Brown's A Taste of Power : A Black Woman's Story : In 5 pages, the author discusses Elaine Brown's A Taste of Power : A Black Woman's Story. Bibliography lists one source.

Some people may not be aware of who Elaine Brown is. Those people are not familiar with the Civil Rights Movement, which happened several decades ago. Elaine Brown was one of the major figures in the Black Panthers Party. Unlike some organizations, the Black Panther Party had many leaders, but few women in power. In A Taste of Power : A Black Woman's Story, Elaine Brown chronicles her early life, and her stint a member of and female leader of the Black Panther Party. Those who joined the Black Panther Party, such as Brown, were average members of the African American community who espoused to liberate the Black community, and therefore, make the world a better place for all Blacks.

So, why did Elaine Brown become a member and the first female leader of the Black Panther Party? Brown grew up in Philadelphia in a poor section of town. In her autobiographical book, she tells of how powerless she felt. Brown was the illegitimate daughter of a dentist Her mother was working class. Brown's mother worked hard to give her daughter the means to overcome her physical surroundings. Brown's school associates were white and they had money. Brown did not, therefore she desired and attempted to blend in with them. Brown's mother, Dorothy, worked hard to ensure that her daughter had piano lessons and took ballet as well. Dorothy even bought a second-hand piano for her daughter. Brown became impassioned while in predominately White schools. She wanted to master many literary classics as well as the Latin language. She delighted in the time she was able to spend at school with the Whites and hated the long summers in her neighborhood of Blacks. Brown was able to complete her grade and high school education and go on to college.

Elaine Brown lived in two worlds: the White world of pedagogy, and the Black world of summers. She tried to fit into both worlds. This was done by conforming in each. In the Black world, she learned to use their colloquialisms. She mastered their sassy manner of speaking. In the White world, she manifested a passion for learning. In fact, Elaine Brown was one of the top students in her graduating class.

Elaine Brown did not have a father figure. This may be the reason that she became attracted to men that were powerful. Included among those men was Huey Newton, a significant member of the Black Panther Party. After attending college, Brown turned to politics and also the Black Panther Party. Just as other members of the Black community felt the party was struggling for them, the Black race, so did Elaine Brown. She felt a certain feeling of simpatico with the Black Panther Party. Brown had a somewhat different agenda, however, and while the other members of the Party were becoming increasingly militant, Brown was pushing for social welfare for the Black community. Brown saw a need for medical assistance and food banks for Blacks, as well as schools.

Elaine Brown fought for her beliefs, as did the radicals and not so radicals of the 1960s and 1970s. Just as many Black women have before and after her, Elaine Brown fought oppression. She valiantly fought the opposition. She fought as a poor Black girl in the section of Philadelphia where she grew up. This taught her that she must fight for what she wanted and never cease her relentless determination to do so. In many ways, Brown is like so many other Black women. They have been victimized in one way or another. They grew up in poverty and shame. They attempted to become accepted by the affluent Whites of the nation. They simply wanted a better life for themselves, their peers, and the future generations. Many women have attempted to define themselves vicariously through the lives of others. Black women such as Elaine Brown, took that a step further and made it into action. Brown determined to seek social justice for her race.

Brown suffered at the hands of other Party members, and she ultimately had to flee for her life. At one point during her period in the Black Panther Party, Elaine Brown became the editor of the Black Panther Party's newspaper because of Huey Newton. Newton was a tough disciplinarian in the Party. Violence was regularly used. One example from Brown's book stated:

In many ways, A Taste of Power : A Black Woman's Story, is a story of one woman's struggle and growth for acceptance, yet in another way, it is the story of the struggle of all people that have been oppressed. Brown, unlike many, however, was diligent pioneering the way for all women of all races, not just her own. Although she did not agree with the more militant members of the Black Panther Party, Brown saw the Party as a means to an end.

Brown's life testifies to a power greater than the power of the Black Panther Party; her life testifies to the power of a human being, a Black woman, who was willing to endure a great deal for the cause of bettering society. Brown's power was not her period of leadership in the Party. It was her inner strength, which allowed a girl from the wrong side of town to recreate herself, and work for social justice.

Brown, Elaine. A Taste of Power : A Black Woman's Story. Anchor Books/Doubleday: 1994,

January.