Flores Forbes says he has 18 years of his life that he can’t put on a resume.

The man dressed in a casual tan shirt and jeans who spoke to a crowd of Kansas University students Tuesday night spent 10 of his younger years rising to the inner circle of the Black Panthers.

Flores Forbes, a former leader of the Black Panther Party, spoke before about 200 people Tuesday night at the Kansas Union. Forbes is the author of Will

Forbes then spent three years as a fugitive and five years in prison for his role in an attempted murder of a witness involved in a murder trial against Black Panther Party co-founder Huey Newton.

But there’s no room in Forbes’ mind for regret about those 18 years.

“I don’t think I could be who I am today without having gone through that,” Forbes said in an interview.

Who Forbes is today is a chief strategic officer for the Abyssinian Development Corp., which specializes in urban development in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

The corporation does development ranging from residences to retail to even building Harlem’s first new high school in 50 years.

Forbes, who also penned his memoirs in a book titled “Will You Die With Me?”, said he got into urban development because he believes he’s good at it.

But in doing the job, he said he’s come to realize it allows him to pursue some of the ideals of equal opportunity that he once sought as a Black Panther.

“Just without the guns,” he said.

There was a time when Forbes’ world was surrounded by guns, violence and a cause for black equality that stemmed in part from run-ins with police that included a brutal beating in San Diego when he was 14 years old.

He climbed the ranks of the Black Panther Party to the point where he became close with Newton.

Forbes describes his work with the Black Panthers as involving militaristic and sometimes covert activity.

That activity came to a head when the botched witness-assassination attempt sent Forbes fleeing authorities for three years.

“It went very, very bad,” Forbes told a crowd of about 200 people at the Kansas Union. “I got wounded, my best friend got killed and I became a fugitive.”

Forbes came to speak in Lawrence in part because of his relationship with KU film associate professor Kevin Willmott; the two attended New York University together after Forbes’ release from prison.

When Forbes left prison, he was 32 years old and had never held a job.

“The scariest thing in the world – it’s got to be – is getting a job,” Forbes said.

In today’s society, Forbes sees some of the same unresolved civil rights issues that he fought against as a Black Panther.

“We’ve obviously come a long ways,” he said. “It’s still an uphill battle.”

One student asked Forbes for his opinion regarding the portrayal of black people today in entertainment media.

He said many of the images he sees were the same ones he noticed in prison culture.

Forbes said sagging pants evolved from prisoners not being allowed to wear belts into mainstream culture.

“It totally debases black women, it makes the black men who are part of these images look ridiculous,” Forbes said. “I couldn’t imagine putting a $15,000 grill on my teeth.”

One lecture attendee said she could relate to Forbes’ speech in part because she once lived in Oakland, Calif., where the Black Panthers rose to prominence.

“I can respect anyone who can come in and tell stories like he did,” Eileen Smith said. “I could not survive in the environment a lot of African-Americans grew up in.”