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With her classic book newly republished, former Black Panther Party leader Elaine Brown spoke to Yuri Prasad about life in the revolutionary group, and anti-racism today

Sunday 20 March 2022

Elaine Brown is one of the last surviving leaders of the Black Panther Party. The revolutionary group was famed for its uncompromising fight against racism and capitalism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In particular, the Panthers were known for their Marxism and for being prepared to bear arms.

Brown was a talented rank and file member who joined the organisation at its high point in 1968. She rose to become the editor of its newspaper, its minister of information and, ultimately in 1973, its chairwoman. As the group struggled to survive state assassinations, bomb attacks and FBIinstigated internal fights, Brown held the Panthers together.

She talked to Socialist Worker about revolution and the themes of her republished book, A Taste of PowerA Black Womans Story. We began by discussing the wave of Black Lives Matter protests that followed the police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. And we talked about the differences between those fights and the struggles of fifty years ago.

I have said many times that I dont see where theres a movement here. Theres just a slogan, Brown declared. The only thing that is similar is the process of becoming aware of the conditions that cause so much pain.

For Brown the key questions are strategy and political organisation. In this she insists there are marked differences between what was happening in late 1960s America and what is happening now.

I dont see anything like the Black Panther Party or the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee or the Southern Christian Leadership Organisation, or any other organisation that has been formed as a result of this collective rage, she said. Certainly not one that is actually addressing the causes of the problems. Who is dealing with all of the issues that George Floyds murder represents, which are the poverty of black people, the continued oppressive state, and so on? I dont see anyone challenging the United States government.

Brown has clearly thought hard about why no organisation emerged from Black Lives Matter protests of 2020. At its height this movement was able to mobilise thousands of people often in pitched battles with the police. There are things that are true today that were not true back in my day, she explained.

The conditions are such that a number of black people have arrived at a level of comfort. Theyre not really afraid of getting killed by the sheriff if they go out to vote. That comfort is something that the mass movements of the 1960s created, Brown thinks.

We kicked open doors to create these positions for elected officials who pretend to have some consciousness but dont do anything. And this comfort has in turn created a reliance on the system that promises to address all these ills without really demonstrating what unites them.

Its as though theyre not tied together, she added. And, because of that, they are not really talking about capitalism. Thats why it doesnt translate into anything concrete. Dr Martin Luther King talked about the urgency of now. Theres no sense of urgency now.

A second reason for the lack of organisation that Brown pointed to is fear. Nobody wants to give up anything at all to accomplish this. Nobodys willing to say, as Dr King said, and as we in the Black Panther Party said, Im ready to die for this. And people did diemy comrades and all the other people that sacrificed their lives.

Brown also highlights the way the establishment and the media have framed the discussion of the fight against racism in the 1960s and 70s. This has limited the narrative to one of democratic rights in the Deep South. We could see black people being hosed by the police. So today we think of civil rights as fighting against black people being hosed because thats what we saw via television.

Looking back to how she became a revolutionary in 1968, Brown said she felt there was very little choice for people like her. By the time I stumbled upon the Black Panther Party in Southern California, [party founder] Huey Newton had been involved in a shootout with police in West Oakland, she explained. He had become a national hero for black people. Not because he was a victim like George Floyd, but because he was alleged to have shot that cop that would have killed him.

Every one of the sisters that I knew were all tough broads. And we had to be tough when we joined the party. We didnt join for some man, we were revolutionaries.

Elaine Brown

I had been thinking that I was a conscious black person, doing my writing for the little newspaper in the Black Congress organisation I was involved in. Everybody was militant. Everybody was everything until the Black Panther Party came and drew a line in the sand.

They said, Well all this is nice, this conversation, but Huey Newton has just been charged with killing a cop. So youre talking about police brutality, youre talking about this stuff, but youre really not making a move. So the difference is now going to be that we have to take action.

The question the Panthers put was, according to Brown, Do you want to keep on playing around with what youre doing and thinking that youre doing something meaningful, now that you know it is not meaningful?

For Brown, the answers clear. What else can you do but surrender your life to the revolution? she asked. In the late 1960s as the revolution grew to embrace womens emancipation and gay liberation, the Black Panthers increasingly incorporated the issues into its programme.

The party was dominated by men. Even though there are people who would like to pretend that at some point it was mostly women, thats just not true, Brown insisted. But I would say that every one of the sisters that I knew were all tough broads. And we had to be tough when we joined the party. We didnt join for some man, we were revolutionaries.

The mainstream womens liberation politics of the time, represented by people such as Gloria Steinem and her Ms. magazine, wasnt arguing for fundamental change in America. They just wanted to make sure women broke through the glass ceiling, so that we too could oppress people and become corporate leaders like men did.

But the Black Panther Party, and the parties we were affiliated with, were the only organisations that identified the question of womens liberation and gay liberation as a part of our overall struggle.

Brown remains convinced that revolution should still be the aim for people fighting for change today. Is it a goal? All I know is that it is my goal. We will never be a free people without it, she exclaimed defiantly. The word might be confusing or scary. People like to think that its some kind of 1960s word.

But the bottom line is that the Empire of the United States, which has caused our enslavement, cannot continue like this. We cannot continue with this world system. Most people are poor, and yet some are so rich that it is almost unfathomable. But in order for them to have that wealth the rest of the people have to be poor. Its a requirement. Im not alright with the current scheme of accepting mass oppression and poverty.

Looking back at her time in the Black Panther Party, Brown is rightly proud of its achievements. My old comrades and I talk about it even now, and we say it was the best time of our lives and we were putting our lives on the line. We loved the party. We loved being in the party. We loved it though it was hard.

A Taste of PowerA Black Womans Story by Elaine Brown republished by Penguin Modern Classics available to buy for 10.99

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'Revolution is my goal'interview with former Black Panther Elaine Brown - Socialist Worker

Justin Gomez, a Bay Area native and creator of the Black Lives Matter mural that gained national attention in Martinez, spoke to Diablo Valley College students on Mar. 7 about the events that led to the mural, how it went viral across the internet and how the experience affected his personal life.

In 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement surged in popularity following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, along with other police killings of Black people. Protests erupted across the nation, but Gomez wanted to do something different to make his voice heard.

I had found myself needing to do something, he said. Theres just a feeling of hopelessness and anxiety. And as someone who is a person of color, [I was] thinking about what this moment means for me.

Those feelings prompted him to send a text message call-to-action to 12 people, suggesting they speak out against police brutality and shut down the Martinez Farmers Market with a peaceful protest. More than 300 people showed up for the protest. But that was just the beginning.

White supremacy recruitment flyers were soon posted around Martinez in the weeks following the protest. Seeing the flyers made Gomez upset, but it also motivated him to do something more than just protest, he said. So he reached out to the City of Martinez, which co-signed an agreement to establish a temporary Black Lives Matter mural. On the 4th of July, communities came together and painted a block-long mural that read Black Lives Matter on the streets of Martinez.

But not even one hour after the murals completion, a Trump-supporting couple began to paint over the BLM mural with black paint. The couple hurled verbal abuse at the people who were recording their actions with cell phones, telling them to stop. The mural would be restored by the end of the day, but tensions didnt stop there. The video of the couple went viral, as celebrities and mainstream news outlets reposted the clip. As a result, the District Attorneys office charged the couple with a hate crime.

Within 48 hours I was on the phone with the New York Times and the Washington Post, which felt very surreal, Gomez said. For several days I was on standby with producers from CNN to do a story with Don Lemon.

As the creator of the mural, Gomez also came under direct attack from angered residents. He received many threats some 33 in all including from people photographing his residence. After I started getting all these screenshots sent to me, Im looking at my two small children and my partner and we dont feel safe at our home our home address was published online, he said. Some of Gomezs neighbors experienced harassment as well.

Gomez went online and told people what was happening to him and his family. Close friends and the community then came together to spend time with his family, watching out for them to make sure they remained safe. Finally, to lighten the weight of events and to show that the community would not be intimidated, Gomez helped organize another peaceful protest in the city.

In the aftermath, Gomez said, he felt the City of Martinez had failed in its duty to protect his family despite the numerous threats he was receiving. In terms [of] the city council, there was a complete, total failure of the elected leadership, said Gomez.

The pair of vandals that targeted the BLM mural were ultimately charged and chose to go to trial, but the case has been delayed due to the pandemic. The couple faces other charges as well.

The mural, which was always intended to be temporary, has since been removed. Now, Gomez said, Martinez city officials are trying to come up with a similar project that can be permanent to spread the same message of racial justice.

Theres definitely a desire to recreate something like that somewhere in city space where we can affirm the identities of community members of color here in Martinez.

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How a Black Lives Matter Mural in Martinez Went Viral and Changed Justin Gomez's Life - The Inquirer

The London Metropolitan Police have come under fire under they strip-searched a 15-year-old Black student at her school.

The incident took place at her school in Hackney, East London. Child Q was accused by a teacher of having marijuana in her possession. The teacher reported her and police then strip-searched her without an appropriate adult being present or her mother being contacted.

She was menstruating at the time. No contraband was found in her possession.

Someone walked into the school, where I was supposed to feel safe, took me away from the people who were supposed to protect me and stripped me naked, while on my period, Child Q, said in a statement via her attorney. I cant go a single day without wanting to scream, shout, cry or just give up. I dont know if Im going to feel normal again. But I do know this cant happen to anyone else, ever again.

So theyre doing a March for #ChildQ but theyre marching for black boys and black girls. This is what irritates me. Im not denying what black boys go through in schools, but Child Q is a black girl. And what happened to her is gendered issue rooted in misogynoir.. [cont.] pretty black cute (@afrorckprincess) March 17, 2022

Her attorney also released her own statement: It is unlikely that Child Q would have been treated in this humiliating and degrading way had she not been Black. Child Q and her family are hopeful that the recommendations of the review panel will be carefully considered and implemented so that another child is not exposed to a similar traumatic experience.

Before the strip-search, officers searched the childs bag, blazer, scarf and shoes.

The Independent Office is investigating the case for Police Conduct (IOPC). All three officers are under investigation for potential disciplinary offenses over how Child Q was treated.

My heart breaks for Child Q and her family. Shame on her school and the @metpoliceuk who failed her, abused her & traumatised her. Wishing healing for her and FULL accountability of every adult responsible for this trauma inflicted upon her.

A spokesperson for Black Lives Matter UK expressed its disgust over the incident: Once again, we are reminded of the fact that the police are the perpetrators and there are no lengths they wouldnt go to inflict harm on vulnerable people.

The horrific strip search of a Black girl at school is a clear example of why police should not be in places of education. While politicians have recently called for more police officers to be stationed in schools across the capital, children are being traumatized in spaces that should be safe.

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'Black Lives Matter' Condemns Police After 15-Year-Old Black Girl Is Strip-searched at School: 'Children Are Being Traumatized in Spaces That Should...

The Met alone accounted for 5.2m of the 18m spend over six years nearly a third of the entire national total.

The findings have sparked alarm among campaigners, who point to the Mets history of using undercover cops to target peaceful activists groups, some of whom have formed romantic relationships and even had children with the people they are surveilling.

Police in Wales were secretly recorded last year trying to recruit a Black Lives Matter (BLM) activist to be an informant.

Lowri Davies, who was one of the organisers for Swansea BLM group, accused the police of grooming to entice me into being an informant, adding: I was asked to be an informant under manipulative false pretences, and asked questions that made me fear for my safety as well as the safety of my loved ones. Last month, Swansea BLM group decided to close down, citing the attempted recruitment as one of the reasons.

Last July, a former police officer turned environmental campaigner claimed the Met tried to recruit him to spy on Extinction Rebellion.

And in January, a tribunal ordered the Met and the National Police Chiefs Council to pay 229,000 in compensation to an environmental activist who was deceived into having a sexual relationship with an undercover officer. An inquiry into undercover policing is ongoing.

Using FOI requests, openDemocracy asked the UKs 48 police forces how much they had spent on informants since 2015, including on informants within BLM and green groups.

Of the 32 police forces that disclosed figures, Kent Police, Thames Valley Police, West Midlands Police, Police Scotland and Police Service of Northern Ireland were among the biggest spenders.

Kevin Blowe from the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol) told openDemocracy: Policing's knee-jerk response to any question about its intelligence capabilities is always to 'neither confirm nor deny'. However the detail behind these figures matter

We know national units are particularly interested in new and emerging campaigns and there is evidence this has recently included Black Lives Matter campaigners, not least because the policing's own inspectorate body has said so.

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Police refuse to say if Black Lives Matter targeted as forces spend 18m on informants - Open Democracy

Over the past 20 years, historians interest in Black Power has grown. However, many historiographical gaps remain. A new research group, which will officially start in May, aims to bridge some of them. To better understand its influence on Americas democracy and the values associated with it, the researchers want to take a fresh look at the Black Power movement.

The 1960s and 1970s had profound implications for debates on race and democracy and continue to do so today. In this context, we want to examine the lesser known Black Power groups as well as neglected topics and, in this way, illustrate the struggle between competing ideals of US democracy and their long-term ramifications, explains Professor Simon Wendt. The prime intention is to combine gender, social, intellectual and political history. What effect did the Black Power movements anti-racist struggle have on interpretations of what constitutes a just and democratic society?

The research group is primarily composed of three doctoral projects. One of these projects focuses on the tensions between the Black Power and Gay Liberation movements and how they collaborated. To what extent did different perceptions of what constitutes a just and democratic nation help or hinder the two movements quest for full equality? Another project investigates the arguments of critics of the Black Power movement in the 1960s and 1970s to find out how debates about racism left their imprint on various social groups understanding of US democracy. The third project is the first study of the history of the National Black United Front (NBUF), an African American organisation that was founded in 1980 in New York by former Black Power activists. The central question here is whether and how the understanding of US democracy and the tactics of the African American freedom struggle have evolved following the demise of the Black Power movement. Two additional studies complement the three subprojects: an ongoing doctoral dissertation looks at how religion shaped the Black Power movement. The second study aims to condense the deluge of post-1945 historical studies on African American activism into a general history of the Black Power movement. Were expecting to have five monographs by the end of the funding period, all of which will make important contributions to the study of the Black Power movement and US democracy, says Wendt. Only by knowing the history of this movement, he adds, can we understand Black Lives Matter today.

The research group will receive funding of around 180,000 from the Gerda Henkel Foundation up until 2025.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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The roots of #BlackLivesMatter - EurekAlert