Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (1935-1998), an American writer and a leader of the Black Panther party, was noted for advocating violent revolution within the United States. Leroy Eldridge Cleaver was born August 31, 1935 in Wabbaseka, Arkansas, the son of...

HE DIED an environmentalist, a consultant on ethnic diversity, and, most astonishing of all, a Republican. But 30 years ago, Eldridge Cleaver, arguably the most remarkable figure to emerge from the black power movement of the late 1960s, was simultaneously idolised, feared and loathed...

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[In the following essay, Nower discusses literary and historical antecedents of key themes of Soul on Ice, emphasizing the national hypocrisy of white Americans in reference to freedom, justice, and personal and political self-determination among black Americans.]

[The following excerpt was taken from an interview with Cleaver conducted by Hentoff for Playboy Magazine.] PLAYBOY: You have written [in Soul on Ice] that "a new black leadership with its own distinct style and philosophy will now come into its own, to center stage. Nothing can stop this leadership from taking over, because it is based on charisma, has the allegiance and support of the black masses, is conscious of its self and its position and is prepared to shoot its way to power if the need arise...

[In the following excerpt, Reid-Pharr analyzes several homosocial incidents in Soul on Ice as evidence of Cleaver's unsuccessful attempt to define a universal black masculine identity.]