Review by Choice Review
The Black Panther Party's cultural mythos centers on a strident patriarchal masculinity, promulgated in this vision by the party's cocreators Bobby Seale and Huey Newton and their fellow Black male liberators. Photographer Stephen Shames and former Black Panther Party leader Ericka Huggins counter that mythos with this powerful collection of photographs. Huggins notes that 66 percent of the party members were women and as evidence of that she and Shames--whose work is devoted to social change--collected a treasure trove of photos, documents, testimonials, and histories that bring to life the vibrant contributions these women made to the Black Liberation movement. The book includes pertinent captions and short statements of historical context, but for the most part Shames and Huggins let the women's voices and images stand front and center. This volume is an important corrective to the history of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation in general, a crucial document for responding to the issues the US continues to face in the age of Black Lives Matter. This amazing archive honors these powerful women. Shames and Huggins's wonderful collection will be an invaluable resource for those interested in Black studies and/or photography. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --David Earl Magill, Longwood University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
