Elaine Brown, the only woman ever to lead the Black Panther party, is showing there is more fire in the furnace when it comes to fighting for what’s right.
“Nobody knows how I did it,” she said. “I don’t even know how I did it. But I forced my way into the system to get enough money to do this.”
Determined to work only with Black contractors to build the Black Panther, Brown hired Antoine Long as the Project manager. Long said this is not something you see every day. “It’s very significant,” Long said. “It means a lot when people come people see that then they kind of get a different sense of you know, I can do that I can be there it can be possible.” Fellow activists, Misty Cross and Tolani King, share similar sentiments. Cross, who stayed with King in a vacant home in the area to highlight the housing crisis, said this project is an amazing opportunity. “It gives them an opportunity to be a part of Oakland’s development,” Cross said.
“As we see all these nice buildings going up there unaffordable for us. So, to see a nice project being affordable for black people to live in. It’s a great opportunity.”
Brown served as chair of the Black Panther Party, which was founded in 1966 in Oakland by Huey P Newton. The organization was committed to fighting for the rights of people in marginalized communities, including housing, health care, and education for the Black community.
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Source: Black Enterprise
