Main content
Dhoruba Bin Wahad & Robert Boyle Documents Related to the Black Panther Party
Notifications
Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Dhoruba Bin Wahad, born Richard Moore, was born in the Bronx in 1944. As a youth he had several run-ins with the law and served time in prison. He began his political education in prison and when released in 1967 he became politically active on the street. Motivated in part by the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he joined the Harlem, New York chapter of the Black Panther Party in the summer of 1968. He quickly rose to the statewide position of Field Secretary and was responsible for organizing BPP chapters within New York State. On April 2, 1969 he was among 21 NY BPP members indicted and arrested on conspiracy charges (the "Panther 21" case). He was held in lieu of $100,000 bail. By March of 1970 the BPP had raised enough money to post bail for one of the Panther 21 defendants. National BPP leadership chose Bin Wahad for release due to his speaking ability. Thereafter, Bin Wahad traveled around the country speaking in support of his still-incarcerated co-defendants and the BPP's program. Because of that notoriety he became a target of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) counterintelligence program, known commonly as COINTELPRO. On May 13, 1971, the Panther 21, including Bin Wahad, were acquitted of all charges. Two weeks later Bin Wahad was arrested and charged with the May 19, 1971 attempted murder of two police officers. In 1973, after three trials and a case based entirely upon circumstantial evidence, he was convicted and sentenced to twenty-five years to life imprisonment. In 1974, while incarcerated in a maximum-security prison in upstate New York, Bin Wahad became aware of hearings conducted by Congress into FBI misconduct, including illegal and/or unconstitutional acts committed against the Black Panther Party. As a result, Bin Wahad sued the FBI and NYPD (Bin Wahad v. FBI, et al., 75 Civ. 6203 [USDC/SDNY]). After many years of litigation, the lawsuit was successful and Bin Wahad's conviction was ultimately reversed in 1990. After his release, Bin Wahad moved to Ghana, where he founded the Campaign to Free Black and New African Political Prisoners. Bin Wahad currently lives in Africa and remains politically active.
Boyle, Robert J.Robert J. Boyle is a criminal defense attorney in New York City who has worked in appeals and post-conviction motions, and has also been involved in civil rights and police misconduct litigation. Boyle obtained the files in this collection pursuant to a court order in his legal case Bin Wahad v. FBI, et al. Dhoruba Bin Wahad, who had been convicted of the assault of two NYPD officers in 1973, was the first BPP member whose conviction was eventually overturned as the result of these FBI disclosures, particularly Cointelpro. Bin Wahad was released from prison in 1990 after 19 years. The case has been the subject of two documentaries, Framing The Panthers In Black And White and Passin' It On.
Fink, Elizabeth M. (1945-2015)Elizabeth Marsha Fink was an American attorney specializing in civil rights and prisoner's rights cases. Fink graduated from Brooklyn Law School, and was best known for filing and ultimately settling a class action suit on behalf of incarcerated people killed and injured in the Attica Prison uprising of 1971. Fink, as co-counsel with attorney Robert Boyle, represented Dhoruba bin Wahad in Bin Wahad v. FBI, et al., winning his release from prison in 1990.
The collection consists of documents generated and disclosed as a result of the false conviction of Black Panther Party leader Dhoruba Bin Wahad and the ensuing trials that eventually led to the conviction being vacated. The materials are grouped into three series: FBI Files, Bin Wahad vs. FBI and Motion to Vacate Conviction Documents, and Bin Wahad vs. Coughlin, et al. Files. The FBI Files series consists of approximately 110,000 pages of redacted photocopies of FBI and NYPD investigatory documents about the Black Panther Party (BPP) and its top leaders. It includes photocopies of BPP leaflets, bank records, phone transcripts, meetings, daily activities, speeches, travel records, and mainstream media articles. It documents the FBI's monitoring of the BPP, the FBI's efforts to stymie and break the organization, and COINTELPRO, the FBI's illegal and secret project to disrupt and discredit legitimate American political organizations.
The second and third series consist of litigation documents generated in the criminal case, documents generated in the civil lawsuit against the NYPD and FBI, and documents generated in Bin Wahad's civil suit against the Department of Corrections. These materials include exhibits, transcripts of depositions, and attorney trial preparation notes, among other types of documents.
The documents in the collection were generated during a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by former Black Panther Party (BPP) leader Dhoruba Bin Wahad (formerly Richard Dhoruba Moore). The lawsuit, Bin Wahad v. FBI, et al., 75 Civ. 6203 (USDC/SDNY) was part of a decades-long effort to win freedom for Bin Wahad, who was wrongfully convicted of the 1971 attempted murder of two New York City Police officers. Among other things, the lawsuit charged that Bin Wahad was framed as part of COINTELPRO. The documents in the FBI Files series were disclosed as part of the court-ordered discovery in the lawsuit.
After many years of litigation the lawsuit was successful in proving that the government suppressed evidence of Bin Wahad's innocence. Bin Wahad was released from prison in 1990 after being incarcerated for nearly 19 years. The civil lawsuit continued. A monetary settlement with the FBI was reached in 1995 and a settlement with the New York City Police Department was reached in 2000.
Many of the FBI and NYPD documents contained in this collection were created as part of its COINTELPRO, which actively engaged in a disinformation campaign to undermine and stymie American political organizations. Therefore not all of the information contained within the collection is true. For example, an FBI document may falsely state that an individual has committed a certain crime or was planning to commit a crime. Documents may also mischaracterize the BPP and its motives. Finally, some documents may make false assertions about BPP members' personal lives.
Materials in the "FBI Files" series were part of the initial purchase that comprised the collection. In 2023, additional materials were purchased, which comprise the other two series. All groupings were determined by the collection creators. Materials remain in the order in which they were received except for the cassette tapes, which the processor grouped together.
Materials that comprise the FBI Files series were purchased from Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Robert Boyle in 2022 (AM 2022-124).
Additional materials that comprise the other two series in the collection were purchased from Dhoruba Bin Wahad and Robert Boyle in 2023 (AM 2024-048).
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
This collection was processed by Will Clements in May 2022. Finding aid written by Will Clements in May 2022.
Processing of additional materials by Lauren C. Williams in May-June 2025. Finding aid updated by Lauren C. Williams in June 2025, including updating the collection title from "Dhoruba Bin Wahad & Robert Boyle Collection of FBI Files Related to the Black Panther Party."
Descriptive notes in this finding aid were adapted from information provided by Mr. Boyle and Stuart Lutz Historic Documents Inc.
No materials were removed from the collection during 2022 and 2025 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Will Clements and Lauren C. Williams
- Finding Aid Date
- 2022 May 13
- Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open for research, except for the Wiretap Logs and Dhoruba Bin Wahad file groups which are restricted until March 1, 2032.
- Use Restrictions
-
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
Consists of approximately 110,000 pages of redacted photocopies of FBI and NYPD investigatory documents about the Black Panther Party (BPP) and its top leaders. The content includes photocopies of BPP leaflets, bank records, phone transcripts, meetings, daily activities, speeches, travel records, and mainstream media articles. It documents the FBI's monitoring of the BPP, the FBI's efforts to stymie and break the organization, and COINTELPRO, the FBI's illegal and secret project to disrupt and discredit legitimate American political organizations.
By 1971, the FBI produced biweekly multi-page intelligence summaries on the BPP. Many of the FBI's memos start with the clause "The BPP is a violence-prone Black militant organization headquartered in Berkeley, California with chapters located throughout the United States."
Much of the FBI's efforts to disrupt the BPP involved exploiting the rift between Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton, as well as creating dissension between the BPP on the East Coast and the BPP on the West Coast.
Through COINTELPRO, the FBI mailed dozens of anonymous letters to Eldridge Cleaver, H. Rap Brown, Huey Newton, and others. The letters often threatened the men, created discord (e.g. suggested that Huey Newton wasn't sharing all his speaking fees with the BPP), and gave them false information. The geographic scope of the FBI Files includes Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, New Haven and Middletown, Connecticut. While the names of confidential informants are frequently redacted, very little of the COINTELPRO materials have been removed. Thus, these materials include the fake letters mailed to the BPP leadership and the letters to the newspaper editors actually written by FBI agents.
Physical Description70 linear feet(70 boxes)
1 digital files
15 boxes
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
FBI files listing many wiretap logs. Per Mr. Boyle, these are the only known public records of these warrantless wiretaps. In addition, the pages contain press articles (i.e. The New York Post, The New York Times, The Amsterdam News); press clippings on the BPP; a 1971 listing of the leadership of the BPP; files on following Huey Newton, recorded BPP speeches; recorded BPP speeches; etc.
Physical Description6 boxes
FBI files listing many wiretap logs. There is news about the Students For A Democratic Society (SDS); a letter to Eldridge Cleaver in Africa; an investigation regarding Samuel Cooper; an investigation of a shooting of an officer on Riverside Drive; etc.
Physical Description2 boxes
FBI files with photocopies of many pieces of BPP literature and other assorted materials. There is a significant amount of material from the 1980s & 1990s with the Bin Wahad legal petition and work. There are also photocopies of 1969 confidential informant cards on BPP activities.
Physical Description2 boxes
5 boxes
4 boxes
FBI files on an investigation into the shootings of NYPD officers in May 1971 that was linked to the Black Liberation Army. Per Robert J. Boyle, it was from these files that they obtained documents used to overturn Bin Wahad's conviction, and portions of these files have been released in other legal cases. Consists of materials related to Anthony Bottoms and Albert Washington; photocopies of mugshots; the Herman Bell bank robbery in San Francisco; fingerprint files; information on elementary schools; information on the Newkill shootings; etc.
Physical Description5 boxes
Includes content on the Black Liberation Army; possible urban guerilla activity; news that the Newark BPP office is defunct and various leaders of the BPP are jailed; the purchase of chemicals; travel to Africa to unite with the Cleaver front; photocopies of articles and much on the Republic of New Africa; etc.
Physical Description4 boxes
Concerns about BLA urban guerilla warfare; fingerprint files; photocopies of BPP literature; BPP crime reports about bank robberies; material about seeking information on the whereabouts of BPP leaders such as Jones, Gibson and Butler; information on BPP trials; finances; weapons; Attica; BPP shootouts with the LAPD; bank robbery suspects in the Bronx (including interviews with eyewitnesses).
Physical Description5 boxes
Photocopies of newspaper articles about the BPP; electronic spying on the BPP; materials on Elmer Geronimo Pratt; etc.
Physical Description3 boxes
Photocopies of BPP pamphlets (including ones from New Haven); New York Times articles on the BPP; other press articles on the BPP; international fugitive capture; police reports; Louisville, Kentucky BPP and the trial of SamNapier; etc.
Physical Description4 boxes
Includes the Moore file from the Philadelphia and Charlotte field offices; photocopies of the 1974 Weather Underground publication Prairie Fire; etc.
Physical Description3 boxes
2 boxes
Includes transcripts of a radio talk show; Newton speech transcriptions; a phone call from Newton to Cleaver in Algeria; information on Newton college speeches and fees; Newton meeting with retired basketball star Bill Russell; BPP bank records; press articles about Newton's murder trial; wire tapping transcripts; minute by minute tracking of Newton; wiretap conversations; materials on BPP member David Hilliard; etc.
Physical Description5 boxes
Materials related to the Revolutionary Peoples Constitutional Convention organized by the BPP from September 4-7, 1970 in Philadelphia; photocopies of BPP literature on police harassment; the Malcolm X Liberation University; several affidavits about Philadelphia police harassment of Lafayette Burton; etc.
Physical Description2 boxes
Photocopies of NYPD index cards tracking people; information on a housing crimes trial put on by the BPP; information on a planned attack on a military installation near Los Angeles; materials on the Attica uprising; early BPP surveillance; photocopies of BPP literature; materials on H. Rap Brown; a boycott of Coney Island; material on the BPP shooting of NYPD officer James Howard in the Bronx; mentions of protests going on at Columbia University and other NYC protests; photocopies of BPP threats to Mayor Lindsay; daily reports of following BPP members; summaries of conversations and information on police shootings; an undercover officer report on being inside a BPP meeting; etc.
Physical Description5 boxes
5 boxes
Consists of litigation documents generated in the legal efforts to overturn the conviction of former Black Panther Dhoruba Bin Wahad. Includes documents generated in the criminal case and documents generated in the civil lawsuit against the NYPD and FBI.
Dhoruba Bin Wahad joined the Black Panther Party in 1968. He was falsely convicted of attempted murder in 1973. The civil suit Bin Wahad v. FBI was filed in 1975. It was from this lawsuit that the FBI documents were obtained and were used to overturn his conviction in 1990.
Physical Description40.63 linear feet(48 boxes)
Includes: the 1990 motion for bail that resulted in Bin Wahad's freedom; the briefs filed by the DA and Bin Wahad when the DA appealed his release; from civil case is the proposed pre-trial order and memoranda; pre-trial conferences before federal Judge Alvin Hellerstein to whom case was re-assigned.
Physical Description1 box
Copies of the legal papers filed in the motion to overturn Dhoruba Bin Wahad's conviction filed in 1988; also contains the FBI file of Pauline Joseph, the chief witness against Bin Wahad at the criminal trial whose exculpatory statements were suppressed by the prosecution.
Physical Description2 boxes
Answers by NYPD to interrogatories; Pauline Joseph's FBI informant file; Pauline Joseph prior statements.
Physical Description1 box
Bound set of the successful motion to vacate Bin Wahad's conviction.
Physical Description3 boxes
NYPD opposition to motion to amend; Panther 21 trial books; bound Plaintiff's exhibits for use at trial; FBI documents unredacted; Challenged serials.
Physical Description1 box
FBI notices accompanying document production in the civil case; correspondence; litigation papers on motion to file third amended complaint; status memoranda; NYPD motion for protective order seeking to withhold documents.
Physical Description1 box
Litigation papers generated in late stages of the civil case. Includes: motions for summary judgment, affidavits, correspondence, and the transcript of a 5/6/99 conference before the court.
Physical Description2 boxes
Bin Wahad's 1973 criminal trial: The People of the State of New York against Richard Moore.
Physical Description2 boxes
Includes: affidavits in support of motions to obtain files from the NYPD and FBI; motions for sanctions against FBI and NYPD for not producing documents; inventory of documents produced; case correspondence; deposition of NYPD Inspector Rohan concerning NYPD document production.
Physical Description1 box
Motions in Iimine filed prior to the trial of the civil case. Motions in Iimine seek pre-trial rulings on evidentiary issues that may come up in the course of the trial. Also contains miscellaneous correspondence.
Physical Description1 box
NYPD Investigator's Manual; News clippings; affidavit of NYPD Chief Det. Nicastro; Nicastro deposition in Carter case. These documents were assembled in preparation of the impending trial of the COINTELPRO civil case.
Physical Description2 boxes
Documents filed in summary judgment motion.
Physical Description1 box
Includes: copies of first, second, third, and fourth amended complaints; case correspondence from 1991 to 2000; trial prep materials, i.e. notes of witnesses testimony, FOIL requests and replies trial subpoenas.
Physical Description2 boxes
Exhibits filed by NYPD in support of the motion for summary judgment.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 box
The NYPD's motion for summary judgment, i.e. dismissal before trial. Contains the exhibits in support of that motion and their reply memoranda.
Physical Description1 box
Includes: appeals briefs and replies; pretrial motions; appellate briefs filed in motion to vacate conviction; Court decision granting (for second time) motion to overturn conviction (Allen decision, 1993).
Physical Description1 box
Includes: motions for sanctions filed in 1980 and 1981. Demonstrates how Boyle was able to obtain FBI and NYPD files.
Physical Description1 box
Includes: court decisions in motion to vacate, appellate briefs, correspondence, appeals to Appellate Division and Court of Appeals.
Physical Description1 box
Includes: oral rulings by the Judge and Magistrate on discovery issues; a copy of the April 1980 hearing before Judge Lowe that resulted in a finding that the FBI had lied and resulting in the production of the FBI files that are part of this collection. Also contains transcripts of the depositions (sworn testimony) of NYPD and FBI officials concerning their activities investigating the Black Panther Party; depositions of various members of the Black Panther Party.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
Original and copies of news clippings from 1969 when Panther 21 were arrested; some FBI files arranged by category.
Physical Description2 boxes
2 boxes
Includes: motions to oppose/preclude discovery on basis of executive privilege; FBI summary judgment motion; motion for discovery concerning Dhoruba's address book.
Physical Description2 boxes
Includes: affidavit of need for production of files on individuals; motion by FBI to preclude plaintiff's witnesses; motion by Robert Mardian and Clarence Kelley for summary judgment; motion contains copies of regulations in existence at the time.
Physical Description2 boxes
Motion to amend complaint; motion to dismiss (1978); Interrogatories to Richard Nixon.
Physical Description1 box
April 1980 hearing for sanctions exhibits entered by court.
Physical Description1 box
Exhibits from FBI opposition to amend complaint; case files in Moore v. Thomas and Moore v. Smith (civil cases brought by Bin Wahad against officers at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York).
Physical Description1 box
Transcripts of the depositions (sworn testimony) of NYPD and FBI officials concerning their activities investigating the Black Panther Party. Also contains depositions of various members of the Black Panther Party.
Physical Description1 box
Includes: correspondence; summaries of FBI files; notes on excisions in FBI files; memoranda.
Physical Description1 box
Mostly come from FBI file number 100-161933, along with files on the BPP-Cleaver Faction from the New York and New Haven field offices.
Physical Description2 boxes
Audio recordings on cassette tapes. There are 24 tapes in total.
Physical Description1 box
Consists of documents generated in Bin Wahad's civil lawsuit against the Department of Corrections. Includes exhibits, transcripts of depositions, and attorney trial preparation notes.
In 1986, Bin Wahad filed a civil rights lawsuit against the New York State Department of Corrections alleging he was retaliated against and placed in solitary confinement due to his race and political beliefs. The case eventually went to trial and resulted in a settlement with the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).
Physical Description5 linear feet(5 boxes)
Litigation and exhibits including hearing on placement of Bin Wahad in solitary confinement, the pretrial order; complaint.
Physical Description1 box
Transcripts of depositions of Department of Correctional Services officials responsible for placing Bin Wahad in solitary confinement; motions for sanctions; discovery requests; pre-trial orders; attorney trial prep notes; transcript of DOCS disciplinary proceedings resulting in Bin Wahad being placed in solitary confinement.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
1 box
Deposition transcripts in prison case including those of the wardens of the facilities and their chief assistants as well as inmates supporting Bin Wahad's claims.
Physical Description1 box