Patricia Soltysik
Encyclopedia
Patricia "Mizmoon" Monique Soltysik (May 17, 1950 - May 17, 1974) was one of the founders of the Symbionese Liberation Army
.
, and graduated from Dos Pueblos High School
in 1968 in the top 10 percent of her class and was the student body treasurer of her high school.
She enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley
on a state scholarship in 1968. While at Berkeley she became embittered by the "Bloody Thursday" incident
where a protester was killed. Drifting into radical groups she became a radical feminist and self avowed revolutionary. When her brother asked about her plans of becoming a lawyer, she replied, "Sisters, none of us are free until we are all free." In 1971 she attached herself to the radical ex-convict group United Prisoners Union and dropped out of school. She and her neighbor, Camilla Hall
, became lovers, and it was Hall who gave Soltysik the name "Mizmoon."
On March 5, 1973, Donald DeFreeze
escaped prison and future SLA members Russell Little and Willy Wolfe took him to Soltysik's house because unlike their other associates, Soltysik didn't visit the prisons. The two became lovers and Soltysik and DeFreeze created the first SLA literature.
On November 6, 1973 in Oakland, California
, two members of the S.L.A. killed superintendent of schools Dr. Marcus Foster
and badly wounded his deputy Robert Blackburn as the men left an Oakland school board meeting. The S.L.A. condemned Foster's plan to introduce identification cards into Oakland schools as "fascist". It was later revealed that Soltysik and Emily Harris
were the two who shot Marcus Foster according to Patty Hearst
's sworn testimony.
on 17 May 1974. She was found underneath the floor of the house in a crawl space. She likely died from smoke inhalation and burn injuries as the house burned down around her.
Symbionese Liberation Army
The Symbionese Liberation Army was an American self-styled left-wing urban militant group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a revolutionary vanguard army...
.
Early life
She was the daughter of a pharmacist, the third of seven children, the oldest of five girls. She grew up in Goleta, CaliforniaGoleta, California
Goleta is a city in southern Santa Barbara County, California, USA. It was incorporated as a city in 2002, after a long period as the largest unincorporated, populated area in the county. As of the 2000 census, the Census-designated place had a total population of 55,204, however, a significant...
, and graduated from Dos Pueblos High School
Dos Pueblos High School
Dos Pueblos High School is a high school located in Goleta, California, west of Santa Barbara. Located adjacent to the foothills on the edge of the Goleta Valley in an area known as El Encanto Heights, it serves a student body of approximately 2,300 in grades 9-12.Dos Pueblos, or "DP" or "DPHS", is...
in 1968 in the top 10 percent of her class and was the student body treasurer of her high school.
She enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
on a state scholarship in 1968. While at Berkeley she became embittered by the "Bloody Thursday" incident
People's Park (Berkeley)
People's Park in Berkeley, California, USA, is a park off Telegraph Avenue, bounded by Haste and Bowditch streets and Dwight Way, near the University of California, Berkeley. The park was created during the radical political activism of the late 1960s....
where a protester was killed. Drifting into radical groups she became a radical feminist and self avowed revolutionary. When her brother asked about her plans of becoming a lawyer, she replied, "Sisters, none of us are free until we are all free." In 1971 she attached herself to the radical ex-convict group United Prisoners Union and dropped out of school. She and her neighbor, Camilla Hall
Camilla Hall
Camilla Christine Hall was an artist, college trained social worker, and an early member of the Symbionese Liberation Army.-Early life:...
, became lovers, and it was Hall who gave Soltysik the name "Mizmoon."
SLA is born
Donald DeFreeze
Donald David DeFreeze , also known as Cinque Mtume, was the leader of the American guerilla group Symbionese Liberation Army, a group operating in the mid-1970s, under the nom de guerre "Field Marshal Cinque."...
escaped prison and future SLA members Russell Little and Willy Wolfe took him to Soltysik's house because unlike their other associates, Soltysik didn't visit the prisons. The two became lovers and Soltysik and DeFreeze created the first SLA literature.
On November 6, 1973 in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, two members of the S.L.A. killed superintendent of schools Dr. Marcus Foster
Marcus Foster
Marcus Albert Foster was a respected African-American educator who gained a national reputation for educational excellence while serving as principal of Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Associate Superintendent of Schools in Philadelphia, and as the first black...
and badly wounded his deputy Robert Blackburn as the men left an Oakland school board meeting. The S.L.A. condemned Foster's plan to introduce identification cards into Oakland schools as "fascist". It was later revealed that Soltysik and Emily Harris
Emily Harris (SLA)
Emily Harris was, along with her husband William Harris , a founding member of the Symbionese Liberation Army , a leftist United States group involved in bank robberies, kidnapping and murder. In the 1970s, she was convicted of kidnapping Patty Hearst...
were the two who shot Marcus Foster according to Patty Hearst
Patty Hearst
Patricia Campbell Hearst , now known as Patricia Campbell Hearst Shaw, is an American newspaper heiress, socialite, actress, kidnap victim, and convicted bank robber....
's sworn testimony.
L.A. shootout and death
Soltysik was one of the six SLA members killed in a shootout with Los Angeles Police DepartmentLos Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
on 17 May 1974. She was found underneath the floor of the house in a crawl space. She likely died from smoke inhalation and burn injuries as the house burned down around her.
External links
- Mizmoon Audio Clip, This is information, intelligence unit 4