In 1968, parents in
Brooklyn, N.Y., ran an independent school board to oversee some of the failing schools
in the predominantly black community of Ocean Hill-Brownsville. In Detroit,
striking black auto workers formed the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement to
fight racism at the plant where they worked. At the University of Illinois,
black students took over the student union building, demanding the creation of
a black studies program and a black cultural center. .
These stories and others are told in the book, Driven by the Movement: Activists of the Black Power Era, written by JoNina Abron-Ervin, the last editor of the Black Panther newspaper.. The presents the inspirational stories of twenty African-American social justice activists, “ordinary people who did extraordinary things for the black liberation struggle in the United States” during the Black Power decade of 1965-1975, said Abron-Ervin.
“The activists came from all walks of life,” Abron-Ervin said. “They were single working mothers, married couples, students, teachers, members of the clergy, veterans, and others. Some put their personal lives on hold to organize against police brutality, poverty, hunger, substandard schools, colonialism in Africa, and other issues of the time.”
Driven by the Movement may be purchased online at [email protected]..
About the Author
JoNina Abron-Ervin is associate professor emerita of communication, Western Michigan University. A journalist, author and veteran African-American community activist, she has worked in numerous social justice movements and organizations. She was a member of the Black Panther Party for nearly a decade and was the last editor of The Black Panther newspaper.
A former managing editor of The Black Scholar magazine, JoNina has contributed chapters to such books as Voices from the Underground: Insider Histories of the Vietnam Era Underground Press, Part 2, The Black Panther Party [Reconsidered], and Unrelated Kin: Race and Gender in Women’s Personal Narratives. She lives
in Memphis, Tennessee, where she is the acting chair of the Memphis Black Autonomy Federation, a grassroots group that organizes against racism, police brutality, poverty, and other issues in the black community.
JoNina is available to speak at colleges and universities and before community organizations. Contact her at [email protected] or at P.O. Box 16382, Memphis, TN 38186-0382.
These stories and others are told in the book, Driven by the Movement: Activists of the Black Power Era, written by JoNina Abron-Ervin, the last editor of the Black Panther newspaper.. The presents the inspirational stories of twenty African-American social justice activists, “ordinary people who did extraordinary things for the black liberation struggle in the United States” during the Black Power decade of 1965-1975, said Abron-Ervin.
“The activists came from all walks of life,” Abron-Ervin said. “They were single working mothers, married couples, students, teachers, members of the clergy, veterans, and others. Some put their personal lives on hold to organize against police brutality, poverty, hunger, substandard schools, colonialism in Africa, and other issues of the time.”
Driven by the Movement may be purchased online at [email protected]..
About the Author
JoNina Abron-Ervin is associate professor emerita of communication, Western Michigan University. A journalist, author and veteran African-American community activist, she has worked in numerous social justice movements and organizations. She was a member of the Black Panther Party for nearly a decade and was the last editor of The Black Panther newspaper.
A former managing editor of The Black Scholar magazine, JoNina has contributed chapters to such books as Voices from the Underground: Insider Histories of the Vietnam Era Underground Press, Part 2, The Black Panther Party [Reconsidered], and Unrelated Kin: Race and Gender in Women’s Personal Narratives. She lives
in Memphis, Tennessee, where she is the acting chair of the Memphis Black Autonomy Federation, a grassroots group that organizes against racism, police brutality, poverty, and other issues in the black community.
JoNina is available to speak at colleges and universities and before community organizations. Contact her at [email protected] or at P.O. Box 16382, Memphis, TN 38186-0382.