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It was originally reported that Aoki died at his home in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] from complications from [[dialysis]].<ref name=chang>{{cite web |author=Momo Chang|title=Richard Aoki, charter member of Black Panthers, dies in Berkeley|publisher=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|date=2009-03-18|accessdate=2009-06-07|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11942438}}</ref> Nearly a year later, it was publicly revealed that he had died of suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His life was chronicled in the 2009 documentary film, ''Aoki''.<ref name="PuckLo">{{cite web |url=http://oaklandnorth.net/2009/11/12/film-on-former-panther-richard-aoki-debuts-tonight/|title=Film on former Panther Richard Aoki debuts|author=Puck Lo|publisher=Oakland North|date=2009-11-12|accessdate=2010-02-19}}</ref>
It was originally reported that Aoki died at his home in [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] from complications from [[dialysis]].<ref name=chang>{{cite web |author=Momo Chang|title=Richard Aoki, charter member of Black Panthers, dies in Berkeley|publisher=[[San Jose Mercury News]]|date=2009-03-18|accessdate=2009-06-07|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_11942438}}</ref> Nearly a year later, it was publicly revealed that he had died of suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His life was chronicled in the 2009 documentary film, ''Aoki''.<ref name="PuckLo">{{cite web |url=http://oaklandnorth.net/2009/11/12/film-on-former-panther-richard-aoki-debuts-tonight/|title=Film on former Panther Richard Aoki debuts|author=Puck Lo|publisher=Oakland North|date=2009-11-12|accessdate=2010-02-19}}</ref>


== Alleged Work as FBI informant ==
== Work as FBI informant ==
In 2012, [[Center for Investigative Reporting]] journalist [[Seth Rosenfeld]] reported that Aoki was an [[FBI]] informant who had infiltrated chapters of the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]], the [[Socialist Workers Party (United States)|Socialist Workers' Party]] and, nearly from its inception, the [[Black Panther Party]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Activist-Richard-Aoki-named-as-informant-3800133.php#page-1|title=Activist Richard Aoki named as informant|author=Seth Rosenfeld|date=August 20, 2012|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> The FBI gave Aoki the informant code number "T-2", and the code name "Richard Ford." FBI agent Burney Threadgill Jr. said that Aoki "[...] was my informant. I developed him."<ref>{{cite web|author=Seth Rosenfeld, Center for Investigative Reporting |url=http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Activist-Richard-Aoki-named-as-informant-3800133.php |title=Activist Richard Aoki named as informant |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2012-08-20 |accessdate=2013-06-15}}</ref>
In 2012, [[Center for Investigative Reporting]] journalist [[Seth Rosenfeld]] reported that Aoki was an [[FBI]] informant who had infiltrated chapters of the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]], the [[Socialist Workers Party (United States)|Socialist Workers' Party]] and, nearly from its inception, the [[Black Panther Party]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Activist-Richard-Aoki-named-as-informant-3800133.php#page-1|title=Activist Richard Aoki named as informant|author=Seth Rosenfeld|date=August 20, 2012|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> The FBI gave Aoki the informant code number "T-2", and the code name "Richard Ford." FBI agent Burney Threadgill Jr. said that Aoki "[...] was my informant. I developed him."<ref>{{cite web|author=Seth Rosenfeld, Center for Investigative Reporting |url=http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Activist-Richard-Aoki-named-as-informant-3800133.php |title=Activist Richard Aoki named as informant |publisher=San Francisco Chronicle |date=2012-08-20 |accessdate=2013-06-15}}</ref>


Aoki's 221-page FBI informant file documents sixteen years of cooperation between Aoki and the FBI's San Francisco office, from the late 1950s into the 1970s. The records show "that at various points, he provided information that was 'unique' and of 'extreme value.'"<ref>{{cite web|author=Sep 07, 2012 |url=http://cironline.org/reports/fbi-files-reveal-new-details-about-informant-who-armed-black-panthers-3833 |title=FBI files reveal new details about informant who armed Black Panthers &#124 |publisher=The Center for Investigative Reporting |date=2012-09-07 |accessdate=2013-06-15}}</ref> Working for the FBI, Aoki provided the [[Black Panthers]] with some of their first guns and weapons training.<ref>Bobby Seale, A Lonely Rage - The Autobiography of Bobby Seale, 1978. ISBN 0-8129-0715-9</ref>
Aoki's 221-page FBI informant file documents sixteen years of cooperation between Aoki and the FBI's San Francisco office, from the late 1950s into the 1970s. The records show "that at various points, he provided information that was 'unique' and of 'extreme value.'"<ref>{{cite web|author=Sep 07, 2012 |url=http://cironline.org/reports/fbi-files-reveal-new-details-about-informant-who-armed-black-panthers-3833 |title=FBI files reveal new details about informant who armed Black Panthers &#124 |publisher=The Center for Investigative Reporting |date=2012-09-07 |accessdate=2013-06-15}}</ref> Working for the FBI, Aoki provided the [[Black Panthers]] with some of their first guns and weapons training.<ref>Bobby Seale, A Lonely Rage - The Autobiography of Bobby Seale, 1978. ISBN 0-8129-0715-9</ref>

However, all of these accusations could very well have been false. First of all, the FBI documents were not only vague(even had Aoki's middle name incorrectly stated)but much of it was also kept secret-"revealing" only Aoki as an informant. Besides it's also a possibility that Aoki agreed to be an informant during the 50s before becoming personally involved in politics and changing his mind during the 60s. But honestly, it's just so doubtful that Aoki was an FBI agent because if he was one, he contributed basically nothing to the FBI. So like Fred Ho said, "[even] if Aoki was an agent, so what? He surely was a piss-poor one because what he contributed to the movement is enormously greater than anything he could have detracted or derailed."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ho|first1=Fred|title=Fred Ho refutes the claim that Richard Aoki was an FBI informant|url=http://sfbayview.com/2012/08/fred-ho-refutes-the-claim-that-richard-aoki-was-an-fbi-informant/|website=San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper|accessdate=16 May 2015}}</ref>


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==

Revision as of 15:06, 17 May 2015

Richard Aoki
Born(1938-11-20)November 20, 1938
San Leandro, California, United States
DiedMarch 15, 2009(2009-03-15) (aged 70)
Berkeley, California, United States
Cause of deathSelf-inflicted gunshot wound
EducationMerritt College; University of California, Berkeley
OccupationCivil Rights activist most known for his role in the Black Panther Party

Richard Aoki (/ɑːˈoʊki/ or /eɪˈoʊki/; November 20, 1938 – March 15, 2009) was an American educator and college counselor, best known as a civil rights activist and early member of the Black Panther Party. He joined the early Black Panther Party and was eventually promoted to the position of Field Marshal. Although there were several Asian Americans in the Black Panther Party, Aoki was the only one to have a formal leadership position.[1][2] FBI records released in 2012 document Aoki's work as an FBI informant from 1961 to 1977.

Life

Aoki was born in San Leandro, California in 1938 to Japanese parents. He and his family were interned at the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah from 1942 to 1945. They moved to Oakland, California after World War II ended. Aoki spent eight years serving in the United States Army, first as a medic and later in the infantry. He attended Merritt College for two years, where he became close friends with his longtime acquaintances Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, the founding members of the Black Panther Party; the organization was founded in October 1966, one month after Aoki transferred to the University of California, Berkeley. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1968 and a Master of Social Work degree in 1970.[3]

It was originally reported that Aoki died at his home in Berkeley from complications from dialysis.[4] Nearly a year later, it was publicly revealed that he had died of suicide from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His life was chronicled in the 2009 documentary film, Aoki.[5]

Work as FBI informant

In 2012, Center for Investigative Reporting journalist Seth Rosenfeld reported that Aoki was an FBI informant who had infiltrated chapters of the Communist Party, the Socialist Workers' Party and, nearly from its inception, the Black Panther Party.[6] The FBI gave Aoki the informant code number "T-2", and the code name "Richard Ford." FBI agent Burney Threadgill Jr. said that Aoki "[...] was my informant. I developed him."[7]

Aoki's 221-page FBI informant file documents sixteen years of cooperation between Aoki and the FBI's San Francisco office, from the late 1950s into the 1970s. The records show "that at various points, he provided information that was 'unique' and of 'extreme value.'"[8] Working for the FBI, Aoki provided the Black Panthers with some of their first guns and weapons training.[9]

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Another shade of Black Panther..." It's About Time. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  2. ^ Neela Banerjee (2001-04-27). "Back in the Day..." AsianWeek. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  3. ^ View archival newsfilm from KRON-TV, featuring Aoki speaking at UC Berkeley in March 1969: https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/208092.
  4. ^ Momo Chang (2009-03-18). "Richard Aoki, charter member of Black Panthers, dies in Berkeley". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
  5. ^ Puck Lo (2009-11-12). "Film on former Panther Richard Aoki debuts". Oakland North. Retrieved 2010-02-19.
  6. ^ Seth Rosenfeld (August 20, 2012). "Activist Richard Aoki named as informant". San Francisco Chronicle.
  7. ^ Seth Rosenfeld, Center for Investigative Reporting (2012-08-20). "Activist Richard Aoki named as informant". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-06-15.
  8. ^ Sep 07, 2012 (2012-09-07). "FBI files reveal new details about informant who armed Black Panthers &#124". The Center for Investigative Reporting. Retrieved 2013-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Bobby Seale, A Lonely Rage - The Autobiography of Bobby Seale, 1978. ISBN 0-8129-0715-9

Further reading

  • Diane C. Fujino, Samurai Among Panthers: Richard Aoki on Race, Resistance, and a Paradoxical Life. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2012.

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