A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story

481 Pages·1992·7.855 MB·English

by  Elaine Brown

A
TASTE
OF
POWER

ELAINE BROWN
A
T A S T E
O F
P O W E R
A Black
Woman's
Story
ANCHOR BOOKS
DOUBLEDAY
NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY AUCKLAND
AN ANCHOR BOOK
PUBLISHED BY DOUBLEDAY
a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036
ANCHOR BOOKS, DOUBLEDAY, and the portrayal of an anchor are
trademarks of Doubleday, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell
Publishing Group, Inc.
A Taste of Puwer was originally published in hardcover by Pantheon
Books in 1992. The Anchor Books edition is published by
arrangement with Pantheon Books.
Page 451 constitutes a continuation of this copyright page.
Library of Congress Catalogi,ng-in-Publication Data
Brown, Elaine, 1943-
A taste of power : a black woman's story I Elaine Brown. - 1st
Anchor Books ed.
p. cm.
Originally published: New York: Pantheon Books,© 1992.
1. Brown, Elaine, 1943- . 2. Black Panther Party-Biography.
3. Afro-Americans--Biography. 4. Black power-United States.
I. Title.
[El85.97.B866A3 1994]
973' .0496073'0092--ck20
[B] 93-30816
CIP
ISBN 0-385-4 7107-6
Cofryright © 1992 by Elaine Brawn
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION: January 1994
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12
For Ericka Suzanne Brown
Thank you for your gift of life

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1 Assumption 3
2 York Street 17
3 "We Are the Girls Who Don't Take No Stuff" 36
4 Some Other Life 63
5 The Child Has Died 83
6 Getting Black 105
7 Living for the People 132
8 January 17th 156
9 Postmortem 171
10 Dying for the People 185
11 Where Is the Love? 208
viii Contents
12 Becoming Huey's Queen 241
13 Kiss of the Panther 268
14 Sanctuary 295
15 A New Wave to Ride 311
16 Chairman 328
17 A Woman's Revolution 356
18 Alpha and Omega 377
19 Friends and Enemies 401
20 Enemies and Friends 417
21 "I'll Change the World for You" 437
Illustration Credits 452
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Though the writing of this book required eight years of my life
to complete, I was not alone. I was bolstered by a small and special
community of people, whom I wish to acknowledge:
SUZANNE DE PASSE, who made me believe I had a story worth
telling and that I was worthy of telling it.
CALVIN HERNTON, who patiently gave me the tools of his
artistry, and challenged me tenderly to be true to the word and
find the true words.
KAY LEVATTER, my psychotherapist for seven years, who
guided me carefully through the valley of the past.
AMANDA URBAN, my literary agent, who started with me and
stayed with me because she believed in me.
LINDA HEALEY, my editor, whose pen was at once healing and
merciful.
PIERRE ELBY, whose love over the past years gave me the spirit
to see this through and whose support gave me the strength to
do it.
DOROTHY CLARK, my mother, who gave me something more
than I recognized when I set about this writing: the ability to write.
Ix