Women in the Black Revolt

Newswise — A new book, edited by Komozi Woodard of Sarah Lawrence College, Jeanne Theoharis of Brooklyn College and Day Gore of the University of Massachusetts—Amherst, provides a new look at the history of the civil rights movement.

"Tragically, Dr. King was gunned down in the midst of his dramatic crusade against heart-breaking poverty in America. Thus, King's assassination in April 1968 created a major vacuum in the leadership of the Black Revolt that was filled, in part, by Black women like Johnnie Tillmon who fought poverty at the helm of the welfare rights movement. By March 1972 Johnnie Tillmon joined Brooklyn Representative Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman in the U.S. Congress, at a political rally that drew 16,000 to support Elaine Brown and Ericka Huggins for public office. Both Brown and Huggins were leaders in the Oakland Black Panther Party. The Oakland Black Panther Party registered 35,000 new voters in that grassroots initiative. This is just one of the many important stories that will change the way that we look at the history of the Civil Rights-Black Power era." -Komozi Woodard