Liberation, Imagination, and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Panthers and Their Legacy [Paperback]

Kathleen Cleaver (Editor), George Katsiaficas (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415927846 | ISBN-13: 978-0415927840 | Publication Date: March 22, 2001 | Edition: 1st

This fascinating book gathers reflections by scholars and activists who consider the impact of the Black Panther Party, the BBP, the most significant revolutionary organization in the later 20th century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

... a fresh and realistic look at the Black Panther Party and its historical impact. - Library Journal, 11/2000.
The most important collection of work on the Black Panther Party to date. It covers the full range of the complex politics that shaped their struggles for freedom and justice and we learn just how far away we are from achieving their vision of liberation. - Hazel V. Carby, , Chair, Department of African American Studies, Yale University.
The history of the Black Panther Party is an indispensable part of the dramatic account of black struggle in this country, and this book is an important contribution to that history. The essayists have impressive credentials as either members of the Party or keen observers of its activities, and because they carry the story into the present day the book becomes especially valuable. -Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States.
If this volume of essays only offered us documentation and insight into the contributions and wide-ranging influence of the Black Panther Party, it would have immense historical significance. But Kathleen Cleaver's and George Katsiasficas's collection does much more. It creates intriguing and provocative conversations among scholars, activists, contemporary political prisoners and original members of the BPP that invite us to extricate ourselves from the numbing nostalgia that often accompanies invocations of black berets and leather jackets. It invites us reimagine our relationship to this past and to think critically about the meaning of liberation today..
–Angela Y. Davis, Professor, History of Consciousness, UC Santa Cruz

If this volume of essays only offered us documentation and insight into the contributions and wide-ranging influence of the Black Panther Party, it would have immense historical significance. But Kathleen Cleaver's and George Katsiasficas's collection does much more. It creates intriguing and provocative conversations among scholars, activists, contemporary political prisoners and original members of the BPP that invite us to extricate ourselves from the numbing nostagia that often accompanies invocations of black berets and leather jackets. It invites us reimagine our relationship to this past and to think critically about the meaning of liberation today. -Angela Y. Davis, Professor, History of Consciousness, UC Santa Cruz.

About the Author

Kathleen Cleaver, currently Professor of Public Policy at Emory University, worked full time with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and afterwards became the Communications Secretary of the Black Panther Party. Returning to the United States after sharing years of exile with her former husband Eldridge Cleaver, she subsequently earned both a B.A. and J.D. from Yale University. George Katsiaficas is a long-time activist as well as Editor of the journal New Political Science and author of The Imagination of the New Left: A Global Analysis of 1968. His book, The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life, won the APSA's 1998 Michael Harrington book award. He teaches at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Routledge / Taylor & Francis Group; 1st edition (March 22, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415927846
• ISBN-13: 978-0415927840
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #458,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent, February 7, 2007

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Pen Name? "fluxus" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Liberation, Imagination, and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Panthers and Their Legacy (Paperback)

You can really gain a lot of factual/historical background and intellectual insight into the Black Panthers from this collection of essays. Really a great resource for anyone who cares about the movement, is interested in the reality of what we broadly call the "civil rights movement" and the era in which the Panthers evolved, anyone interested in the complex struggles of a radical group, anyone interested in government surveillance and covert attacks, etc. Well, lots of stuff to get you thinking.

Most recommended for the reader with some background in the Panthers and the historical context in general, but approachable without a lot of specialized knowledge.

4.0 out of 5 stars Expand the Basic Premise, October 16, 2009

By 

SOG "SOG" (Lower Swanwick, Hants, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liberation, Imagination, and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Panthers and Their Legacy (Paperback)

The message here is constrained! As a member of the 'comfortable hippy but school-attending' midddle-class" generation(apparently that's my Social Class???) , reading his Black-White polemic is uncomfortable unless you turn the message into a 'Rich-Poor'division. It is a Universal message but social freedoms then were smaller. Nice book but dated

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, March 20, 2007

By 

Hampton - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liberation, Imagination, and the Black Panther Party: A New Look at the Panthers and Their Legacy (Paperback)

A "must have", if you will, to those who are intrested in the history of the Black Panthers. The articles written by several authors covers the whole range of things associated with the Panthers and provides insights and information that make this book essential to your education.