A Taste of Power

As an introvert with an active social life, I am in a constant state of "preparing" for chit chat. Sometimes the preparation is mental (e.g., sitting a dark room for a while) or physical (e.g., gulping down espresso shots), but usually, it is pretty practical.

While preparing for a date recently, I found myself scrolling through a list of "conversation starters" that I had found online. I read each question to myself and then thought about potential answers that would highlight the parts of me that are interesting and fun. Most of my answers were nonspecific and included a range of possibilities. There was only one question where I immediately came to a definitive answer: what is your favorite book? I'm so proud to have clarity about this point that I decided to make it the focus of this blog entry!

My favorite book is an autobiography, A Taste of Power by Elaine Brown. I love this book for so many reasons. The writing is lovely – the language flows like poetry – and the story itself captures the experience of black womanness better than many other books I've read. Here is an excerpt of a summary from the publisher's website:

Elaine Brown assumed her role as the first and only female leader of the Black Panther Party with these words: "I have all the guns and all the money. I can withstand challenge from without and from within. Am I right, Comrade?" 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 country—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.

Brown'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 era's paradigm-shifting clashes of sex and power. Stunning, lyrical, and acute, this is the indelible testimony of a black woman's battle to define herself.

My favorite aspect of the book is that it tells the truth about the majesty and vision of the Black Panther Party. Did you know that a free breakfast program designed and implemented by the Black Panthers inspired the meal programs currently available in public schools? A Taste of Power does a great job of clarifying the impact of this vital movement. You have to check it out!

Or, if you'd prefer to watch a documentary about the Black Panther Party, check out The Black Panthers, Vanguard of the Revolution.

Genia Wright, Free Time Aficionado

www.geniawright.com