Wicked Wednesdays

Wicked Wednesday

During a time where people of color were fighting daily to have our basic rights, there was a sub group of people that had a whole other struggle that was going unrecognized or maybe just devalued. While fighting next to men everyday in a war of equality, women were still struggling to be considered equal to their counterparts. Here are a few natural women that helped both people of color and women in general become recognized as people.

Elaine Brown

The Black Panther Party is praised for the work that it did for the Black community and the power and confidence it provided to our people. But, they still struggled to see women as equivalent. Elaine Brown was one of few female leaders in the Black Panther Party and was appointed by Huey Newton, himself. While in power she put a focus on community service and founded the Panthers Liberation School. She was once asked how she felt about being a Black Panther and answered with the following,"It meant surrendering our lives to something greater, which was the notion of, of getting rid of oppression and all the things that oppression meant and mean in this country for Black people and other people in the country."

Kathleen Cleaver

Kathleen Cleaver was the Communications Secretary of the Black Panther Party. She became involved with the party after meeting her future husband, Eldridge Cleaver, at a student conference at Fisk University. In addition to being the secretary she also was a spokesperson and press secretary for the party. When Huey Newton was jailed, she led the campaign to free him and she also placed third when she ran for California's 18th state assembly district as a member of the Peace and Freedom Party. She and her husband often found themselves being harassed by the police as a result of their dedication to the Black Panther Party.

Assata Shakur

Assata Shakur was also a member of the Black Panther Party and eventually left and became a member of the Black Liberation Movement. After being pulled over by a member of the New Jersey Police Department in 1973 she was shot twice and charged with the murder of a police officer. She and her comrade were convicted of murder even though there was no evidence of her having a weapon on her person or firing any weapons and sentenced to life in prison. She escaped from NJ Edna Mahan Correctional Facility after 6.5 Years and fled to Cuba. She still remains in Cuba and is revered as leader in the movement for the Black Liberation Movement, Student Rights Movement and The Movement to End the War in Vietnam.

Safiya Bukhari

Safiya Bukhrai became a part of the movement in 1969 when she intervened on behalf of a young Panther whom was being harassed by the police for selling the Party’s newspaper on a street corner. After defending the young Panther’s First Amendment right, she found herself handcuffed in the back of a police car. Her focuses as an activist were on community and welfare rights. She led self defense lessons, volunteered her time to the liberation school, sold the Black Panther paper, taught political education classes and even joined in the Breakfast for children program. After only being involved in the party for two years, she became the leader of the New York chapter’s Information and Communications. After her work with the Black Panther Party she also became involved with The Black Liberation Army. After her release from prison, where she served close to 9 years, she continued her work with a focus on political support for incarcerated political prisoners and former Panthers.

Tarika Lewis

Tarika Lewis is often recognized as the first woman to join the Black Panther Party. She found the party during her work in the Black Student Union at Oakland Tech where she led sit ins for Black studies courses. She has recounted many stories about the struggles of being a woman in the Black Panther Party. She recalls having to work harder than her male counterparts just to prove that she was equal to them and the threats of rape from police officers that were made to her and her female peers. She taught drill class and led political education sessions during her work as a Panther.

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