Memories of Cleo Silvers

The following obituary is for Cleo Silvers, born Nov. 24, 1946, who died Aug. 11, 2025. 

I first met Cleo Silvers in the South Bronx when I was working at Bronx State Hospital. She was a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteer turned activist. We had both heard through our contacts that union members at Lincoln Hospital, with support from the Black Panther Party, were going to take over the mental health clinic to force them to provide decent mental health services. 

Hearing that the Black Panthers would provide support was inspiring to both of us. Cleo was by that time working for Lincoln Hospital, and I worked a short drive away. We joined the takeover and met during that struggle. That first takeover at Lincoln did succeed in getting rid of a layer of corrupt administrators and establishing a Patients’ Bill of Rights that Cleo helped compose. 

I remember the evenings we would sit together, working out what could be the structure of a really effective community mental health program. It was a fantasy, one that gave us a chance to formulate the thoughts swirling around in our minds and separate them from the outrage and resentment about what actually existed.

Cleo grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs and joined VISTA, which sent her to the South Bronx where she was horrified about what she saw. In an interview with Alondra Nelson titled “Genuine Struggle and Care: An Interview with Cleo Silvers” published in the American Journal of Public Health in September 2016, she said: “The infant mortality rate was staggering. The lead exposure was unbelievable … and nobody was doing anything about it.”

“There was tuberculosis. People were getting shot. Mental health was a major problem … Seeing all these young kids, adults and elderly dying from these issues, I knew something had to be done about it … especially when so many treated the situation as ‘par for the course.’”

Cleo was inspired by the Black Panther Party, their focus, their strategy, their way of connecting with the community. She said: “The Black Panther Party helped me to intensify my organizing skills … to study more. They taught me so much and made it clear that if we do the right things and we unite with other people, we can make a change.” 

That’s another piece that the Black Panther Party really focused on, the importance of uniting with other people no matter what our differences were. Eventually, Cleo joined the Black Panther Party and continued in her fight to improve health conditions in the South Bronx.

Lincoln Hospital was taken over at least two more times, not just by the Panthers, but also by the Young Lords Party, which was very akin to the Panthers but was made up of Latine activists, more similar to the predominant population of the South Bronx. Cleo joined the Young Lords and continued her struggle. She worked with Dr. Mutulu Shakur, who headed the drug detoxification program introducing the use of acupuncture at Lincoln Hospital. 

As a member of YLP, she helped form the organization For a Better Bronx that continued to fight for better health care in the South Bronx. 

Since the events of the 1960’s-70’s mass upsurge, Cleo continued to stay active and outspoken about the inadequacies in health care for oppressed people. In addition, she played a role in efforts demanding the freedom of political prisoners, specifically captive Black Panthers like Mumia Abu-Jamal, the late Russell Maroon Shoatz and the late Dr. Mutulu Shakur. Carlito Rovira describes her work in his blog: “CLEO SILVERS: A Black Panther & Young Lord Warrior Woman.” 

She taught for local 1199, worked with assembly line workers in Detroit, and later in life, Cleo was recognized by the academic community, receiving an honorary doctorate from Lehman College at the City University of New York in 2022.

Cleo is survived by her spouse, Ron Painter. She remains alive in the hearts and minds of people devoted to the idea of health care for all the people that is beginning to be organized in different parts of the world – and will someday be a reality for all of humanity as we keep struggling for it.

Cleo Silvers, ¡presente!