Elaine Brown (born March 2, 1943) is an American prison activist, writer, singer, and former Black Panther Party chairwoman who is based in Oakland, California.[1] Brown briefly ran for the Green Party presidential nomination in 2008.[2]

She is currently serving as the COO of Oakland & the World Enterprises, which she founded in 2014.[3]

Early life

Elaine Brown grew up in the inner city of North Philadelphia with her mother Dorothy Clark and an absent father. Despite being in desperate poverty, Brown's mother worked hard to provide for Elaine. She was enrolled in private schooling, took music lessons, and had nice clothing. During her childhood, she studied classical piano and ballet for many years at a predominantly white experimental elementary school. As a young Black woman, Elaine had very few African-American friends and spent most of her time with white people. After graduating from Philadelphia High School for Girls, a public preparatory school for gifted young women, she studied at Temple University for less than a semester. She withdrew from Temple because of her desire to work in the music industry. Brown moved to Los Angeles, California, to become a professional songwriter. While in Los Angeles, Brown enrolled in the University of California Los Angeles. She later went on to briefly attend Mills College and Southwestern University School of Law.[4][5]

Upon arriving in California with little money and few contacts, Brown got work as a cocktail waitress at the strip club The Pink Pussycat. While working at the Pink Pussycat, she met Jay Richard Kennedy, a music executive who taught her about the intricacies of social justice. They became lovers. Brown learnt about political radicalisation first hand while in a relationship with Kennedy. Because of the thorough education on the Civil Rights Movement, Capitalism, and Communism which Kennedy provided to her, Brown later became involved with the Black Liberation Movement. After living together for a brief time in the Hollywood Hills Hotel, the pair parted ways.[6] After this pivotal relationship, Brown's involvement in politics grew and she began working for the radical newspaper Harambee.[7] Soon after, Brown became the first representative of the Black Student Alliance at the Black Congress in California. In April 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., she attended her first meeting of the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panther Party.[8]

Involvement with the Black Panther Party

In 1968, Brown joined the Black Panther Party as a rank-and-file member, studying revolutionary literature, and selling Black Panther Party newspapers. She soon helped the party set up its first Free Breakfast for Children program in Los Angeles, as well as the Party's initial Free Busing to Prisons Program and Free Legal Aid Program.[9]

In 1968, Brown was commissioned by David Hilliard, the Party chief of staff, to record her songs, a request resulting in the album Seize the Time. She eventually assumed the role of editor of the Black Panther publication in the Southern California Branch of the Party.

Brown was part of a U.S. People's Anti-Imperialist Delegation which visited China in 1970, along with fellow prominent party member Eldridge Cleaver.[10]: 39 

In 1971, Brown became a member of the Party's Central Committee as Minister of Information, replacing the expelled Cleaver. In 1973, Brown was commissioned to record more songs by Black Panther Party founder and Minister of Defense Huey P. Newton. These songs resulted in the album Until We're Free.

As part of a directive by Newton, Brown unsuccessfully ran for the Oakland city council in 1973, getting 30 percent of the vote. She ran again in 1975, losing again with 44 percent of the vote.[8] When Newton fled to Cuba in 1974 to avoid criminal charges, he appointed Brown to lead the Black Panther Party. Brown was the only woman to do so. She chaired the Black Panther Party from 1974 until 1977. She dealt with regular sexism because the men were angered by the thought of taking orders from a woman.

During Brown's leadership of the Black Panther Party, she focused on electoral politics and community service. In 1977, she managed Lionel Wilson’s victorious campaign to become Oakland's first black mayor.[9] Also, Brown founded the Panther's Liberation School, which was recognized by the state of California as a model school.[13]

Brown stepped down from chairing the Black Panther Party less than a year after Newton's return from Cuba in 1977, when Newton refused to condemn the beating of Regina Davis, an administrator of the Panther Liberation School. Other male members of the party beat Davis and broke her jaw because she reprimanded a coworker when he did not do an assignment.[14] Newton opted for solidarity with the men. This incident was the point at which Brown could no longer tolerate the sexism and patriarchy of the Black Panther Party.[15] For many, Brown's leaving was seen as a turning point for the Party.[16] She left Oakland with her daughter, Ericka, and moved to Los Angeles – fearing for her personal safety.

Brown recorded two albums: Seize the Time (Vault, 1969) and Until We're Free (Motown Records, 1973).[17] Seize the Time includes "The Meeting", the anthem of the Black Panther Party.