Three former Black Panther Party members will speak during a virtual event on March 27

BUFFALO, N.Y. — During the Black Women Lead annual forum, Ericka Huggins, Phylicia Brown, Claudia Chesson-Williams, and Yasmeen Majid will discuss the ways Black women have led and taken the well-being and liberation of communities into their own hands – historically and contemporarily. The conversation will include a discussion on panelists' lived experiences as community organizers.  

Ericka Huggins, Claudia Chesson-Williams and Yasmeen Majid were members of the Black Panther Party. Huggins joined the Black Panther Party in 1968 and spent 14 years with the organization in Oakland, California. Chesson-Williams joined the Black Panther Party just before her 18th birthday and spent much of her time in the party working in the New York chapter. Majid was a member of the Corona BPP office, a subsection of the Jamaica Chapter of the Black Panther Party in New York. 

Also speaking during the event will be Phylicia Brown, who transitioned from school leadership to director of Black Love Resists in the Rust, a justice-based organization and political home for Black and Brown people in Buffalo.

The event’s host will be Gwendolyn Baxley, assistant professor of educational leadership and policy in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo.

“From the Black Panther Party to Black Love Resists in the Rust, Black women have and continue to play key roles in organizing for our collective fight for Black liberation in New York and across the nation. We will welcome Black women leaders and community organizers to UB for this important conversation. We thank our sponsors and partners for making this event possible,” Baxley says.

The forum, “Comrade Sisters and The Leadership of Black Women Organizers,” will take place from 5 to 6 p.m. on Monday, March 27.  Attending the event is free and open to all, however registration is required to obtain the link for this virtual event.