Notable for establishing both the African People's Socialist Party and a radical political initiative called the Uhuru Movement, he is also known for self-publishing a number of works on the subject of the international liberation of Africans, including Reparations Now! and One People! One Party! One Destiny! In his teens and early twenties, he was heavily involved in the American Civil Rights Movement. His activism led to his imprisonment on a charge of civil disobedience.