Black Panther Woman

Mary Frances Phillips (Author) Mary Frances Phillips is a scholar-activist, public intellectual, and Associate Professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her interdisciplinary research agenda focuses on race and gender in post-1945 social movements and the carceral state. Her scholarly interests include the Modern Black Freedom Struggle, Black Feminism, and Black Power Studies. Charlene A. Carruthers (Foreword by) Charlene A. Carruthers served as the founding national director of BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100) and is author of the bestselling book, Unapologetic: A Black, Queer and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements.

"A distinctive, memorable story that powerfully shows what it takes to survive as a political prisoner in the U.S."-- "Library Journal, STARRED" "A remarkable story of awakening, commitment, grit, and fearlessness in the wake of personal pain, grassroots struggle, and state violence. This first-ever historical biography of Ericka Huggins is itself a meditation on the pertinence and power of spiritual wellness and encourages us to consider what a radically holistic movement for liberation might need. Wholly original and illuminating!"--Rhonda Y. Williams, author of Concrete Demands: The Search for Black Power in the 20th Century "Activism grounded in love. Phillips enlarges the history of the Black Panthers by showing women's experiences as integral to the group's work. A revealing, well-researched biography."-- "Kirkus Reviews" "Both a memoir and an interpretive history of the Black Panther Party, Mary Frances Phillips gives us a tender rendering of Ericka Huggins's prison organizing and path to spiritual wellness. The cross-fertilization of radical resistance with care strategies captures a more nuanced portrait of the Black Panther Party."--Ula Y. Taylor, author of The Promise of Patriarchy: Women and the Nation of Islam "In this groundbreaking biography, Phillips, a scholar, activist and professor, immerses readers in the life and legacy of Ericka Huggins, a revered Black Panther Party member, as well as a mother, widow, educator, poet and former political prisoner who brought spiritual self-care practices to the Party."-- "Essence" "This book serves as an invaluable toolkit for contemporary activists, underscoring the power of radical acts of care as well as vital strategies to thrive in the world."-- "Black Perspectives" "This groundbreaking volume is more than the first book-length treatment of Ericka Huggins. Phillips' most poignant contribution is focused on Huggins as a spiritual seeker and leader."-- "Ms. Magazine" "Deftly and ethically tackling the challenge of writing about a living historical figure who was involved in an impactful resistance movement, Phillips positions Huggins's life as a lesson about how to sustain political struggle through spiritual development. Black Panther Woman enmeshes oral history, corroborating interviews, and critical documentary assessment to offer a truly textured analysis not only of one person's life, but a demonstration of the virtue of patient rigor. Phillips sits still with Huggins in order to deepen the collective narrative of an already layered telling of the Black Panther Party. Her detailed review of Huggins' life--before, during, and after imprisonment--identifies the joy that is possible through liberatory skill building in ways that resist the growth of dehumanizing institutions and carceral states. Historically, soulful political organizing has been essential and the way Phillips portrays Huggins' life models ways to cultivate collective self-care in order to effectively deal with systemic oppression in our own time. With words and records that are at once reflective and introspective, Phillips creates a stunning mosaic of Huggins and her time."--Stephanie Y. Evans, author of Black Women's Yoga History: Memoirs of Inner Peace "Phillips' book interrupts the conventionally heterosexual narrative of the Panthers' history... Black Panther Woman performs an important service in exposing the atrocities of the prison system and the FBI's lawless persecution of the Black Panther Party."-- "Gay & Lesbian Review"