Elaine Brown
Encyclopedia
Elaine Brown is an American
prison activist, writer, singer, and former Black Panther
leader who is based in Oakland, California
. She is a former chairperson of the Black Panther Party
. Brown briefly ran for the Green Party
presidential nomination in 2008
. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia
, and is a founder of Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice.
On December 28, 2007, Elaine Brown renounced her affiliation with the Green Party and her bid for Presidency.
for less than a semester. After withdrawing from Temple Brown moved to Los Angeles, California to try being a professional songwriter.
Upon arriving in California with little money and few contacts, Brown got work as a cocktail waitress at the strip club The Pink Pussycat. While working at the Pink Pussycat she met Jay Kennedy, a married white fiction writer, and the two became lovers. Kennedy was the first person to politicize and radicalize Brown. Because of the thorough education on the Civil Rights Movement, Capitalism, and Communism, that Kennedy gave her, Brown became involved with the Black Liberation Movement. After living together for a brief time in the Hollywood Hills Hotel, the pair parted ways. After this pivotal relationship, Brown's involvement in politics grew and she began working for the radical newspaper Harambee. Soon after, Brown became the first representative of the Black Student Alliance to the Black Congress in California. In April 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior, she attended her first meeting of the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party
.
as a rank-and-file member, studying revolutionary literature, selling Black Panther Party
newspapers, and cleaning guns, among other tasks. Brown soon helped the Party set up its first Free Breakfast for Children program in Los Angeles, as well as the Party’s initial Free Busing to Prisons Program and Free Legal Aid Program.
In 1968, Brown was commissioned by David Hilliard
, the current Chairman of the Party, to record her songs, a request resulting in the album "Seize the Time". She eventually assumed the role of editor of the Black Panther publication in the Southern California Branch of the Party. In 1971, Brown became a member of the Party's Central Committee as Minister of Information, replacing the expelled Eldridge Cleaver. In 1973, Brown was commissioned to record more songs by national party Chairman, Party founder, and Minister of Defense, Huey P. Newton
. These songs resulted in the album "Until We're Free."
Writer David Horowitz
has accused Brown of ordering the murder of Betty Van Patter
, a former Black Panther Party accountant and mother of three, in 1973. Horowitz alleges that Van Patter intended to go public with illegalities she had uncovered in the Black Panthers account books, and that Brown had Van Patter murdered because these allegations would have hindered Brown's city council bid. Brown's 1992 book A Taste of Power
claimed that Van Patter had a criminal past and had been convicted of drug trafficking. After protests by the Van Patter family, these claims were removed from subsequent editions of the book as they turned out to be a fabrication by Elaine Brown.
As part of a directive by Black Panther Party
Chairman Huey Newton, Brown unsuccessfully ran for the Oakland
city council in 1973, getting 30 percent of the vote. Brown ran again in 1975, losing again with 44 percent of the vote.
When Newton fled to Cuba in 1974 in the face of murder charges, he appointed Brown as his replacement. The first woman Chairman of the party, Elaine Brown was the Chairman of the Black Panther Party
from 1974 until 1977. In her 1992 memoir A Taste of Power
, she wrote about the experience:
"A woman in the Black Power
movement was considered, at best, irrelevant. A woman asserting herself was a pariah. If a black woman assumed a role of leadership, she was said to be eroding black manhood, to be hindering the progress of the black race. She was an enemy of the black people.... I knew I had to muster something mighty to manage the Black Panther Party
."
During Brown's leadership of the Black Panther Party
, she focused on electoral politics and community service. In 1977, she managed Lionel Wilson
’s victorious campaign to become Oakland’s first black mayor. Also, Brown developed the Panther's Liberation School, which was recognized by the state of California as a model school.
Brown stepped down from Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party
less than a year after Newton’s return from Cuba in 1977 when Newton condoned the beating of Regina Davis, the administrator of the Panther Liberation School. This incident was the point at which Brown could no longer tolerate the sexism
and patriarchy
of the Black Panther Party
(A Taste of Power, p. 444). Brown left the United States with her daughter, Erika, and entered psychotherapy to end her addiction to Thorazine, a long time addiction she had developed due to the stresses and difficulties she had encountered as a woman and a leader in the black liberation movement.
Brown recorded two album
s, Seize the Time (Vault, 1969) and Until We're Free (Motown Records
, 1973). Seize the Time includes "The Meeting," the anthem of the Black Panther Party
.
. Brown eventually returned to the struggle for black liberation, especially espousing the need for radical prison reform. From 1980 to 1983 she attended Southwestern University School of Law
in Los Angeles.
From 1990 to 1996, she lived in France
. In 1996, Brown moved to Atlanta, Georgia
and founded Fields of Flowers, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to providing educational opportunities for impoverished African-American children. In 1998, Brown co-founded the grassroots group Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice to advocate for children being prosecuted as adults in the state of Georgia. Around the same time, Brown continued her advocacy for incarcerated youth by founding and leading the Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee. Michael Lewis, also known as “Little B,” was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 14 for a murder that Brown believes he did not commit. Brown would eventually write a non-fiction novel
, The Condemnation of Little B, which analyzes the prosecution of Michael Lewis as part of the greater problem of the increased imprisonment of black youth.
In 2003, Brown helped co-found the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform, which helps thousands of prisoners find housing after they are released on parole, facilitates transportation for family visits to prisons, helps prisoners find employment, and raises money for prisoner phone calls and gifts.
In 2005, while protesting a G-8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia
, Brown learned of the massive poverty in the nearby city of Brunswick, Georgia
. Brown then attempted to run for mayor of Brunswick against Bryan Thompson
. Running on the Green Party ticket, Brown hoped to become mayor in order to use her influence to bring Michael Lewis’ case to prominence, as well as to empower blacks in Brunswick. Though Brown was eventually disqualified from running and voting in Brunswick because she failed to establish residency in the city, her efforts brought widespread attention to Michael Lewis’ case.
Brown has continued her prison reform advocacy by lecturing frequently at colleges and universities in the US. From 1995 to the present, she has lectured at over forty colleges and universities, as well as numerous conferences.
In March 2007, Brown announced her bid to be the 2008 Green Party
presidential nominee. Brown felt that a campaign was necessary to promote the interests of those not represented by the major political parties, especially the interests of women under 30 and African-Americans. Her platform focused on the needs of working-class families, promoting living wages for all, free health care, more funding for public education, more affordable housing, removal of troops from Iraq, improving the environment, and promoting equality. Brown intended on using her campaign to bring many minorities to the Green party in hopes that it would better represent a revolutionary force for social justice. In late 2007, Brown resigned from the Green Party, as she found that the Party remained dominated by whites who had “no intention of using the ballot to actualize real social progress, and will aggressively repel attempts to do so.”
In 2010, inmates in more than seven Georgia
prisons used contraband cellphones to organize a nonviolent strike for better prison conditions, Brown became their "closest adviser outside prison walls." She "helped distill the inmate complaints into a list of demands. She held a conference call . . . to develop a strategy with various groups, including the Georgia
chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
and the Nation of Islam
."
In addition to A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story
(Doubleday, 1992), Brown is also the author of The Condemnation of Little B: New Age Racism in America (Beacon, 2002). In an appendix to the latter book, Brown labels many Black leaders and celebrities, including Colin Powell
, Vernon Jordan, Chris Rock
, Russell Simmons
, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Oprah Winfrey
, as "New Age House Negroes" and "New Age House Negresses." A film version of A Taste of Power
is in the making by HBO, as part of a six-part series "The Black Panthers."
Brown is the mother of a grown daughter, Ericka Abram.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prison activist, writer, singer, and former Black Panther
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
leader who is based 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...
. She is a former chairperson of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
. Brown briefly ran for the Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
presidential nomination in 2008
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, and is a founder of Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice.
On December 28, 2007, Elaine Brown renounced her affiliation with the Green Party and her bid for Presidency.
Early life
Brown grew up in the ghetto of North Philadelphia, with a single, working mother and an absent father. Despite desperate poverty, Brown’s mother worked to provide for Elaine’s private schooling, music lessons, and nice clothing. As a young woman, Elaine had few African-American friends but spent most of her time with her white friends. After graduating from Philadelphia High School for Girls, she studied at Temple UniversityTemple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
for less than a semester. After withdrawing from Temple Brown moved to Los Angeles, California to try being a professional songwriter.
Upon arriving in California with little money and few contacts, Brown got work as a cocktail waitress at the strip club The Pink Pussycat. While working at the Pink Pussycat she met Jay Kennedy, a married white fiction writer, and the two became lovers. Kennedy was the first person to politicize and radicalize Brown. Because of the thorough education on the Civil Rights Movement, Capitalism, and Communism, that Kennedy gave her, Brown became involved with the Black Liberation Movement. After living together for a brief time in the Hollywood Hills Hotel, the pair parted ways. After this pivotal relationship, Brown's involvement in politics grew and she began working for the radical newspaper Harambee. Soon after, Brown became the first representative of the Black Student Alliance to the Black Congress in California. In April 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Junior, she attended her first meeting of the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
.
Involvement with the Black Panther Party
In 1968, Brown joined the Black Panther PartyBlack Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
as a rank-and-file member, studying revolutionary literature, selling Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
newspapers, and cleaning guns, among other tasks. Brown soon helped the Party set up its first Free Breakfast for Children program in Los Angeles, as well as the Party’s initial Free Busing to Prisons Program and Free Legal Aid Program.
In 1968, Brown was commissioned by David Hilliard
David Hilliard
David Hilliard is a member of the Black Panther Party. He was Chief of Staff in the party. He is currently a visiting instructor at the University of New Mexico....
, the current Chairman of the Party, to record her songs, a request resulting in the album "Seize the Time". She eventually assumed the role of editor of the Black Panther publication in the Southern California Branch of the Party. In 1971, Brown became a member of the Party's Central Committee as Minister of Information, replacing the expelled Eldridge Cleaver. In 1973, Brown was commissioned to record more songs by national party Chairman, Party founder, and Minister of Defense, Huey P. Newton
Huey P. Newton
Huey Percy Newton was an American political and urban activist who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party for Self Defense.-Early life:...
. These songs resulted in the album "Until We're Free."
Writer David Horowitz
David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz is an American conservative writer and policy advocate. Horowitz was raised by parents who were both members of the American Communist Party. Between 1956 and 1975, Horowitz was an outspoken adherent of the New Left before rejecting Marxism completely...
has accused Brown of ordering the murder of Betty Van Patter
Betty Van Patter
Betty Van Patter was a bookkeeper for the Black Panther Party who was beaten and murdered.After serving as a bookkeeper for Ramparts magazine, Van Patter became an aide to Panther leader Elaine Brown in 1974, after being introduced to the Party by David Horowitz.Later that year, after a dispute...
, a former Black Panther Party accountant and mother of three, in 1973. Horowitz alleges that Van Patter intended to go public with illegalities she had uncovered in the Black Panthers account books, and that Brown had Van Patter murdered because these allegations would have hindered Brown's city council bid. Brown's 1992 book A Taste of Power
A Taste of Power
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story is a memoir written by Elaine Brown. The book follows her life from childhood up through her activism with the Black Panther Party. In the early chapters of the book, Brown recalls growing up on York Street in a rough neighborhood of North Philadelphia...
claimed that Van Patter had a criminal past and had been convicted of drug trafficking. After protests by the Van Patter family, these claims were removed from subsequent editions of the book as they turned out to be a fabrication by Elaine Brown.
As part of a directive by Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
Chairman Huey Newton, Brown unsuccessfully ran for the Oakland
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...
city council in 1973, getting 30 percent of the vote. Brown ran again in 1975, losing again with 44 percent of the vote.
When Newton fled to Cuba in 1974 in the face of murder charges, he appointed Brown as his replacement. The first woman Chairman of the party, Elaine Brown was the Chairman of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
from 1974 until 1977. In her 1992 memoir A Taste of Power
A Taste of Power
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story is a memoir written by Elaine Brown. The book follows her life from childhood up through her activism with the Black Panther Party. In the early chapters of the book, Brown recalls growing up on York Street in a rough neighborhood of North Philadelphia...
, she wrote about the experience:
"A woman in the Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
movement was considered, at best, irrelevant. A woman asserting herself was a pariah. If a black woman assumed a role of leadership, she was said to be eroding black manhood, to be hindering the progress of the black race. She was an enemy of the black people.... I knew I had to muster something mighty to manage the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
."
During Brown's leadership of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
, she focused on electoral politics and community service. In 1977, she managed Lionel Wilson
Lionel Wilson
Lionel J. Wilson was an African American political figure and a member of the Democratic Party. He was the first African American mayor of Oakland, California, serving three-terms as mayor of Oakland from 1977 until 1991....
’s victorious campaign to become Oakland’s first black mayor. Also, Brown developed the Panther's Liberation School, which was recognized by the state of California as a model school.
Brown stepped down from Chairwoman of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
less than a year after Newton’s return from Cuba in 1977 when Newton condoned the beating of Regina Davis, the administrator of the Panther Liberation School. This incident was the point at which Brown could no longer tolerate the sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
and patriarchy
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
(A Taste of Power, p. 444). Brown left the United States with her daughter, Erika, and entered psychotherapy to end her addiction to Thorazine, a long time addiction she had developed due to the stresses and difficulties she had encountered as a woman and a leader in the black liberation movement.
Brown recorded two album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s, Seize the Time (Vault, 1969) and Until We're Free (Motown Records
Motown Records
Motown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
, 1973). Seize the Time includes "The Meeting," the anthem of the Black Panther Party
Black Panther Party
The Black Panther Party wasan African-American revolutionary leftist organization. It was active in the United States from 1966 until 1982....
.
Later activism
After leaving the Black Panther Party in order to raise her daughter Erika, Brown worked on her memoir, A Taste of PowerA Taste of Power
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story is a memoir written by Elaine Brown. The book follows her life from childhood up through her activism with the Black Panther Party. In the early chapters of the book, Brown recalls growing up on York Street in a rough neighborhood of North Philadelphia...
. Brown eventually returned to the struggle for black liberation, especially espousing the need for radical prison reform. From 1980 to 1983 she attended Southwestern University School of Law
Southwestern University School of Law
Southwestern Law School is a private ABA-accredited law school located in Los Angeles, California , with about 1,000 students. Its campus includes the Bullocks Wilshire building, an admired art deco National Register of Historic Places landmark built in 1929...
in Los Angeles.
From 1990 to 1996, she lived in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In 1996, Brown moved to Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
and founded Fields of Flowers, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to providing educational opportunities for impoverished African-American children. In 1998, Brown co-founded the grassroots group Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice to advocate for children being prosecuted as adults in the state of Georgia. Around the same time, Brown continued her advocacy for incarcerated youth by founding and leading the Michael Lewis Legal Defense Committee. Michael Lewis, also known as “Little B,” was sentenced to life in prison at the age of 14 for a murder that Brown believes he did not commit. Brown would eventually write a non-fiction novel
Non-fiction novel
The non-fiction novel is a literary genre which, broadly speaking, depicts real historical figures and actual events narrated woven together with fictitious allegations and using the storytelling techniques of fiction. The non-fiction novel is an otherwise loosely-defined and flexible genre...
, The Condemnation of Little B, which analyzes the prosecution of Michael Lewis as part of the greater problem of the increased imprisonment of black youth.
In 2003, Brown helped co-found the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform, which helps thousands of prisoners find housing after they are released on parole, facilitates transportation for family visits to prisons, helps prisoners find employment, and raises money for prisoner phone calls and gifts.
In 2005, while protesting a G-8 Summit in Sea Island, Georgia
Sea Island, Georgia
Sea Island is an affluent resort island located in the barrier islands just off the Atlantic coast of southern Georgia in the United States. The resort complex is located in an unincorporated Glynn County....
, Brown learned of the massive poverty in the nearby city of Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick, Georgia
Brunswick is the major urban and economic center in southeastern Georgia in the United States. The municipality is located on a harbor near the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 30 miles north of Florida and 70 miles south of South Carolina. Brunswick is bordered on the east by the Atlantic...
. Brown then attempted to run for mayor of Brunswick against Bryan Thompson
Bryan Thompson (politician)
Bryan Thompson is the Mayor of Brunswick, Georgia. He ran on the Republican ballot and was elected mayor in 2005. He is originally from Plain City, Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University with a major in performing arts. On March 13, 2006, Thompson appeared on the game show Deal or No...
. Running on the Green Party ticket, Brown hoped to become mayor in order to use her influence to bring Michael Lewis’ case to prominence, as well as to empower blacks in Brunswick. Though Brown was eventually disqualified from running and voting in Brunswick because she failed to establish residency in the city, her efforts brought widespread attention to Michael Lewis’ case.
Brown has continued her prison reform advocacy by lecturing frequently at colleges and universities in the US. From 1995 to the present, she has lectured at over forty colleges and universities, as well as numerous conferences.
In March 2007, Brown announced her bid to be the 2008 Green Party
Green Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
presidential nominee. Brown felt that a campaign was necessary to promote the interests of those not represented by the major political parties, especially the interests of women under 30 and African-Americans. Her platform focused on the needs of working-class families, promoting living wages for all, free health care, more funding for public education, more affordable housing, removal of troops from Iraq, improving the environment, and promoting equality. Brown intended on using her campaign to bring many minorities to the Green party in hopes that it would better represent a revolutionary force for social justice. In late 2007, Brown resigned from the Green Party, as she found that the Party remained dominated by whites who had “no intention of using the ballot to actualize real social progress, and will aggressively repel attempts to do so.”
In 2010, inmates in more than seven Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
prisons used contraband cellphones to organize a nonviolent strike for better prison conditions, Brown became their "closest adviser outside prison walls." She "helped distill the inmate complaints into a list of demands. She held a conference call . . . to develop a strategy with various groups, including the Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
and the Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam
The Nation of Islam is a mainly African-American new religious movement founded in Detroit, Michigan by Wallace D. Fard Muhammad in July 1930 to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and economic condition of African-Americans in the United States of America. The movement teaches black pride and...
."
In addition to A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story
A Taste of Power
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story is a memoir written by Elaine Brown. The book follows her life from childhood up through her activism with the Black Panther Party. In the early chapters of the book, Brown recalls growing up on York Street in a rough neighborhood of North Philadelphia...
(Doubleday, 1992), Brown is also the author of The Condemnation of Little B: New Age Racism in America (Beacon, 2002). In an appendix to the latter book, Brown labels many Black leaders and celebrities, including Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, Vernon Jordan, Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
, Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
, Sean "Diddy" Combs, and Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, as "New Age House Negroes" and "New Age House Negresses." A film version of A Taste of Power
A Taste of Power
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story is a memoir written by Elaine Brown. The book follows her life from childhood up through her activism with the Black Panther Party. In the early chapters of the book, Brown recalls growing up on York Street in a rough neighborhood of North Philadelphia...
is in the making by HBO, as part of a six-part series "The Black Panthers."
Brown is the mother of a grown daughter, Ericka Abram.
External links
- Elaine Brown, Brown's Web site.
- Brown's MySpace page, including a recording of her "The End of Silence."
- Seize the Time, a Web site "dedicated to promoting the vision of Elaine Brown."
- Interview with Elaine Brown.
- "Black Panther Party long victimized by campaign of lies", an article by Brown in the March 25, 2000 Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Elaine Brown on Georgia Prison Strike: “Repression Breeds Resistance” - video interview by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...