Oakland street named after Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale
Oakland, California
By Susan Sherrell and Dave Welsh
Neighbors and well-wishers of all ages and ethnicities gathered in north Oakland Oct. 22 to rename a street “Bobby Seale Way” in honor of a person who co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense in Oakland in 1966.
Singers at Bobby Seale’s birthday party, Oakland, California, Oct. 22, 2025. Credit: Steven Edward
Music came from a local band, the Curtis Family C-Notes, whose wonderful singers led the crowd of 200 in an original song, “Happy, happy birthday, Bobby Seale!” It was Seale’s 89th. The emcee was rap artist Mistah F.A.B., who grew up in the neighborhood.
Guests included Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee, state Senator Jesse Arreguin, Congress member Latifah Simon, Paul Cobb of the Oakland Post newspaper and Zac Unger, a City Council member who told of being “fed by the movement” through the Black Panther Party’s Breakfast for Children program.
David Newton, a longshore union organizer and nephew of the late BPP co-founder Huey Newton, talked of how Bobby Seale helped to “police the police” carrying “a law book and a gun.”
Mayor Lee, a former U.S. representative, gave a heartfelt account of how Seale impacted her life. As a Mills college student, she’d attended Bobby’s political education classes at St. Augustine’s church and later raised money for his first political campaign when he ran for mayor. “Without Bobby Seale,” she said, “there’d be no Barbara Lee.”
Bobby Seale at podium, to his right Oakland’s Mayor Barbara Lee. Credit: Steven Edwards
Seale, always at ease with a microphone, also spoke, reciting the Declaration of Independence. He said his good doctors have told him he can make it into his 100s like his great grandmother did, adding, “and that’s good, ’cause we’ve still got work to do!”
The event ended on a joyous note of community and warmth, with shouts of “Power to the people!”
