A Film On Black Panther Party Leader Elaine Brown Is In The Works

Source: YouTube

Elaine Brown, the first and only woman to ever lead the Black Panther Party, is having her memoir adapted into a feature film.

In a report from Deadline, Brown's 1992 memoir, A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story, has been acquired by The Firm. The adaptation will be produced by Robbie Brenner (Dallas Buyers Club) with The Firm's Jeff Kwatinetz and Kevin McKeon. A writer has not been attached to the project yet."Elaine is a true revolutionary. We are so thrilled to work with such an extraordinary woman and, after getting to know Elaine personally, I am deeply humbled to have the opportunity to bring her inspirational story to the big screen," Brenner said.

READ: University Of California Berkeley Receives Federal Funding For Black Panther Party Project

"Elaine is a true revolutionary. We are so thrilled to work with such an extraordinary woman and, after getting to know Elaine personally, I am deeply humbled to have the opportunity to bring her inspirational story to the big screen," Brenner said.

Brown led the party from 1974 to 1977 while co-founder Huey Newton was in exile in Cuba. In A Black Woman's Story Brown discusses the struggles she endured as the leader of the party, writing:

A woman in the Black Power movement was considered, at best, irrelevant. A woman asserting herself was a pariah. If a black woman assumed a role of leadership, she was said to be eroding black manhood, to be hindering the progress of the black race. She was an enemy of the black people...I knew I had to muster something mighty to manage the Black Panther Party.

Now at the age of 74, she is still involved in activism and politics, having even run for president of the Green Party back in 2008. Recently, it was announced that the National Park Service has awarded the University of California, Berkeley, close to $98,000 for a project dedicated to the legacy of the Black Panther Party.

It will be led by Dr. Ula Y. Taylor, the incoming chair of the Department of African American Studies at UC Berkeley, as well as include consultants knowledgeable about the history of BPP such as J. Tarika Lewis (the first female to join the Black Panther Party in Oakland) and Paul Lee (he served as a historical consultant on Spike Lee‘s Malcolm X and Eyes on the Prize II). The total anticipated award amount will be $97,999.70.

Source: deadline.com