In 1974, Elaine Brown, Iconic Civil Rights Leader, activist, writer and singer became the only woman ever to lead the Black Panther party as its chairwoman.
Now 83, she proves to have as much fire in her belly as she did back in the heady days of the Black liberation struggle, though this time her immediate focus is not revolution but providing jobs and low-cost homes to those who need them.
Fifty-nine years later, in the exact same spot on Seventh Street where Huey Newton, the co-founder of the Black Panther party, was pulled over by police and a shootout occurred, a new Black Panther has emerged.
Where blood once stained the sidewalk, shiny steel and tinted glass now dominates the block as an $80m business and affordable housing building has opened for business since 2024.
Built as an all-electric, net-zero energy structure, it has achieved a Platinum GreenPoint rating. It includes over 20,000 square feet of rooftop solar panels. Operated by the nonprofit Oakland & the World Enterprises (OAW), the property emphasizes economic self-determination for marginalized communities.
Brown said that what moved her to build the 32,000-sq-ft project in West Oakland was exactly the same motivation that propelled her leadership of the Black Panthers in the 1970s.
“My goal then and my goal now is to create a model and an idea that will raise consciousness and give people something to fight for,” she said. Brown’s priority is to try to resurrect some of the economic vitality of the “Harlem of the West” by opening spaces for new Black-owned businesses
Her vision for Seventh Street is framed by the racial justice revolution to which the Panthers aspired. “As the Black Panther party said, and as I say today, the people are the makers of revolution. I don’t make revolution with my little project right here,” “But when these masses of sleeping, oppressed people rise up and demand housing, then they will get it. That is my goal.”
But today’s Justice in America Network TV Special is not about the many amazing achievements of Elaine Brown, but on the savage assault of her by former Oakland Councilwoman Desley Brooks, who on October 30, 2015 viciously assaulted Elaine at a high-top bar table at the well-known Oakland, California, barbeque restaurant Everett & Jones, where Elaine was celebrating the funding of her new ‘Black Panther’ affordable housing project.
It seemed that wherever Brooks went, whatever she did, trouble always seems to follow the former Oakland City Councilwoman. The list of scandals in her orbit become so long that it has earned her the nickname, “the Trump of Oakland” among foes.
Brooks unbelievably physically challenged Elaine, and then suddenly lunged at her and, using her hands and fists, knocked Elaine over a stack of tables and chairs. Elaine suffered bruising, a head injury and shoulder pain that led to multiple ER visits, Cortisone shots and, ultimately, surgery for a massive rotator cuff tear.
Today, the Insider Exclusive’s Justice in America Network TV investigators sit down with Charles Bonner, famed civil rights trial, and Elaine to share the legal battle, Charles successfully won for Elaine against the City of Oakland for Brooks’s vicious attack and resulting extensive injuries with a verdict of $3,750,000 in compensatory damages plus $550,000 in punitive damages.
The verdict in this case gave notice to the community of Oakland and to the residents of the State of California, that: (1) elders are to be protected, and any elder abuse will be met with severe financial responsibility; and (2) affordable housing is an important public purpose for a non-profit to pursue; and (3) that elected and public officials must be held responsible for their own wrongful conduct.
Charles has earned the highest respect from citizens and lawyers alike…. as one of the best Trial lawyers in the United States.
He makes it his dedicated mission to get legitimate and truthful answers to what really happened to his clients in each case. He sees his mission to fight for people and has built a substantial reputation by consistently winning cases other law firms have turned down.
And his amazing courtroom skills and headline grabbing success rate continue to provide his clients with the results they need……And the results they deserve.
Please contact Charles Bonner @ https://bonnerlaw.com/ or 415 331 3070