Soul on Ice, a series of essays about the situation of alienated blacks in America, was written while Cleaver was in prison serving time for drug dealing and rape. Inspired by the teachings of Malcolm X and believing that armed insurrection and the establishment of a separatist black state was the only way to achieve racial equality, Cleaver, upon release from jail, joined the Black Panthers and was appointed their Minister of Information. Despite the great success of Soul on Ice and the acclaim Cleaver garnered from the white liberal and black communities, he was arrested in 1968 in a shootout with police. One Panther was killed, and Cleaver and a police officer were wounded. Rather than face charges, Cleaver fled the country and began a seven-year tour of communist and Muslim countries such as Cuba, Algeria, North Vietnam, and the Soviet Union, where he was welcomed as a celebrity political prisoner. In 1975, disenchanted with the actual workings of communism, Cleaver returned to the United States to face federal charges. The most serious of the charges were dropped and he was sentenced to serve 1,200 hours of community service. Cleaver now tours the country giving talks that are inspired by his conversion to Christianity.