Elaine Brown became, in 1974, the first and only woman to lead the Black Panther Party. In her autobiographical memoir, A Taste of Power: A Black Woman’s Story, Brown recounts her life from the ghettos of North Philadelphia to her leadership in one of the most important and militant civil rights groups in U. S. history.

Today, as an activist, writer and popular lecturer, Brown upholds the original vision of the Panthers and the survival programs they developed like the Free Breakfast Program for Children, Sickle Cell Anemia Testing, free health clinics, Senior Services, among others. She lectures on the vision of an inclusive and egalitarian society, focusing on resolving problems of race, gender oppression and class disparity in the United States.

Brown's latest book is New Age Racism and the Condemnation of “Little B” (Beacon Press, 2002), the story of Michael “Little B” Lewis, a 14-year-old sentenced to life in prison for a Georgia murder Brown says he did not commit. Publisher's Weekly called the book a "damning, often excruciating account of racism in contemporary American society... a narrative that crackles with tension and enormous empathy…extraordinarily powerful.” The New York Times Book Review says the book is “chilling, well written, and profoundly entertaining.” Brown is working for a new trial for Lewis through the Legal Defense Committee for Michael “Little B” Lewis.

She is also president of the nonprofit educational corporation Fields of Flowers, the mission of which is to build a model education center for black and other poor children. She is Director of Political Affairs for the National Alliance for Radical Prison Reform, a board member of Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice, and Vice-President of The Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation. link to site