The War Before

The True Life Story of Becoming a Black Panther, Keeping the Faith in Prison & Fighting for Those Left Behind

Safiya Bukhari, Laura Whitehorn, Laura Whitehorn

• Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781558616547
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Gender Studies
• Index: Social Sciences

An inspiring memoir from a legendary activist and political prisoner that "reminds us of the sheer joy that comes from resisting civic wrongs" ( Truthout ). In 1968, Safiya Bukhari witnessed an NYPD officer harassing a Black Panther for selling the organization's newspaper on a Harlem street corner. The young pre-med student felt compelled to intervene in defense of the Panther's First Amendment right; she ended up handcuffed and thrown into the back of a police car. The War Before traces Bukhari's lifelong commitment as an advocate for the rights of the oppressed. Following her journey from middle-class student to Black Panther to political prisoner, these writings provide an intimate view of a woman wrestling with the issues of her time—the troubled legacy of the Panthers, misogyny in the movement, her decision to convert to Islam, the incarceration of outspoken radicals, and the families left behind. Her account unfolds with immediacy and passion, showing how the struggles of social justice movements of the past have paved the way for the progress—and continued struggle—of today. With a preface by Bukhari's daughter, Wonda Jones, a forward by Angela Y. Davis, and edited by Laura Whitehorn, The War Before is a riveting look at the making of an activist and the legacy she left behind.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Foreword
• Introduction
• 1 Coming of Age: A Black Revolutionary
• 2 Testimony: Experiences in the Black Panther Party
• 3 Marriage Contract: Safiya A. Bukhari and Michael M. [Ashanti] Alston
• 4 What is Security? And the Ballot or the Bullet … Revisited
• 5 Enemies and Friends: Resolving Contradictions
• 6 On the Question of Sexism Within the Black Panther Party
• 7 “Islam and Revolution” Is Not a Contradiction
• 8 We Too Are Veterans: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders and the Black Panther Party
• 9 This is Worth Fighting For
• 10 On the Question of Political Prisoners
• 11 Building Support for Political Prisoners of War Incarcerated in North America
• 12 Talks on the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Struggle
• 13 Lest We Forget
• 14 CBS Tries the New York Three
• 15 Talking About Assata Shakur
• 16 Free Mumia Abu-Jamal!
• 17 COINTELPRO and the Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal
• 18 Safiya Interviews Albert Nuh Washington
• 19 Letter for the Parole of Jalil Muntaqim
• 20 Q&A on Jericho 98
• 21 Debate: Should We Grant Amnesty to America’s Political Prisoners?
• 22 Kamau Sadiki: Injustice Continues …
• Afterword
• Index