Roxana Murphy HIST 3119 Presentation of Thesis, Elaine Brown 16 March 2013 Groundwork of a Solid Woman Elaine Brown

begins to tell her story from a defining moment in her life. In the first chapter of A Taste of Power, she depicts the memory of her speaking to the Central Committee of the Black Panther Party as she assumes executive power in the absence of Huey Newton. That moment reflected her in her essencean empowered, resilient black woman who holds the fate of the Black Panther Party. Brown then spends the next few chapters reflecting on how, who and what got her to be the tough woman that stood before the committee that day; specifically emphasizing the influence of her mother, the lack of male presence and the inability to fit in anywhere in a society shes been damned to. Elaines mother, Dorothy, is introduced as a strong and protective being (21) who is under constant duress by poverty but never breaks under the pressure. Elaine recognized all that her mother sacrificed for her, she notes how her mother would spend her time on Elaine but remained plain herself. She would hold Elaine at night in their shared bed and protect her from the unknown deadly beasts (22). Elaine recognized her and her mother as one against the world. Although she always complained about working long hours and the never ending exhaustion, she managed to afford piano lessons, ballet and gave Elaine the finest education she could manage. As Elaine got older, the relationship remained stable and strong. So much so that Dorothy allowed Elaine to have a party without her supervision. Even when Dorothy discovered that someone had fornicated in her bed, her everlasting trust with Elaine was still not shattered. In fact, after the rejection from her father, Elaine was even more so on her mothers side. She attributes learning that she had to work, to fight, to become something other than nothing (51). Elaine enjoys excelling in school while also maintaining her rebellion, talking back to teachers, smoking and getting friendly with boys while Dorothy still works diligently to move them a step up to Germantown. Even when Elaines self-discovery led her into trouble, like getting stomped by opposing gang boys, Dorothy bends over backwards to protect and heal her daughter without anger or discontent with her natural teenage curiosity. Elaine and Dorothys relationship is crucial in the development of Elaines womanhood. Her mothers strength and diligence is reflected in the woman she is a Black Panther leader. Her mothers covert affection and attention to the small details in Elaines life allowed her also to feel the necessary admiration to be confident in herself. On a similar note, Dorothy did such a fascinating job raising Elaine that she hardly notices the absence of a male in her life. She never mentions questioning who her biological father was or evens recognizes the presence of males as being important. She dismisses her grandfathers occupation and even refers to him as a nebulous figure (19) thus proving her lack of need of male attention. When Elaine finds a note from a Dr. Horace Scott, she reluctantly asks her mother who he is and she responds with the first tears Elaine had ever seen her shed. Dr. Scott is the father of Elaine, an upper-crust negro who had extramarital affair with Dorothy and Elaine was his shameful consequence. He never paid child support and never publically acknowledged Elaines existence. Naturally Elaines first response was curiosity but as her mother explained that he had adopted another child, it sent Elaine into a flurry of confusion. She had expected her father to be a knight on a chariot who would lift her out of her poverty and when he turned out to be a phony, she decided she didnt need him and continued to succeed in school without his approval or acknowledgement. It wasnt until her sophomore year that her mother set it up to meet her father in person and she, at first, highly enjoyed the idea of having any kind of relationship with him. He pretended to be impressed with her success but when she asked for a measly $10, he cruelly said no, claiming Dorothy can handle everything (55), proving her strength as a

Roxana Murphy HIST 3119 Presentation of Thesis, Elaine Brown 16 March 2013 woman and his weakness as a man. At that moment, Elaine learned that she did not need the help of any man to achieve what she wanted, and she gained more of the pride and forte her mother instilled in her. Elaine never felt like she needed a father in the first place. Her mother satisfied all of her needs for her; she protected her, loved her, disciplined her, educated her and respected her all so well that discovering that her father was a selfish heartless man couldnt break her down because Dorothy had already built her so strong. Father or not, Elaine knew her mother would always be there. A final aspect that led Elaine to be a woman of steel was her inability to find her place in the world. She struggled at first trying so desperately to be white. She imitated the white girls in hopes that she could be one of them. She said these instead of dese, she played classical music on the piano, did ballet, and spent as much extra time at their big houses with pretty chandeliers in order to escape the blackness of York Street. She had mastered whiteness, I believed I was really becoming white (33) she claims. But no matter how white she pretended to be, she couldnt escape the blackness of her friends from the Avenue. Nita, Carol and Barbara could never let her forget who she was, even if she moved off York Street. Elaine found herself between this rock and hard place of being white at school and being black on the streets. By the time Elaine and her mother moved to Tioga, her confusion and isolation led her to living almost exclusively in *her+ own world (45). It wasnt until her mother introduced her father that the focus of her identity search went from her color to her fathers story. When disappointment from him was all she found, she turned her search towards her interest in boys. When again, she ran into a series of disappointments and heart aches, she reverted back to her inner strength instilled by her mother. She often recalls that the only people she can depend on are herself and her mom. Elaine Brown has yet to elaborate on what she has accomplished as a robust educated black woman, however she has set the tone with what provided her with such strength and durability. Most influential being her mother who protected and provided for Elaine throughout her childhood without a moment of weakness. Another influence or his lack thereof was her father. He set the standard of Elaines general impression of men and lived her life never needing a man to feel satisfied. Another defining facet of her intensely powerful womanhood was her struggle to identify herself. Unable to claim her spot in the world prevented her from developing fully, however when she figured it out, the struggle she endured allowed her to be more confident in who she was and have the strength to defend it.