SAN JOSE, Calif. – An Oakland, Calif., group is seeking to trademark the infamous Black Panther slogan “Burn, baby, burn” to help market a new brand of hot sauce.
Documents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last October show that the heirs of Huey P. Newton, the Oakland-based co-founder of the revolutionary Black Panthers, are ready to cash in on the phrase, which gained notoriety in the 1960s because it became associated with riots that left large sections of cities such as Watts, Calif., in flames and ash.
The Huey P. Newton Foundation also wants to trademark the phrase “Revolutionary Hot Sauce.” The foundation, which is run by Newton’s widow, Fredrika, and ex-Panther David Hilliard, appears close to securing government approval of its requests, according to the trademark office.
The foundation describes itself as a “community-based, non-profit research, education, and advocacy center dedicated to fostering progressive social change.”
“It is unclear exactly what role spicy condiments play in this noble multicultural pursuit,” The Smoking Gun Web site said.
Newton co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966 and became a prime target of the FBI, which saw the group as a threat to national security. Newton was murdered in 1989, at age 47, by an Oakland crack dealer who shot him three times in the head.
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AP-NY-07-19-05 1623EDT
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