Summary SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT Apple's new historical limited series The Big Cigar takes a deep dive into the life of Huey P. Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party. André Holland leads The Big Cigar's cast as the main protagonist based on the real-life historical figure Huey P. Newton, who tried to flee the United States for Cuba in an elaborate plan that was code-named "The Big Cigar.
Newton became the leader of the Black Panthers at just 28 years old. He was arrested in 1967 and was charged with killing a police officer, which sparked an uproar among his community who believed he had been wrongly accused. After Newton was released on appeal, he quickly became one of the key figures of the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s alongside contemporaries such as Malcolm X. Newton was born in Monroe, Louisiana in 1942.
Huey P. Newton's Assault & Murder Charges Explained - Did He Ever Go To Jail? Newton faced a murder trial but was eventually acquitted Newton returned from Cuba in 1977 after spending three years in exile and quickly had power conflicts with Elaine Brown. A gender divide between men and women had begun to split up the Black Panthers from the inside, which eventually led to Brown fleeing Oakland to Los Angeles soon after Newton's return.