Elaine Brown became, in 1974, the first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party. Today, as an activist, writer and popular lecturer, she promotes the vision of an inclusive and egalitarian society, focusing on resolving problems of race, gender oppression and class disparity in the United States.
In her autobiographical memoir,
A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story, Brown recounts her life from the ghettos of North Philadelphia to her leadership in one of the most important and militant civil rights groups in U. S. history. The book has been optioned by HBO for its planned six-part series, "The Black Panthers."
Brown is also author of
New Age Racism and the Condemnation of “Little B” (Beacon Press, 2002), the story of Michael “Little B” Lewis, a 14-year-old sentenced to life in prison for a Georgia murder Brown says he did not commit. Publisher's Weekly called the book a "damning, often excruciating account of racism in contemporary American society... a narrative that crackles with tension and enormous empathy…extraordinarily powerful.” Brown is Executive Director of the Legal Defense Committee for Michael “Little B” Lewis, working for a new trial.
Brown has two forthcoming books -
For Reasons of Race and Belief, the biography of Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown) with Karima Al-Amin (2007, Carroll & Graf) and
Trapped! Messages from Behind the Wall, a collection of autobiographical essays by Black prisoners in New Mexico, set for publication by the State's Department of African American Affairs.
She is also president of the nonprofit educational corporation Fields of Flowers, which aims to build a model education center for Black and other poor children. She is a Board member of the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform, a board member of Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice, and Vice-President of The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation.
Having studied classical piano for years, Brown has recorded two albums of original songs, one for Motown records, and her 1969 album, "Seize the Time," which includes The Black Panther Party National Anthem (The Meeting), was re-released in January 2007 by Warner Brothers.
In 2005, Brown ran for mayor of Brunswick, Georgia. Her platform would have created a base of economic power for the city's majority African American and poor population, advocating redistribution of the massive revenues of the city's powerful port. Presently, Brown is a member of the Geechee Council of Georgia and a founder of the Brunswick Women's Association for Community Improvement.
