They Huey P. Newton Reader

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bookstore took them away from her, claiming that they were stolen.
They would not give her any money, nor would they return the books.
I went down to the store and told them they could not confiscate my
books without due process of law. They knew I was a student at the
college and that they could call the police on me any time they wanted.
I told them that either they return the books right then or I would
take as many books as I thought would equal the amount they had
stolen from me. They gave me the books, and I went on to class.
Apparently the bookstore notified the Dean of Students, who called
the police. While I was in class, the Oakland police came and escorted
me with the books to the campus police, who took me to the Dean's
office. No one could arrest me, because there was no warrant. The
bookstore wanted to wait until the man who had reported the books
stolen returned from the Army to identify them. So they took me to
the Dean's office, and the Dean said he would give me a receipt, keeping
the books until the owner came back. I told him that he would
not give me a receipt, because they were my books and he could not
confiscate my property without due process oflaw; to do so would be
a violation of my constitutional rights. I added, "Furthermore, if you
try to confiscate my property, I will ask the police over there to have
you arrested." The police stood looking stupid, not knowing what to
do. The Dean said the man would not be back for about a week, but
he wanted the books. I took the books off his desk and said, "I'm enrolled
here, and when you want to talk to me, I'll be around." Then I
walked out of the office. They did not know how to deal with a poor
oppressed Black man who knew their law and had dignity.
When I was charged and brought to trial, I defended myself again.
The case revolved around identifYing the books. The man knew that
his books had been stolen; the bookstore knew they had lost some
books. Identification had not been made, but I was charged with a theft.
I had stashed the books away so that nobody could locate them, and
when I came to court, I left them behind. They brought me to trial
without any factual evidence against me, and I beat the case with the
defense I conducted, particularly my cross-examination.
The woman who owned the bookstore took the stand. The previous
year, on Christmas Eve, she had invited me to her home, and I had seen
her off and on after that. When I was unwilling to continue a rela-
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