“The Struggle for Justice” has been her Lifelong Pursuit
What: Elaine Brown, an activist and former chair of the Black Panther Party, will speak on “The Struggle for Justice, Then and Now.” March is Women’s History Month.
When: Wednesday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
Where: The Washington Room in Mather Hall on Trinity campus.
Background: Brown has been committed to effecting change in the United States for 40 years. In addition to leading the Black Panther Party and editing the party’s newspaper, she ran for public office in Oakland, CA in 1973 and 1975.
Since chairing the Black Panther Party in 1977, Brown has mostly focused on reform of the criminal justice system. She has authored and edited books about the plight of prisoners and the injustices in the prison system; published articles in support of prison reform; and lectured widely at colleges and universities.
In addition, Brown founded Fields of Flowers, Inc. in Atlanta in 1996. It is an educational nonprofit devoted to educating poor black children. Brown also co-founded Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice in Atlanta in 1998. The grassroots organization advocates for children adjudicated and incarcerated as adults.
She co-founded the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform, also in Atlanta, in 2003 and is an executive board member. Among other things, the organization developed a correspondence network with thousands of prisoners in Georgia and throughout the country. The group also published a newsletter, developed transitional housing for parolees, raised money for prisoner telephone calls, and procured employment for parolees.
She has also run for office as a candidate of the Green Party, and until December 2007, was a candidate for the Green Party nomination for president of the United States. In announcing her decision to withdraw, Brown denounced the party as one “seized by neo-liberal men who entrench the party in internecine antagonisms so as to compromise its stated principles and frustrate its electoral goals.” She also said the Green Party had become “a repository for erstwhile, disgruntled Democrats.”
The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Office of Multicultural Affairs at 860-297-4251.