Comrade Sisters - (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

• Foreword by Angela Davis: "This stunning collection of historical photographs, complimented by contemporary conversations with women members of the Black Panther Party, reminds us that women were literally the heart of this new political approach to Black freedom."

Many of us have heard these three words: Black Panther Party. Some know the Party's history as a movement for the social, political, economic and spiritual upliftment of Black and indigenous people of color - but to this day, few know the story of the backbone of the Party: the women.

It's estimated that six out of ten Panther Party members were women. While these remarkable women of all ages and diverse backgrounds were regularly making headlines agitating, protesting, and organizing, off-stage these same women were building communities and enacting social justice, providing food, housing, education, healthcare, and more. Comrade Sisters is their story.

The book combines photos by Stephen Shames, who at the time was a 20-year-old college student at Berkeley. With the complete trust of the Black Panther Party, Shames took intimate, behind-the-scenes photographs that fully portrayed Party members' lives. This marks his third photo book about the Black Panthers and includes many never before published images.

Ericka Huggins, an early Party member and leader along with Bobby Seale and Huey Newton, has written a moving text, sharing what drew so many women to the Party and focusing on their monumental work on behalf of the most vulnerable citizens. Most importantly, the book includes contributions from over fifty former women members - some well-known, others not - who vividly recall their personal experiences from that time. Other texts include a foreword by Angela Davis and an afterword by Alicia Garza. All Power to the People.

We are very excited to share with you a preview of what's to come!

Review Quotes

...a love letter to the women whose stories have been largely overlooked in the documentation of the work and resistance of the Black Panther Party. The photographs show smiling faces full of love and tenderness, while the oral histories remind us of the commitment and intentionality behind the work.-- "Voice of Witness"

Asking what motivated the women redefining service provision and community in the Black Panther Party, of which she was a key member, activist Ericka Huggins provides readers with a deceptively concise answer: love. This collection... honors their legacy by weaving Huggins's reflections on her fellow "comrade sisters" together with photographer Stephen Shames's black-and-white shots of the Black Panther Party's activities. "However, the book doesn't only represent women's influence in domestic or caregiving roles," Staff Writer Taylor Michael reports. "Black women can be seen alongside men in courtrooms, at podiums, and in positions of power." From food giveaways to protests to a young girl mastering addition in a math workshop, intimate moments between community members are paired with Huggins's words to highlight the crucial work of the women who built and sustained the movement.-- "Hyperallergic"

Because of the trust that Shames [the photographer] established, he was able to make intimate photographs that are really quite different than a lot of media coverage of the Panthers. In his new book...Shames takes us away from a dominant view of the Black Panthers by focusing on the women, not the men, who were involved at that time....Interestingly enough...some six out of 10 people in the Black Panthers were women. This is what Shames's new book is all about. It peels back the curtain on their lives and contributions to the movement. While the women of the Black Panther Party were definitely working alongside their male counterparts agitating and protesting, they also were instrumental in..."building communities and enacting social justice, providing food, housing, education, health care, and more"....This is precisely what Shames's photos show. "In Sight,"-- "The Washington Post"

From schools to free food and health care, the group's majority female membership carried out life-sustaining, grass-roots programs that went far beyond politics....This book rewrites the record through images and testimonials of the women who -- as teachers, students, writers, musicians, medics, mothers, daughters, aunties, worshipers, factory laborers and so much more -- grew a movement by taking the well-being of the community into their own hands.-- "The New York Times"

The book is a powerful record of an intense period of grassroots activism and political engagement, a counter-narrative to the one propagated by J Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, who called the Panthers "the greatest threat to the internal security of the country".... a dynamic visual and oral testament to the crucial role played by women in a revolutionary group whose figureheads, with a few exceptions, were men....Alongside Shames's powerful images of a moment of black activism that echoes through the decades to this day, [the women's] stories evoke a time in which young black women experienced life-changing personal empowerment and collective possibility."-- "The Guardian"

This book rewrites the record through images and testimonials of the women who -- as teachers, students, writers, musicians, medics, mothers, daughters, aunties, worshipers, factory laborers and so much more -- grew a movement by taking the well-being of the community into their own hands.-- "The New York Times"

About the Author

Stephen Shames has authored over 10 monographs, and his images are in the permanent collections of 40 museums and foundations. His work is dedicated to promoting social change, and sharing the stories of those who are frequently overlooked by society. His previous monographs include Power to the People: The World of the Black Panthers by Stephen Shames and Bobby Seale (Abrams, 2016) and The Black Panthers (Aperture, 2006). As an activist, former political prisoner and leader in the Black Panther Party, Ericka Huggins has devoted her life to the equitable treatment of all human beings, beyond the boundaries of race, age, culture, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability and status associated with citizenship. For the past 40 years she has lectured across the country and internationally. She spent 14 years in the Black Panther Party, and eight years as Director of the renowned Oakland Community School (1973-1981).