Elaine Brown's is a story of struggle, of tragedy and triumphs, of rebellion and anti-conformism, both empowering and timely.

Now reissued as a Penguin Modern Classic, Elaine Brown’s memoir of her turbulent life is a compulsively readable, unique slice of American social, cultural and political history. Brown, whose primary focus is now on areas such as prison reform, rose to prominence as part of the leadership of the controversial Black Panthers, from their base in Oakland, California. Here Brown looks back at her life, starting with her childhood in 1940s America. Her early years were spent in a dilapidated corner of Philadelphia, and her experiences there left her with a deeply fragmented sense of self. She was raised by her mother in relative poverty while her estranged father lived in Germantown, a haven for upper-middle-class Black professionals. She lived in a series of rundown houses and apartments but was educated in a school that promoted whiteness as the ideal, creating a lasting sense of confusion over her own identity and possible place in the world.

In her twenties Brown abandoned Philly for California looking for a way to reinvent herself. She worked in an exclusive nightclub, hobnobbed with celebrities including Frank Sinatra; and through happenstance gained an awareness of radical, leftist political thought. It was the early sixties and her commitment to these ideas led her to the growing Black Power movement and later full-blown membership of the Black Panther party. The Panthers were already notorious, loved by some, vilified by others, singled out by J. Edgar Hoover as the single greatest threat to America’s internal security. The Panthers believed in revolutionary struggle and armed resistance to oppression. Their programmes included extensive health and welfare projects that benefited members of local Black communities. but the growing instability of their leader Huey P. Newton also embroiled the organisation in outbursts of internal violence and disturbing purges.

Brown chronicles the Panthers’ shifting, inner dynamics, the years of police harassment and brutality, assassinations and the growing unease she experiences at the actions of Huey P. Newton its leader, as well as her sometimes-intimate partner; and someone Brown briefly replaced during his flight to Cuba in the seventies. She meets with celebrity supporters from Jean Seberg to Jane Fonda, travels to North Korea and Vietnam and works tirelessly to promote political liberation. But Newton’s growing, drug-enhanced instability coupled with an awareness of the need for a feminist perspective finally forced her to abandon her ties to the organisation. Brown’s autobiographical portrait's sharply rendered, evocative and richly-detailed. An absolutely fascinating, important, still-relevant piece. This has now been optioned by Netflix for a feature film which I’m already looking forward to viewing.

This was such a good read. It was well written and I felt like the author was taling directly to me and telling me her story. It was a heartbreaking and emotive read that went into detail about her life growing up as a Black girl/woman and the trials and tribulations that she went through in her life, including other minorities racist behaviour towards her which in itself was shocking.
Although there were some heartbreaking moments there were also some moments of hope. I really admire this woman and her story is definitely one that should be read. I loved it.

What a woman! What a story! What a time to have lived through! But this is more than a book trading on its fiery, bold, possibly controversial contents - Brown can really write.

The first part is superb on the complicated pathology of race as Brown, born in 1943 and living in poverty in Philadelphia is bright enough to go to 'mixed' schools/university, and tries to think of herself as socially/culturally 'white' and not like most other Black girls. Alongside this is an account of a girl's coming of age: the push-pull of her relationship with an emotionally-needy mother, the heartbreak of dating a Jewish boyfriend whose parents will disown him for having a Black girlfriend, the friendships and struggle for selfhood.

There is an unexpected interlude when Brown moves to California, takes up waitressing and finds herself mixing in Frank Sinatra's circle until her political consciousness is awakened.

After this, the tone of the book changes to recount Brown's experience in the Black Panther Party in the 1960s and 1970s, a time when people still believed in revolution in America. With all-out war with Hoover's FBI determined not to allow the rise of another 'Black messiah' after the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, this is a bloody period and Brown spares us none of it.

A story of tragedy and triumphs, of a struggle against racism and misogyny, capitalism and conservative authoritarianism - we know how this will end, but it's glorious and exhilarating living vicariously through an era when politics really might - might - have taken a different turn.