Bill Epton

William Leo "Bill" Epton Jr. (January 17, 1932 – February 3, 2002), was a Maoist African-American communist activist. He was Vice Chairman of the Progressive Labor Party until about 1970.

Epton was "the first person convicted of criminal anarchy since the Red Scare of 1919."

According to his New York Times obituary, Epton, a Harlem native, was a firebrand even early in his youth. "Even as a high school student," the obituary reads, "he demonstrated for civil rights and helped organize unions. He was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War." Later, he became an electrician and gravitated towards the Progressive Labor Movement and its activities.

On July 16, 1964, NYPD officer Thomas Gilligan shot and killed a 15-year-old African-American student, James Powell. In response the people of Harlem started days of demonstrations that intensified into street violence.

PL, with Epton among its leadership, hung posters reading Wanted For Murder – Gilligan the Cop throughout the city, causing the city administration to declare a state of emergency in the city, prohibiting public demonstration. While most of the reformist leaders went along with the ban, Epton and the Harlem branch of PL called for a peaceful rally on 125th Street for July 25. When they began to march, Epton was arrested. Charged with criminal anarchy, he was tried and found guilty, receiving a one-year prison sentence.

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