“Comrade Sisters”

Abstract

Throughout their history in the United States, African American women have experienced and reacted to racial and sexual oppression. However, little has been written about black women’s involvement in revolutionary political movements in America. One such movement in which black women were active was the Black Panther Party (BPP), one of the most militant Black Power organizations to emerge during the decade of 1965 to 1975. Founded in 1966, the BPP advocated armed resistance against US racial and economic exploitation. Ex-Panthers are often reluctant to publicly discuss their past BPP affiliation, particularly with people who were not party members. Gloria Abernethy was born on June 24, 1950, in Sacramento, California, the oldest and only girl of three children born to middle-class parents who both worked. When she joined the BPP, Gloria was finalizing plans to attend the University of California at Davis. Gloria became a freshman—at U.C.-Davis and in the BPP.