A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story

A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story

Elaine Brown assumed her role as the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party with these words: â€œI have all the guns and all the money. I can withstand challenge from without and from within. Am I right, Comrade?â€ It was August 1974. From a small Oakland-based cell, the Panthers had grown to become a revolutionary national organization, mobilizing black communities and white supporters across the countryâ€”but relentlessly targeted by the police and the FBI, and increasingly riven by violence and strife within. How Brown came to a position of power over this paramilitary, male-dominated organization, and what she did with that power, is a riveting, unsparing account of self-discovery.
Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Brownâ€™s story begins with growing up in an impoverished neighborhood in Philadelphia and attending a predominantly white school, where she first sensed what it meant to be black, female, and poor in America. She describes her political awakening during the bohemian years of her adolescence, and her time as a foot soldier for the Panthers, who seemed to hold the promise of redemption. And she tells of her ascent into the upper echelons of Panther leadership: her tumultuous relationship with the charismatic Huey Newton, who would become her lover and her nemesis; her experience with the male power rituals that would sow the seeds of the party's demise; and the scars that she both suffered and inflicted in that eraâ€™s paradigm-shifting clashes of sex and power. Stunning, lyrical, and acute, this is the indelible testimony of a black womanâ€™s battle to define herself.

â€œA glowing achievement.â€ â€”Los Angeles Times
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â€œHonest, funny, subjective, unsparing, and passionate. . .Â A Taste of PowerÂ weaves autobiography and political history into a story that fascinates and illuminates.â€ â€”The Washington Post
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â€œA stunning picture of a black womanâ€™s coming of age in America. Put it on the shelf besideÂ The Autobiography of Malcolm X.â€ â€”Kirkus Reviews

From the Trade Paperback edition.
Country USA
Manufacturer Anchor
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2015-05-20
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Anchor
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2015-05-20
Format	Kindle eBook

A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story

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