Paul Boutelle

Boutelle while running for Vice President in 1968

Kwame Montsho Ajamu Somburu(bornPaul Benjamin Boutelle;October 13, 1934 – May 3, 2016) was an activist, politician, black nationalist, and member of theSocialist Workers Party.In 1979, he changed his name to Kwame Montsho Ajamu Somburu.

Activism

Boutelle campaigned as a socialist candidate forMayor of New York City,Mayor ofOakland, California,United States Congressthree times,New York State Attorney Generalin1966,andBorough President of Manhattan.Boutelle was also active in theFreedom Now Party(an all-Blackparty that existed from 1963 to 1965) and was its candidate for theNew York State SenateinHarlem,New York City in 1964.

In December 1965, Boutelle organized the Afro-Americans Against the War in Vietnam (AAAWV) group.Boutelle was the first chairman of the AAAWV and a secretary of the Black United Action Front, both instrumental in organizing the Harlem portions of the April 15, 1967New York Citymarch staged by theSpring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam.Boutelle appears in the 1968 film,No Vietnamese Ever Called Me Nigger,photographed byMichael Wadleighand directed by fellowSocialist Workers PartymemberDavid Loeb Weiss.

Vice-Presidential Candidate (1968)

Boutelle was theSocialist Workers Partycandidate forU.S. Vice Presidentin1968.He and presidential candidateFred Halsteadwere on the ballot in 19 states. Boutelle toured throughout the United States during that campaign and appeared on numerous radio and television shows, includingWilliam F. Buckley, Jr.'sFiring Line(episode 111, taped on July 10, 1968), and in interviews withJoey BishopandDick Cavett.He spoke at numerous community meetings, universities, forums, conferences, and other venues.

Boutelle also toured internationally during the 1968 campaign to Canada, England, Scotland, and France. His national tour of France was cancelled because of the nationwide worker and student strikes and protests during the spring of 1968. His sponsoring organization was one of 22 banned by the French government.

On July 10, 1968, Boutelle appeared on the political talk showFiring Line.

External links

• "The Black Uprisings: Newark 1967 Detroit"Socialist Workers Party pamphlet with introduction by Paul Boutelle. - via Marxists.org
• Paul Boutelle and Fred Halstead on William Buckley'sFiring Linetelevision program, July 10, 1968 (episode 111):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpV5xr3tQoE- viaHoover Institution Library and Archives,Stanford University.

Bibliography

• (1969). "2 Socialist Parties File For Mayoralty."The New York Times.September 5.
• Alexander, Robert (1991).International Trotskyism, 1929-1985: A Documented Analysis of the Movement.Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
• Jones, Charles E., ed (1998).The Black Panther Party (Reconsidered).Baltimore: Black Classics Press.
• (1967). "Socialist Workers Party Names Antiwar Slate for '68 Election."The New York Times.August 31.