met a few of the people mentioned in the book while I was in school. Also, it was interesting to read about New Haven during that time since it had changed so much by the time I lived there. It was unapologetic in that it told the story from what accounts the authors gathered from multiple sources and sometimes that meant it was harsh and abrasive in the depiction of the behavior of some of the people in the book. This was one of the rare non-fiction books that I found I couldn't put down. Perhaps this was linked to my personal interest in the Black Panther Party's history, particularly as it relates to New Haven and Yale in the 1960's and 70's. This book allowed me to understand more about that period from an unbiased point of view. In fact, the lack of bias is one of its strongest assets. I highly recommend this book to those interested in the BPP, New Haven, or Yale/New Haven relations during this time.

[Zahreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a class I took called Race and Violence in the American City. The book was written by my professor (Paul Bass) and another Yale professor in the Political Science Dept. and School of Management, Douglas Rae. It was a well written book and for anyone interested in New Haven and Yale history during this turbulent time, this is a great book. As a Yale student, I thought it was fascinating to read about how the university was during the '60s, under the leadership of Kingman Brewster, who had a very different style from President Levin and was much more open to student suggestions and listened to their grievances. Students back in those days had a different kind of fire in the belly; of course, they got little done, but it's still amazing to read about it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about a murder involving the Black Panthers. The connections to Yale and the New Haven Police Department were also interesting, and the book details the early careers of Billy White, Sr. and Nick Pastore, both of whom established large networks for intelligence purposes.

Warren Kimbro, convicted of murder, goes on to change his life dramatically, both while in prison and after his release. This is a story of redemption, showing the true character of Kimbro, and how someone can easily get caught up in a bad situation.

Intersting tidbits about New Haven, both historical and specifically how it got to be known as 'the model city.' I'm not so sure it is still the model city!!

[peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of several books about the Black Panthers and Black Power that I've read recently. However limited the accomplishment of this one in terms of storytelling -– it tells of an infamous murder of a Party member -- it is a valuable book to read, as have been several others such as Peniel Joseph's, in setting in a more enlightened context the accomplishments of Black Power. Those now can be seen to have been, or to have become, as great as those of the Civil Rights Movement -- in some respects, they have been even more telling.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had the good fortune of discussing this book with the author after I read it and that was really eye opening. This is a great book for anyone who has lived or grown up in New Haven. The corruption that people claim of the PD and city government today is nothing compared to 1971. Very eye opening.

[Ed Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When my wealthy, white, and privileged friends in Orange County California, living in their expensive homes, insultingly tell me to shut up and to go listen to "black" people, while never doing such themselves ... guess what? They're the ones who need to take their own advice. I'm well aware of EVERYONE's plights. Wasn't your family that got caught up in this massively failed Urban Renewal disaster that is still being used today around this nation. It caused division that wasn't there before, failed schools that wasn't there before, crime rates through the roof that wasn't there before, ... it took the guts out of a city. And for what? The book only touches on part of the whole story. Side note: review the documentary "Pizza, a Love Story." It also goes into this a bit. At least New Haven still has its abeetz; however, it came very close to losing it due to this massive government intervention. The same government that tells you it is here to help you so shut up and do as we say.

[Lauretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Especially interesting to anyone who has passed through New Haven or lived through the turbulent '60s and '70s in the US

[Joyce Johnson]

A thought-provoking and blood-boiling account of the black struggles for freedom in the USA - the supposed land of freedom. As if slavery wasn't bad enough Blacks continued to fight as was necessary to claim equality...Seventh Journey: Book 1